Continuous, partial arterial blood flow restriction during resistance exercise with loads of <50% 1-RM is effective for increasing muscle strength and hypertrophy.
Systematic Review
Blood flow restricted exercise training allows for low-intensity exercise to elicit skeletal muscle hypertrophy and increase muscular strength.
B lood flow restricted (BFR) exercise training, coined "KAATSU Training", was first made available for public use in Japan. The novelty of BFR resistance exercise is that relatively low exercise intensities (e.g. 20% of one-repetition maximum, 1-RM) can be utilized to elicit skeletal muscle hypertrophy and increase muscular strength. Even low-intensity aerobic exercise (e.g. walking, cycling), when combined with blood flow restriction, may be effective for increasing strength and hypertrophy. 2 Thus, BFR exercise has a wide range of practical applications, from performance enhancement in athletes to combating muscle atrophy in clinical populations.
Fahs et al. (Sun,) conducted a systematic review in Muscle hypertrophy and strength. Blood flow restricted (BFR) resistance exercise vs. High-load resistance exercise or non-BFR exercise was evaluated on Muscular strength and hypertrophy. Continuous, partial arterial blood flow restriction during resistance exercise with loads of <50% 1-RM is effective for increasing muscle strength and hypertrophy.
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