so I started reading the studies on Blood Flow Restriction Training believing that it's another biohak gimmick which to be fair it's exactly how it looks like turns out that there are hundreds of studies investigating this training practice and I was completely surprised by some specific findings in this video I will present what Blood Flow Restriction Training is how to use it safely and regarding its benefits I will present only what is proven by science and although Blood Flow Restriction Training also known as bfr is not here to reinvent the wheel I represent three science proven benefits that you can get only with bfr and I consider them as winds over conventional training I'll also provide 6 additional benefits that make this practice compelling to anyone from beginners to experience team runs you can find all the studies linked below and for the purpose of this video I will be using the Saga calves which I'll also link below let's dive in so for starters what is bfr training and how does it work bfr training works by using a compressive calf wrapped around the proximal portion of the limb so as to partially reduce arterial flow and completely restrict vanish return this platform restriction starts your muscles of oxygen and nutrients and also speeds up the buildup of exercise-related waste products and no it's not smart to use the straps because there's a specific pressure that must be applied and studied like the one from Belle Italian 2019 have shown that people either overestimate or underestimate this pressure by a lot this leads to either training with very low pressure that will not be effective or training with too much pressure which could hurt you personally I wouldn't risk my health or time experimenting with this and only use pneumatic devices like The Saga calves on which you can adjust the pressure with precision based on your needs now back to how bfr works there are many theories proposed on the mechanisms underlying this process however the main point is that the alterations caused on a cellular level by this Blood Flow Restriction reduce the time needed to reach failure in aerobic and resistance training in simple words with bfr urase fatigue faster compared to Conventional training so if for example you could do 30 repetition bicep curls with 5 kilos Blood Flow Restriction you could do let's say 15 or less now why in the world would someone want that well that's because you can use it to boost your results with less loads let's see how you can do that on hypertrophy and strength starting from hypertrophy multiple papers have shown that low load resistance training with bfr can provide similar increase in muscle hypertrophy compared with high load resistance training without bfr in the study of coupon colleagues in 2006 authors compared leg extension training with either 20 of 100 marks or 80 percent of one rep max participants trained three times per week for 12 weeks and authors reported similar increases in muscle growth between groups similar effects have been reported by many other authors and there seems to be a consensus in the literature on this part low load resistance training with bfr produces similar hypertrophy to high load resistance training this of course happens if you reach close failure in both practices so what working out with 5 kilos in bfr will probably give similar hypertrophic gains with 15 kilos without bfr if you reach close enough to failure in both practices this provides an obvious benefit for people that cannot train with heavy loads like people that recover from injuries but why would someone healthy use that why not just train with heavier loads and get the same results well that's because there are some huge science-based benefits of bfr training that worth considering at any training level to understand the first of these reasons you need to know that the original why low load resistance training with bfr has similar hypertrophic gains with high load resistance training is because specifically for hypertrophy this thing that matters the most in every set is the proximity to failure and not the weight lifted this has been clearly shown by the literature and is what I have thoroughly presented in my dedicated video on the science of effective reps to quickly get everyone on the same page AIDS what we know is that from 85 percent one RM load that you can do around 6 reps and all the way to 30 percent of one RM load that you could do around 35 to 40 reps per set you get similar hypertrophic gains if you train hard enough meaning if you get close enough to failure so 5 sets of 6 reps to failure will give you similar hypertrophy to 5 sets of 35 reps to failure however there is a hidden problem to that and this is exactly where bfr training comes in the mortgage train with high loads and Low Reps the more you increase joint stress risk of injury and central nervous system fatigue which is a type of fatigue that comes from high loads and is the most amount of time to recover from and is the most usual factor that leads to over training on the other side you can reduce all that by training with lower loads and higher reps however this comes with a cost the more petitions per set you do the more you challenge your Energy System due to the large duration sets and the more is likely to fail from cardio before you hit the targeted muscles in practice this type of training is not fun at all just imagine that in a study from seinfelding colleagues in 2015 the participants were vomiting during the training after some high rep sets due to exhaustion of the anaerobic Energy System in addition you need double the time to complete the set and then double the time to recover so a workout of 20 sets with 40 reps is endless for this reason although you could theoretically gain hypertrophic with low low training and have all these benefits it's not a doable scenario for most people at least until now the insane benefit that you can get with bfr training is that you can get all the benefits of low low training and none of its Throwbacks you can train with low loads of around 30 1 RM but because you'll reach failure faster instead of doing 35 to 40 reps you'll probably do around 15. so you neither do long Shades to kill your cardio or endless workouts in total at the same time you get all the benefits of increasing hypertrophy with low joint stress risk of injury and central nervous system fatigue based on what we know so far this is impossible to happen with conventional training and I think it's one of the most groundbreaking benefits of bfr training however not as groundbreaking as the next reason you see there are currently at least six studies that have found that bfr training enables targeted hypertrophy of type 1 muscle fibers this alone can have a huge effect on your overall gains let me explain why our muscles consist of mainly two types of muscle fibers type 1 and type 2. multiple papers have shown that conventional high-low training has been associated with increasing more the hypertrophy of type 2 fibers so if you're doing conventional resistance training there's a big chance that your hypertrophy focuses more on type 2 muscle fibers but what if you could selectively grow your type 1 mushroom fibers too this option that seems Possible only with bfr training could have a huge impact on your overall hypertrophic gains while also training with low loads and although we need a lot more research on this topic it's still a very interesting and promising finding in addition the fact that it makes the low training a realistic option for hypertrophic games makes bfr training the optimal option for rehabilitation purposes and I'm not talking about only using it when recovering from severe injuries as many athletes do I'm also talking about small alterations to your programs based on minor issues that might be bothering you I personally never had a complete year without feeling a minor discomfort here and there being able to work hard on these areas with bfr while also giving my joints a break from heavy loads is a big deal for me so if I feel that my knees are worn out I can give them a break for a couple of weeks by lowering the load while turning on the same movement pattern with bfr enriching the same intensity of effort AKA proximity to failure therefore keep making progress this again seems to be possible only with bfr training and three last benefits of bfr training on hypertrophy that I have experienced are one of amazing activation specifically on calves and forearms two selectively Target muscle groups in compound leaves and three extreme convenience to explain a bit on the first argument in some muscle groups like the calves and the forearms it simply doesn't feel right to train with high loads every time I train these muscle groups with heavy loads for around 8 to 12 reps I just can't get the feeling of proper activation lower loads and higher ABS seem to work better on these body parts because they allow better control so if you're to train with low loads anyway on some body parts bfr will definitely add your workouts while also limiting the time spent per set and improving activation I consider myself a hard Gainer on these parts and I had great workouts so far with bfr training mainly because I was able to activate my muscles properly but also get close to failure with less reps now the second reason is easy to understand if you are on a Roman chair that targets both glues and hamstrings by wearing the calves that they stick blood flow to the hamstrings you fatigue the hamstrings more you can use that based on your programs in many different ways for example on the push-ups to Target more of the triceps or the deadlifts to Target more the hamstrings and less the lower back this practice is again something that you can do only with bfr training within a set you could do it also with pre-exhaust systems but you'll need many more sets per exercise and the last reason is that bfr training with these calves is extremely convenient it's a system easy to use take it to the gym or carry it on a travel bag on holidays especially for some of my online clients that are training at home it's much easier to upgrade their equipment simply with a pair of calves that take much less space and cost much less than a set of barbel with a few plates or a strength machine now what about its effects on strength a review from 2017 analyzing 13 studies reported higher increase in muscle strength for high low training versus low load bfr although they reported that bfr resistance training is a valid and effective approach for increasing muscle strength in a wide spectrum of Ages and physical capacity in contrast another view from 2018 after reviewing 16 studies concluded that low load blood flow restricted training appears equally effective in producing gains in maximal voluntary muscle strength compared to high low training in 20 to 80 year old healthy and habitually active adults these results look mixed but they think the reality is quite simple as quotes ILY from Zurich said in our recent interview there are many different shades of strength it's different to be a power lifter looking to improve their one rep max and the fitness Enthusiast just looking to improve their overall health by lifting a couple more weights since Blood Flow Restriction is by definition performed with low loads it can't be a viable practice for increasing maximal strength in advanced trainings however for Fitness enthusiasts and people that are generally way below their training potentials bfr could definitely contribute to their overall strength Journey on the other hand for elderly people or people coming out of injuries bfr can be their sole strength training with great results it all comes down to the training stage that you are your goals and your individual needs now regarding the effects of bfr on General adaptations related to strength I think can surprise you one more time with two additional science-based benefits in a study from 2019 authors reported that low load bfr increased the mechanical and morphological properties of the Achilles tendon to a similar extent as conventional High load resistance training this is a very surprising finding because up until now the literature was consistent on the fact that structural adaptations on the tendons can take place only with conventional high low training seeing that low load training with bfr can produce similar adaptations is again very impressive and although we need much more research on that it highlights the potential of this practice and the last thing that surprised me was that although no bfr training leads to the same level of fatigue as high low training it seems to trigger less muscle damage in a study by Wilson and colleagues from 2013 authors reported that bfr training increased the activation of the targeted muscles compared to a control group without bfr but it didn't increase in Diocese of muscle damage these leaves opened the potential for faster recovery with bfr training which could lead to more training sessions per given turning period and potentially more games I'll definitely keep an eye open for more studies on that adding all the potential benefits of bfr I conclude that it's a promising practice that deserves a lot more attention and one that I and the people I train enjoyed working with so far however if it's so beneficial why don't we see people use it this much well first of all I think that most people don't know about it for others that know the science behind it up until now bfr devices were bulky with cables and the user experience that is a pain in the neck today with wireless calves like this one things are almost effortless you simply wear the Cuffs calibrate them with the push of a button and start your workout with another button everything works wirelessly and you can adjust the intensity through the app at any time that specific feature was crucial for me especially when I was feeling the calves too tight during an exercise or wanting to adjust the intensity when training a client now no matter the calf you'll choose to use let's see how to do that safely and effectively the calves should be positioned at the proximal part of your limbs for safety reasons it is advised not to train with all calves at the same time either use a pair in your arms or on your legs to train effectively you need to know what is your limb occlusion pressure AKA lob and then train with a percentage of that Lop is the minimum pressure required to Full Stop arterial flow to your lane knowing your individual Lop is crucial in training safely and effectively so make sure to standardize that before starting if you have a saga calf this measurement is simply taken by pressing a button while wearing the Calves if you use other devices that don't have this option you might need to do this manually with the use of a handheld doppler but in any case make sure to figure out how to take that measurement before starting now you should be training at 40 to 50 percent of your LLP on the arms and around 50 to 80 percent on the legs once you inflate the calves according to that work with a load that is 20 to 50 percent of your one rep max I recommend resting for around 60 seconds between sets and deflating the calves during the rest keeping a continuous Blood Flow Restriction through the rest intervals will not yield more results versus deflating the calves in every rest as was shown by Fitz and Uncle workers in 2014 a reasonable amount of sets to start with is around three to four per muscle group and make sure to reach close to failure in every set the key point is to remember that this is steel resistance training so all the rules of progressive overload apply here too so start low and slowly progress based on your progress the only question left is how to integrate it into your program if you are a health individual looking to increase muscle size and strength adding some bfr training at the end of your workouts as accessory work would probably be the most reasonable way to start from there the training possibilities are pretty much endless based on your progress and personal characteristics however through this training process always remember that bfr training is only a piece of the puzzle when it comes to training that focuses mainly on load selection and proximity to failure to optimize the results you need to also train with the optimal training volume to learn more about how many sets you should do per session to optimize the results based on science you can see this next video thanks for watching and I'll see you all next time