By tying a light band around an arm or leg, you can turn a home/hotel room workout into a legitimate strength training session with effects that are nearly identical to heavy lifting – all while using as little as 20% of your max.
Blood flow restriction, also called BFR, Kaatsu, or occlusion training can be used to maintain strength when injured. It can also be used in conjunction with traditional strength training, allowing you to make strength gains with less recovery debt and joint stress.
It might sound like a late-night infomercial gimmick, but this is one of the very few instances where ‘this one weird trick‘ may be as good as it sounds, with over two hundred positive studies.
But is this something that should be incorporated regularly? Here are some details so you can decide for yourself.
HOW IT WORKS
When you lift weights, your muscle fibers are recruited in order from smallest to largest. Aerobic and low intensity activity recruits the smaller, slow-twitch muscle fibers. When the activity becomes more intense via heavy resistance or fatigue, the larger, fast-twitch fibers take over. Unlike slow-twitch fibers, the fast-twitch fibers have the ability to become big and strong.
BFR training works by cutting off venous flow out of a limb, but still allowing arterial blood flow into a limb. The blood flow restriction creates a hypoxic environment in the muscles and causes a buildup of metabolites that stimulates muscle growth. As the slow-twitch fibers fatigue due to lack of adequate oxygen, the larger fast-twitch muscle fibers are recruited – even though you are lifting a low-intensity load.
(In English for non-nerds – your muscles get bamboozled into thinking they have something heavy).
REPORTED BENEFITS
- Muscle hypertrophy gains similar to higher intensity training
- Increase in muscle protein synthesis with little to no muscle damage
- Elevated growth hormone lead to an increase in collagen production, which is protective from an injury standpoint
- Elevated testosterone
- Can maintain muscle and strength if you have tweaks or pains you need to train around, and can bring up a weak limb
- Easier to recover from than heavy lifting
- BFR without strength training can speed up recovery
HOW IT’S DONE
You can use a tourniquet or an inexpensive elastic resistance band, either of which can be found on amazon. If you want to be fancy, there are tourniquets you can buy that are just for this purpose. If you are a powerlifter, knee wraps can also work on the legs.
- To train legs, wrap at the narrowest section at the top of the leg, close to the groin.
- On a 1-10 scale, wrap at a pressure level of a 7-8. (1 being no pressure and 10 extreme pain)
- To train arms, wrap just under the deltoid, very close to the armpits.
- On a 1-10 scale, wrap at a pressure level of a 6-7.
Don’t wrap so tightly that you are feeling numbness and tingling, or that you are unable to perform your required reps. Research has shown that wrapping tighter does not equal superior results.
You may remove the bands in between sets or leave them on. It has been shown to be more beneficial to just leave them on, plus you don’t have to fiddle with them as much.
Use the bands for up to 20 minutes at a time on the legs, and up to 15 minutes at a time on the arms.
HOW IT’S PROGRAMMED (FOR STRENGTH AND MUSCLE)
A popular format is 30-15-15-15 with 30s rest between sets.
- Do a set of 15-40 reps with 20-30% of your max after your heavy sets.
- Rest 30s
- Pump out 15 more reps
- Rest 30s
- Pump out 15 more reps
- Rest 30s
- Pump out 15 more reps
If you struggle with recovery, you can substitute some of your heavy sets for lighter BFR sets. Some studies have suggested that in order to increase the performance of fast-twitch fibers (those responsible for strength and power), you should lift loads closer to 40% of your 1RM. Using between 40-45% of your max for a minimum of 10-15 reps per set should fit the bill. Rest up to 45s between sets.
Stick closer to lighter loads (less than 50%-ish) and keep the volume high. Heavier loads are not effective with BFR.
Another place this could fit is with prehab and recovery work. Wrap up and go to town with a brief, high rep recovery circuit workout.
BFR could be used on deload weeks to get a better training effect as well as speed up recovery.
BFR bands are also great to take on vacation when you might not have access to heavy weights.
Unlike traditional strength training, BFR training seems to cause the most growth on the concentric portion of the lift as opposed to the negative (eccentric). So there is probably no need to torture yourself further by riding out the negative portions.
Though this works well in conjunction with traditional weight training, it should not completely replace heavy lifting (unless injured). Some studies have indicated that low-load BFR doesn’t affect tendons to the same degree that heavy training does.
WHICH LIFTS WORK WITH BFR?
- Squat variations
- Step-up and lunge variations
- Bench press variations
- Bicep and tricep exercises
- Most isolation exercises
- Calves, if you are sadistic
BFR works better for quads than hamstrings.
An interesting point to note is that the surrounding area also gets the benefit of the blood flow restriction; you will get the benefits for chest and back when occluding on the arms. You could also occlude at the legs and perform bridges for the glutes.
CONTRAINDICATIONS
This is not an option for beginners who are attempting to avoid building a strength base with heavy weights. The research indicates that the strength increases seen with BFR training only apply to well-trained lifters.
This is also not for pregnant women, or those with a blood clot history, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, or poor blood flow as it can increase the risk of stroke.
If BFR is being used in a rehab setting, it is best left to a rehabilitation specialist. Their methods will trump anything that you can do at home with bands
BFR training is safe for otherwise healthy people.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
Blood Flow Restriction training was something that had been on my radar, but I was under the impression that it was mainly used for an extra pump on isolation exercises. That all changed when I had to have a post-pregnancy-related surgery for which I would have to take several months off of lifting. While considering methods to regain my strength after the operation, I was surprised to learn that BFR was successfully being used for increasing strength on compound lifts, and that the results were very similar to heavy lifting.
Once I was cleared to start training again, BFR took a primary spot in my post-rehabilitative training. I was able to seamlessly transition back to my old working numbers with minimal heavy lifting. As someone who primarily struggles with recovery, I was surprised by how well my strength was able to grow while being able to train as fresh as possible.
FINAL THOUGHTS
BFR can be incredibly useful for those who are rehabbing. It can also be an option for older/ beat up lifters who seek to limit the amount of weight that they subject themselves to on a weekly basis. Bodybuilders might enjoy the extra pump they get from a BFR finisher.
If someone is in a situation where they have limited access to weights, they really have nothing to lose by giving BFR a shot.
For those who have access to heavy weights, and are not currently rehabbing or struggling with recovery, I am not sure that this would become a regular thing. In all honesty, BFR can be on par with lifting heavy in terms of discomfort. On certain movements, it can even hurt more. The benefits are similar to traditional loading, not better than traditional loading. So, you aren’t really ‘getting away’ with much.
That being said, BFR can be a great tool to have in the toolbox. It can help you get strong and stay strong during times when heavy lifting might not be feasible.
MORE READING
Blood Flow Restriction: How Does It Work?
Jeremy P. Loenneke, Takashi Abe, and Michael G. Bemben
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3463864/
A mechanistic approach to blood flow occlusion
Loenneke JP1, Wilson GJ, Wilson JM.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19885776
The anabolic benefits of venous blood flow restriction training may be induced by muscle cell swelling
Loenneke JP1, Fahs CA, Rossow LM, Abe T, Bemben MG.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22051111
The effects of a 7-week practical blood flow restriction program on well-trained collegiate athletes.
Luebbers PE1, Fry AC, Kriley LM, Butler MS.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24476782
Low intensity blood flow restriction training: a meta-analysis.
Loenneke JP1, Wilson JM, Marín PJ, Zourdos MC, Bemben MG.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21922259
Practical blood flow restriction training increases muscle hypertrophy during a periodized resistance training programme.
Lowery RP1, Joy JM, Loenneke JP, de Souza EO, Machado M, Dudeck JE, Wilson JM
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24188499
Intermittent lower-limb occlusion enhances recovery after strenuous exercise
Christopher Martyn Beavenaf, Christian John Cookabc, Liam Kilduffd, Scott Drawera and Nicholas Gille
https://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/h2012-101#.VidknbTau23
Effects of low-load resistance training with vascular occlusion on the mechanical properties of muscle and tendon.
Kubo K1, Komuro T, Ishiguro N, Tsunoda N, Sato Y, Ishii N, Kanehisa H, Fukunaga T.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16871002
Combined effects of low-intensity blood flow restriction training and high-intensity resistance training on muscle strength and size.
Yasuda T1, Ogasawara R, Sakamaki M, Ozaki H, Sato Y, Abe T.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21360203
Effects of low-intensity concentric and eccentric exercise combined with blood flow restriction on indices of exercise-induced muscle damage
Robert S. Thiebaud, Tomohiro Yasuda, […], and Takashi Abe
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3831801/