Ep 122: Blood Flow Restriction Training - Should You Do It?

This week on the podcast, the entire Rebel crew and I sit down to talk all things blood flow restriction training. We specifically frame our conversation around: whether or not BFR training actually works, which outcomes may or may not warrant you to use it in your training, what the effects of BFR training are on hypertrophy, what the effects of BFR training are on strength improvements, and where BFR training fits into a rehab or in-season training setting. Listen in to learn some underlying mechanisms and protocols for how to best utilize blood flow restriction training if you choose to do so. What You'll Learn in this Episode: [03:55] What is blood flow restriction training? [07:45] The different ways to drive muscle hypertrophy [14:32] Sarcoplasmic vs myofibrillar hypertrophy [19:25] Where BFR training can be extremely useful [22:30] Categorizing BFR in more of rehab setting versus a performance setting [24:08] Loading the intended tissue [28:10] Where BFR has the most impact on a trained population [37:19] The three domains BFR training tends to work [42:34] The importance of knowing your population Links: Follow Ryan Patrick here: https://www.instagram.com/coachryanpatrick/ (https://www.instagram.com/coachryanpatrick/) Follow Ryan L’Ecuyer here: https://www.instagram.com/lacurefit/ (https://www.instagram.com/lacurefit/) Follow Lance Goyke here: https://www.instagram.com/lancegoyke/ (https://www.instagram.com/lancegoyke/) Follow Keiran Halton here: https://www.instagram.com/halton_performance/ (https://www.instagram.com/halton_performance/) Follow James Cerbie here: https://www.instagram.com/jamescerbie/ (https://www.instagram.com/jamescerbie/) Follow Rebel here: https://www.instagram.com/therebelperformance/ (https://www.instagram.com/therebelperformance/) Check out the article on the Evolution of BFR Exercise: https://tinyurl.com/2p9sj665 (https://tinyurl.com/2p9sj665) Check out the article on BFR training for accessory work: https://tinyurl.com/2p8c7zwa (https://tinyurl.com/2p8c7zwa) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23446173/ (Using knee wraps) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3474903/ (Metabolic stress) http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/articles/mechanisms_of_muscle_hypertrophy.pdf (Three primary mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3474903/ (Motor Unit Recruitment 1) https://jap.physiology.org/content/88/1/61 (Motor Unit Recruitment 2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19253083/ (Motor Unit Recruitment 3) https://www.strongerbyscience.com/emg-amplitude-tell-us-muscle-hypertrophy/ (Motor Unit Recruitment 4) https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052843 (Cellular Swelling) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20150565/ (Modulating Hypertrophy Signaling Pathways 1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17569770/ (Modulating Hypertrophy Signaling Pathways 2) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21900845/ (Modulating Hypertrophy Signaling Pathways 3) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21900845/ (Strength training with BFR) https://jap.physiology.org/content/88/1/61 (Growth hormone release) https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6283&context=etd (Masters Thesis by O’Halloran (2014)) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236580429_Three_Weeks_of_Occlusion_Training_Can_Improve_Strength_and_Power_in_Trained_Athletes (Cook 2013) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22105051/ (Yamanaka (2012)) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24476782/ (Leubbers (2014)) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/258280252_Practical_blood_flow_restriction_training_increases_muscle_hypertrophy_during_a_periodized_resistance_training_programme (Glorious Study) https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ijktr/2/1/2_1_5/_article (Rate of adverse effects) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21360203/ (Study on untrained folks) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16871002/ (Low load BFR) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22982712/ (How to progress

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