Ally Kinloch - All About Training Camps

In the words of a performance athlete, what are the benefits of training camps and sports tours?

Ally Kinloch - All About Training Camps

My Background

My name’s Ally, and I’ve been running ever since I could! I have competed for Great Britain and Scotland on the track and on the road, with my main distances being 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m.
In order to race a lot, you need to train a lot, and training camps are the perfect way to get away from most distractions, enabling high quality training weeks.

Previous Training Camps

In recent years, my training camps have included an altitude camp in Boulder, USA back in 2018, and warm weather training camps in Spain (2022), and Portugal (2023, 2024, and most recently 2025). An altitude camp needs to be longer than a warm weather camp due to having to acclimatise to the altitude before getting a normal volume training week in, and to allow for the body to reap the benefits of altitude training by producing more red blood cells than usual, which can take anywhere between one and three weeks.

Benefits of a Training Camp

Training takes up a lot of physical and mental exhaustion as it is, but it can be even more taxing with other external factors. Being on a training camp for 2-4 weeks can really put you in control of the controllables, with limiting distractions and added stress, along with allowing you to be more focussed on session prep, recovery, sleep, diet and many other elements that impact performance. As for the location itself, having a training camp in a warmer climate can produce big endurance benefits including increased plasma volume, leading to better blood circulation and oxygen delivery, increased VO2 max through better heart and stroke rate efficiency under stress, and improved temperature control through more efficient sweating leading to better electrolytes maintenance.

Similarities between Training Camp and Sports Tours

A sports tour for a school boasts so many possible advantages and also similarities to training camps. Getting away from schoolwork for a week or so can reduce stress levels and can help students focus on training sessions and fixtures on tour. The warm weather brings a reduced risk of injury as muscles will be looser, and allows students to enjoy the sun in down time and during activities. It’s also great to have a change of scenery which is important for the mind to get a small break from the day-to-day of normal school life and allows students to return to school refreshed and ready to crack back on with the curriculum.

Ready to start planning your next trip? email us at info@energy-travel.com or call 01332 418790 today

Published: Tuesday 20 May 2025