Does blood flow restriction during high-intensity self-paced cycling alter internal and external training loads in endurance athletes?
Blood flow restriction during high-intensity aerobic cycling reduces external work done while maintaining similar internal training loads, leading to higher internal-to-external load ratios.
PURPOSE: This study compared training loads and internal:external load ratios from an aerobic interval session at the highest perceptually sustainable intensity with and without blood flow restriction (BFR). METHODS: On separate days, 14 endurance cyclists/triathletes completed four 4-minute self-paced aerobic cycling intervals at their highest sustainable intensity, with and without BFR (60% of arterial occlusion pressure). Internal training load was quantified using 3 training impulses (TRIMP; Banister, Lucia, and Edwards) and sessional ratings of perceived exertion. External load was assessed using total work done (TWD). Training load ratios between all internal loads were calculated relative to TWD. RESULTS: Lucia TRIMP was lower for the BFR compared with non-BFR session (49 9 vs 53 8 arbitrary units au, P = .020, dz = -0.71). No between-conditions differences were observed for Banister TRIMP (P = .068), Edwards TRIMP (P = .072), and training load in sessional ratings of perceived exertion (P = .134). The TWD was lower for the BFR compared with non-BFR session (223 52 vs 271 58 kJ, P < .001, dz = -1.27). Ratios were greater for the BFR session compared with non-BFR for Lucia TRIMP:TWD (0.229 0.056 vs 0.206 0.056 au, P < .001, dz = 1.21), Edwards TRIMP:TWD (0.396 0.105 vs 0.370 0.088 au, P = .031, dz = 0.66), and training load in sessional ratings of perceived exertion:TWD (1.000 0.266 vs 0.890 0.275 au, P = .044, dz = 0.60), but not Banister TRIMP:TWD (P = .306). CONCLUSIONS: Practitioners should consider both internal and external loads when monitoring BFR exercise to ensure the demands are appropriately captured. These BFR-induced changes were reflected by the Lucia TRIMP:TWD and Edwards TRIMP:TWD ratio, which could be used to monitor aerobic BFR training loads. The Lucia TRIMP:TWD ratio likely represents BFR-induced changes more appropriately compared with ratios involving either Edwards or Banister TRIMP.
Smith et al. (Fri,) studied this question.
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