Blood Flow
Restriction Training: The Underused Paradox?
Prologue
I was in the gym recently
experimenting with BFR (I’ll discuss in the next paragraph) when a 20
something, not unlike myself, asks what the tourniquets around my arms were
for. I first asked him if he had
heard of BFR to which he replied “no”.
In a fairly ‘quick ‘response, I tend to embark on tangents easily, I
said it’s similar to doing high reps with a moderate weight with the exception
that you can use insanely light amounts of weight. I then told him to simply do a Google search for blood
flow restriction training and he’ll find an abundance of information. So why tell you this story? Well, for
one thing this guy was in pretty good shape and it surprised me that he hadn’t
heard of it already considering a big part of the lifting community has at one
point or another. Secondly,
because he hadn’t heard of BFR, it got me thinking; why hasn’t the “gurus”
adopted this into today’s ‘quick fix’ diet and exercise craze. We have “Six Minute Abs”, “Hip-Hop
Abs”, “Insanity”, etc. BFR,
although not the glorified savior to traditional exercise, is a viable option,
additive and supplement to traditional training and can be used safely in a
multitude of settings. This
article is made to shed a little light on BFR and how it’s been used in
research.
What is BFR?
BFR
or blood flow restriction training has been used in various settings and in
various ways. Everyone tends to
use it differently, but essentially BFR is the partial or complete occlusion of
blood in a specific muscle area during exercise. Translation: you can partially or completely cut off blood
supply to a limb then exercise that limb with a low percentage of weight,
mostly based on a 1-rep max (1-RM), and studies have shown increased or similar
progress. Research has used
percentages as low as 20% of a 1-RM and seen increase in muscle strength and
hypertrophy. WHAT? “But Matt, all
the websites tell me to used 60-70% of my 1-RM to increase muscle size. How can this be?” Trust me, I’m thinking the same
thing. The great thing about
research is that theories that are usually accepted as facts can be completely
turned inside out and proven to not always be true. As I said before, I don’t think BFR should take the place of
hard work with heavy weights, but I do believe that it has a special place in programs
when properly prescribed and should be researched in more diseased patients as
a therapy option.
How Does it Work?
By
restricting blood supply, either partially or completely, exercise creates an
environment that facilitates growth through various mechanisms. Some studies have proposed mechanisms
and the more accepted ones are increases in hypertrophy via cell swelling, increased
growth hormone release and an increase in type 2 muscle fiber recruitment. One study also saw an increase in
satellite cell activity, which are necessary for muscle growth. All this activity takes place when
either lifting heavy or lifting moderate amounts of weight for multiple reps
and sets. Now, the question
remains; if these traditional means can increase muscle and strength then why
use BFR? Well, the simple answer
is why not?! The interesting part
of BFR is that it does not damage the muscle to the same extent as its
traditional counterpart suggesting that you do not need the extra time to
recover between exercise sessions.
Listen, I love exercise. I
love playing basketball, weightlifting, tennis, football, etc, but your body
reaches a point where it can’t recover from every stress that is being put on
it. Whether its long hours at work
for weeks on end, excessive activity or excessive weightlifting. It all takes a toll on your body and
your body needs to recover. BFR can
be a way for your body to keep progressing while not inhibiting recovery, as
would extra reps and sets that one would traditionally perform. I’m not telling anybody to replace
traditional weight training with BFR.
I’m not telling everyone to try BFR. I’m simply providing information and leaving it up to you to
research and consider it for yourself.
References
Wernborn, M., Apro, W.,
Paulsen, G., Nilson, T.S., Blomstrand, E., Raastad, T. (2013). Acute low-load resistance exercise with
and without blood flow restriction increased protein signaling and number of
satellite cells in human skeletal muscle. European Journal of Applied
Physiology, 113, 2953-2965.
Patterson, S.D., Leggate,
M., Nimmo, M.A., Ferguson, R.A. (2012).
Circulating hormone and cytokine response to low-load resistance
training with blood flow restriction in older men. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 113, 713-719.
Wison, J.M., Lowery, R.P.,
Joy, J.M., Loenneke, J.P., Naimo, M.A. (2013). Practical blood flow restriction training increases acute
determinants of hypertrophy without increasing indices of muscle damage. Journal
of Strength and Conditioning Research, 27, 3068-3075.
Martin-Hernandez, J.,
Marin, P.J., Menendez, H., Ferrero, C., Loenneke, J.P., Herrero, A.J. (2013). Muscular adaptations after two
different volumes of blood flow-restricted training. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 23,
114-120
Loenneke, J.P., Fahs,
C.A., Rossow, L.M., Abe, T., Bemben, M.G. (2012). The anabolic benefits of
venous blood flow restriction training may be induced by muscle swelling.
Medical Hypotheses, 78, 151-154
Jamurtas, A.Z.,
Theocharis, V., Koukoulis, G., Stakias, N., Fatouros, I.G., Kouretas, D.,
Koutedakis, Y. (2006). The effects of acute exercise on serum adiponectin and
resistin levels and their relation to insulin sensitivity in overweight males.
European Journal of Applied Physiology, 97, 122-126.
Varady, K.A., Bhutani, S.,
Church, E.C., Phillips, S.A. (2010). Adipokine responses to acute resistance
exercise in trained and untrained men. Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise, 10, 456-462.
Cook, C. J., Kilduff,
L.P., Beaven, C.M. (2014). Improving strength and power in trained athletes
with 3 weeks of occlusion training. International Journal of Sports Physiology
and Performance. 9, 166-172.
