Blood Flow Resistance Training

If you've seen someone with an elastic band or cuff around their arm or leg while working out, then you've seen it without realizing it. BFRT is starting to catch waves in the realm of strength and conditioning and rehabilitation realms.  

Blood Flow Restriction Training is a training method involving the use of cuffs or wraps placed around a limb during exercise, to maintain arterial inflow to the muscle while preventing venous return. BFRT can be used with resistance training, or with other modalities, including walking.  

Resistance training with BFRT at low loads (20 – 30% of 1RM) appear to increase strength and muscular size. BFRT programs appear to increase strength more than resistance training without BFRT when using matched (low) relative loads but are either similar in efficacy or slightly less effective than conventional resistance training with unmatched (high) relative loads.

BFRT has shown to improve strength and size in the quadriceps and hamstrings in pre-operative anterior cruciate ligament surgery, as well as keeping the strength and size of the quadriceps and hamstrings post operative surgery.