For the last 3-4 years the NSWIS strength and conditioning team have been utilising an emerging and novel training technique to help their athlete’s performance. This method known as blood flow restricted (BFR) strength training was born out of Japan and involves the use of a tourniquet to reduce blood flow in and out of a limb.

No doubt that this sounds a bit out there, but some of the results that can be achieved with this kind of training have been valuable to our high performance setting.

Over the last 20 years, numerous research studies have shown that strength training with BFR can provide considerable strength gains with a load as little as 20% of a person’s maximum. This is a load that is notably less than the 60% that is widely recommended with strength training methods.

In short, BFR strength training allows you to get strong by lifting a lot less weight than we had previously considered. This can be of particular use in the rehabilitation setting, although it can also be beneficial for older athletes, for training variation, in tapers and when athletes don’t have access to strength training equipment.

During rehabilitation, strengthening the damaged muscle or the muscles around an injured joint is a key part of the process. Unfortunately, this is often problematic due to the load required to best strengthen a muscle, being beyond what the injured muscle or joint can withstand.

However, with the emergence of BFR strength training we can now get a much better stimulus to the injured structures without loading the muscle or joint beyond what it can handle. This provides us with a great opportunity to develop strength, whilst minimising the risk of further damage to the injury.

Lifting lighter weights in this manner might sound like an easy option, but we can assure you that this is not the case. Here are the nuts and bolts of how it works:

  • Due to restricted blood flow getting past the tourniquet there is a reduction of oxygen and an increase in the metabolic waste product in the muscles.
  • This results in early fatigue of slow twitch muscle fibres.
  • As a consequence the working muscles are forced to recruit their fast twitch muscle fibres much earlier. It is these fibres that are inclined to increase in both muscle mass and strength.
  • Additionally, research has shown that this kind of training results in similar changes in growth hormone response to what is seen in heavy strength training sessions – the ones we know to have a positive impact on strength adaptation.

BFR strength training is still very demanding and the athlete has to work hard to achieve the desired gains. It is also important to consider that this type of training is not suitable for everyone, with particular risk evident in patients with circulatory issues.

Prior to using this method we require a risk questionnaire to be completed and a consultation with a physician is sometimes required.

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