Objective  The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of long altitude training on exercise performance of elite male rowers.

  Methods  The altitude training (altitude≈2.3 km) last eight weeks and was divided into two phases, seven days a training week. Every training-week contained two small training steps. Before and after altitude training, the body weight, body composition, etc. were measured.

  Results  (1) Compared with the pre-altitude training, the body weight had no obvious change, but both the fat decreased and hemoglobin concentration increased significantly. (2) In the test of 1st week after altitude training, the 2 km all-out and anaerobic threshold showed no significant change except maximal oxygen uptake. However, in the test of third week after altitude, the 2 km all-out time and anaerobic threshold power increased significantly.

  Conclusions  the 8-week-long and low-middle intensity aerobic altitude training can improve the VO₂ max, anaerobic threshold and maximal specific performance of elite rowers effectively but no significant influence on body weight. After altitude training, rowers show a better competitive state in the third week than the first week.