Exercises For Restricted Blood Flow For Muscle Growth

According to Ron Brown on Bodyfatguide.com, the main factor responsible for building muscle is the "pump"; that is, pushing more blood into a working muscle than the amount that flows out of it. This can be achieved by lifting heavy weights for a high number of nonstop repetitions, but many people are now using restricted blood flow techniques to achieve the same effect.

Restricting Blood Flow

This technique is used by bodybuilders to increase muscle mass quickly, says Jim Kelly on the Medical News Today website. By applying a cuff, or restrictive band, around the muscle you are working, you can reduce the amount of blood that flows out of the muscle, therefore increasing the production of muscle protein for faster growth. This technique also has proved successful with the elderly, who naturally lose muscle mass and often find it difficult to lift the heavy weights required to achieve muscle growth. A study by the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that temporarily restricting blood flow using inflatable cuffs, while doing resistance exercises with light to moderate weights, boosted muscle mass in men with an average age of 70. According to the researchers, this technique could also work if you are recovering from surgery or an injury.

Resistance Exercises

Working out with restricted blood flow is also known as occlusion training. To do it, you will need the specially designed KAATSU apparatus -- which is quite expensive -- or elasticated support bands placed around the working muscle, says ABCbodybuilding.com. To determine the weight you should be lifting while working in the occlusion range of 20 to 50 percent, you need to calculate your one-rep minimum and maximum. If, for example, 100 lbs. is the heaviest weight you can leg-press, your minimum occlusion training weight will be 100 x 0.2, or 20 lbs. Your maximum weight will be 100 x 0.5, 50 lbs. ABCbodybuilding.com recommends doing four sets of 30 reps, then three lots of four sets of 15 reps. Rest for between 30 seconds and one minute between sets, but don't remove the restrictive device.

KAATSU Walking

KAATSU walking involves walking at a slow pace with restricted venous blood flow in the leg muscles -- that is, blood flowing out of the muscles and back to your heart -- causing it to pool in the working muscles. The American Heart Association highlights a study by the University of Japan in which a group of people ages 60 to 78 years old performed daily KAATSU, walking for six weeks. At the end of this period, the size and strength of their leg muscles had increased significantly.

Cycling With Restricted Blood Flow

A study of blood flow restriction in cyclists, reported in the "Journal of Sports Science and Medicine," revealed results similar to the KAATSU walking study -- only this time, the subjects were men with an average age of 23. The group that trained with restricted blood flow cycled three days a week for 15 minutes per session at 40 percent of their maximum. Meanwhile, the group that had no restrictions on blood flow cycled at the same intensity and frequency, but for 45 minutes per session. After eight weeks, muscle size increased by up to 5 percent, and muscle strength improved by about 7 percent in the restricted-flow group. No changes in size or strength of muscle were noted in the control group.