BFR TRAINING

Also known as Occlusion Training, blood-flow restriction involves the application of a pneumatic cuff or ‘tourniquet’ applied to a limb. The cuff is inflated to a specific pressure during low-intensity resistance exercises (20-30 per cent of one-rep max), with the aim of restricting the muscle’s venous blood return, while still allowing arterial flow. By restricting the veins and not the arteries, blood keeps pooling into a working muscle and stays there. This gives you a crazy pump, which leads to cellular swelling and, in theory, shocks the muscles into new growth. Depriving muscles of oxygen is also said to create metabolic stress – a major mechanism of muscle growth – as they can’t get rid of accumulating waste materials. DO NOT try this at home – seek out a professional to guide you through the process.