During this summer's Club World Cup, considerable attention has been given to teams competing at altitude, certainly before England's 3-1 victory vs Mexico.
From a performance perspective, the more interesting question is often not what happens at altitude but what happens before athletes get there.
Recently, 292 Performance Founder Ben Rosenblatt spoke to Nicky Campbell on BBC Radio 5 Live about the challenge of competing in demanding environmental conditions.
His first point was simple:
It is a significant challenge if you have not had the opportunity to prepare for it. Three or four days is not enough time to fully adapt from a physiological perspective.
This highlights an important principle that underpins much of our work at 292. Performance is rarely determined by what happens on the day but shaped by the quality of preparation that takes place beforehand.
In elite sport, there can be a temptation to look for short-term solutions to long-term challenges. Altitude does not work that way.
The body needs time to adapt to environmental stressors. Some physiological changes happen relatively quickly. Others take considerably longer.
As Ben explained:
If you look at the research, significant time is required to fully adapt to altitude. We conducted research at 292 and found athletes who are aerobically fitter tend to respond better. Exposure to hot environments and other physiologically demanding conditions can also help.
The performance question, therefore, is not whether a team can fully adapt in a matter of days. The question is whether they have done enough work beforehand to arrive in the best possible position.
At 292, we often describe this as creating the conditions for performance.
The objective is not to eliminate challenge but to improve an athlete's capacity to respond to it.
One observation that often gets overlooked is how adaptable elite athletes are.
They compete across different countries, climates, venues and competitions every season. As Ben said during the interview:
These players are extremely adaptable performers and they will not need much time or exposure to adjust.
At 292, we see confidence as a product of preparation. Athletes do not become confident because conditions are perfect. They become confident because they trust their ability to perform when conditions are imperfect.
The more robust the preparation, the less space there is for uncertainty to become distraction.
Perhaps the most important insight from Ben's interview was not physiological at all.
It was psychological.
You do not want players thinking about altitude too much. If it becomes a major focus, it can become a distraction. The best approach is to acknowledge that it is different, put it to the back of your mind, and focus on what you can control. Ultimately, it is about getting on with the job and performing
This reflects a principle we discuss regularly with athletes, coaches and practitioners.
Performance improves when attention is directed towards controllable factors.
Altitude is a useful reminder that performance never exists in isolation. Athletes perform within environments. Those environments create demands.
The role of performance preparation is not to remove those demands. It is to ensure athletes are ready for them.
Whether the challenge is altitude, heat, travel, fixture congestion or competition pressure, the underlying principle remains the same.
The best performers are not those who avoid difficult conditions. They are the ones who prepare effectively enough to perform within them.
This article draws on comments from 292 Performance Founder Ben Rosenblatt during an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live discussing the performance challenges of competing at altitude.
