It would not be an exaggeration to say that Kyrgyzstan is an amazing country where behind every surface-level experience, you can always find something new and impressive on a deeper level. You can go to Issyk-Kul for swimming during the beach season and notice that local swimmers hold competitions in the lake for almost half a year (and “walruses” swim there almost all year round – the salty lake does not freeze). You can come for hiking and suddenly realize that riding horses on summer mountain trails is a new dimension of hiking. And it is very convenient, given the vastness of the local hiking areas and the distances between them.
Athletes are practical people who are focused on achieving victories in competitions and know how to “discard excess” and quickly reorient themselves towards what is currently useful. Issyk-Kul is a high-altitude lake, and all its shores are on the same plane, unlike, say, alpine resorts. The foothills here begin to recede from the huge lake. That is why the track around the lake is a geometrically perfect cycling track that allows you to correctly plan loads on a long route. At the same time, any physical training at high altitude helps to adapt the body’s rhythms, primarily breathing and blood supply, to the conditions of athletic competition. The thin air somewhat raises the endurance bar, and it also correctly simulates the effects of excitement and stress within a real race for leadership. That’s why many biathlon champions come from Norway’s highlands. And cyclists use the track around Issyk-Kul’s coast as a “system hack”. Because such sports training, formal or informal, significantly increases the likelihood of successful performance in competitions.
Applicable in other sports
You can easily notice that there are other sports disciplines that nature itself favors for using Issyk-Kul as an optimal training base before competitions. All types of skiing. Sailing. Rowing sports. Swimming. And in a broad sense, hiking with slightly increased loads will give an advantage in any athletics.
How to physically prepare for sports training at Issyk-Kul?
The highlands and the southern part of the planet (you will be at the latitude of Rome, geographically) require two actions: do not neglect high-quality sunscreen for all exposed skin surfaces during daylight hours. Here, in fact, the level of exposure to sunlight is much more powerful than “average on the planet,” so take care of protection in advance, and your workouts will go great.
In the mountains, river valleys, and especially in their combination, there are many snakes during the hot season, among which there are plenty of poisonous ones – do not go there in shorts.
It is better to use a tent color other than green. Additionally, you can fence off the tent camp with an obvious (visible) barrier. The basis of the local rural economy is livestock breeding. Cows can see a green tent as a pile of fresh hay. Moving cows in a herd can start pushing forward towards the anticipated grassy delicacy, which will force those in front to literally start ramming the tent.
