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Practical blood flow restriction training increases muscle hypertrophy during a periodized resistance training programme
Author(s) -
Lowery Ryan P.,
Joy Jordan M.,
Loenneke Jeremy P.,
Souza Eduardo O.,
Machado Marco,
Dudeck Joshua E.,
Wilson Jacob M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
clinical physiology and functional imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.608
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1475-097X
pISSN - 1475-0961
DOI - 10.1111/cpf.12099
Subject(s) - medicine , muscle hypertrophy , blood flow restriction , resistance training , crossover study , blood flow , cardiology , urology , pathology , placebo , alternative medicine
Summary Background Resistance training in combination with practical blood flow restriction ( pBFR ) is thought to stimulate muscle hypertrophy by increasing muscle activation and muscle swelling. Most previous studies used the KAATSU device; however, little long‐term research has been completed using pBFR . Objective To investigate the effects of pBFR on muscle hypertrophy. Methods Twenty college‐aged male participants with a minimum of 1 year of resistance training experience were recruited for this study. Our study consisted of a randomized, crossover protocol consisting of individuals either using pBFR for the elbow flexors during the first 4 weeks ( BFR ‐ HI ) or the second 4 weeks ( HI ‐ BFR ) of an 8‐week resistance training programme. Direct ultrasound‐determined bicep muscle thickness was assessed collectively at baseline and at the end of weeks 4 and 8. Results There were no differences in muscle thickness between groups at baseline ( P = 0·52). There were time ( P <0·01, ES = 0·99) but no condition by time effects ( P = 0·58, ES = 0·80) for muscle thickness in which the combined values of both groups increased on average from week 0 (3·66 ± 0·06) to week 4 (3·95 ± 0·05) to week 8 (4·11 ± 0·07). However, both the BFR ‐ HI and HI ‐ BFR increased significantly from baseline to week 4 (6·9% and 8·6%, P <0·01) and from weeks 4 to 8 (4·1%, 4·0%, P <0·01), respectively. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that pBFR can stimulate muscle hypertrophy to the same degree to that of high‐intensity resistance training.