Objective To examine whether graded arterial occlusion pressure (AOP) during low-load isokinetic exercise differentially modulates neuromuscular activation, metabolic stress, and perceptual strain, and to identify an occlusion level that maximizes stimulus while minimizing perceived burden. Methods Twelve healthy young men (21.3 ± 1.6 years) completed four randomized, counterbalanced sessions under 0%, 60%, 70%, and 80% AOP. During each session, isokinetic knee extension/flexion was performed at a low load under the assigned occlusion condition. Muscle activation was quantified using surface EMG and expressed as %EMGmax. Capillary blood lactate (BLa) was assessed at baseline and during recovery, and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was recorded immediately after exercise. Results Occlusion pressure produced a clear dose–response pattern in metabolic stress and neuromuscular demand. Both %EMGmax and BLa increased with higher AOP, with the most consistent elevations occurring at ≥70% AOP (p 0.05). Importantly, raising occlusion from 70% to 80% AOP did not provide additional gains in %EMGmax, whereas RPE increased significantly at 80% AOP compared with 70% AOP (p 0.05). Conclusion Low-load isokinetic exercise performed at 70% AOP elicits robust neuromuscular and metabolic stimulation without additional gains relative to 80% AOP while imposing a substantially lower perceptual load. These findings support 70% AOP as a practical “compromise point” for acute BFRT prescription when balancing training stimulus and tolerability.
Xia et al. (Wed,) studied this question.