# Occlusion Training



## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

... any of you lot tried it?

Wasn't really something I've been keen on in the past but today we thought we'd mix things up a bit.

All I have to say is that was some SERIOUS pain.

Genuinely never felt pain like this in my life. I think I cried a little during leg extensions. After you finish a set, imagine that pain/burn you usually get... well, that stays. That doesn't subside.... and it gets worse with every set.

Freakin' disgusting pump. Feels like your limbs are about to fall off!


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## ha032742 (Jan 14, 2015)

What's the theory behind occlusion training, Kristina? Is it forcing anaerobic energy production by stopping oxygenated blood reaching the muscles?


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## Stephen9069 (Dec 11, 2013)

Never heard of it what is it ?


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## mal (Dec 31, 2009)

I see you put straps on the mus your hitting..as long as it hurts its all good..


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## Pancake' (Aug 30, 2012)

Looking Good Kristina nice leggings + bicep vein btw. :lol: haha!! Never heard of it before meself? am guessing it's a form of training, where you keep resistance bands applied to the muscle your working or something a like though? just complete guess, hence wearing bands on Arms etc whilst curling, don't know what is Occlusion Training about like?


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## ha032742 (Jan 14, 2015)

From the name I'm guessing it's preventing blood reaching the muscle groups distal to the band, thereby preventing oxygen reaching the muscle for aerobic respiration (once all the oxygenated blood in that area already has been used up) and the breakdown of lactic acid?


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## Dan94 (Dec 29, 2013)

In for this, interesting


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## jammie2013 (Nov 14, 2013)

ha032742 said:


> From the name I'm guessing it's preventing blood reaching the muscle groups distal to the band, thereby preventing oxygen reaching the muscle for aerobic respiration (once all the oxygenated blood in that area already has been used up) and the breakdown of lactic acid?


I'm studying the effects of it in 10 males now, will post data here when finished


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## saxondale (Nov 11, 2012)

in too


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## jammie2013 (Nov 14, 2013)

Method of action seems to be multifactorial:

Increased type II fibre recruitment due to hypoxia

Increased build up of metabolic byproducts (lactic/h+ ions)

Cellular swelling


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

Yep it's a pretty interesting concept and has shown some interesting results in various studies..

Neuromuscular adaptations in human muscle following low intensity resistance training with vascular occlusion - Springer

The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application t... : The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research

http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/15519780/396338585/name/2010-revisao.pdf

The Use of Occlusion Training to Produce Muscle Hypertrophy : Strength & Conditioning Journal

Here's a decent explanation of it:

In a sport where the majority of our time is spent figuring out how to increase blood flow, blocking it seems backward. How could that possibly that be beneficial? The short answer is that you should not completely restrict blood flow.1 That's important to remember, so take a second to let it settle in.

Occlusion training involves wrapping a device like a pressure cuff or knee wraps around the top of a limb at a pressure sufficient to occlude, or obstruct, blood flow to the veins, but not the arteries.2,3 This way, the arteries continue to deliver blood to the limb, and the blood pools in the limb as the veins struggle to take it back to the heart.

Bodybuilding.com - Ask The Muscle Prof: What's The Deal With Occlusion Training?


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

jammie2013 said:


> I'm studying the effects of it in 10 males now, will post data here when finished


Oh wow interesting... sorry what do you do exactly?


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## jammie2013 (Nov 14, 2013)

Kristina said:


> Oh wow interesting... sorry what do you do exactly?


University research

10 males, one leg designated BFR using the knee wrap tightness scale (7/10 tightness), other leg designated control

BFR utilises 30RM, control (traditional hypertrophy training/THT) utilises 12RM

6 week duration (I know, not ideal)

BFR = 30 reps/15 reps/15 reps w/15s rest between sets

THT 3 work sets to failure with 70% 1RM, 2 minutes rest between sets

RM tested at the midpoint to allow strength progression


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## Verno (Apr 18, 2008)

jammie2013 said:


> University research
> 
> 10 males, one leg designated BFR using the knee wrap tightness scale (7/10 tightness), other leg designated control
> 
> ...


Yeah I thought as much ..... :confused1:


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## jammie2013 (Nov 14, 2013)

Verno said:


> Yeah I thought as much ..... :confused1:


1 leg trained light and wrapped

1 leg trained moderately heavy and not wrapped

See what we're left with after 6 weeks!


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## Verno (Apr 18, 2008)

jammie2013 said:


> 1 leg trained light and wrapped
> 
> 1 leg trained moderately heavy and not wrapped
> 
> See what we're left with after 6 weeks!


Oh that's easy, dudes walking round in circles 

Srs though v interested in this.


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## jammie2013 (Nov 14, 2013)

Verno said:


> Oh that's easy, dudes walking round in circles
> 
> Srs though v interested in this.


I got into BFR merely from a selfish standpoint. Injured and wanted to make gains, how can I do it?

Snowballed from there.


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## Verno (Apr 18, 2008)

If your posting results here then am in.

@Kristina Do you think youll implement this full time?


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

Verno said:


> If your posting results here then am in.
> 
> @Kristina Do you think youll implement this full time?


I'll definitely be doing this more but not every workout; perhaps once per week.


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

jammie2013 said:


> I got into BFR merely from a selfish standpoint. Injured and wanted to make gains, how can I do it?
> 
> Snowballed from there.


Good stuff.

Yes please post up in this thread when you make the evaluations!


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## Verno (Apr 18, 2008)

Subbed,Nothing to do with kristina's pics honest :innocent:


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## Pinky (Sep 3, 2014)

Kristina said:


> I'll definitely be doing this more but not every workout; perhaps once per week.


Let me know what the DOMS is like haha, if its not to bad i might give it a go on my biceps and quads  x


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

TommyBananas said:


> kristina i am disappoint =P


Haha. NOTHING stands in the way of my strength/power training... this was a fun experiment!


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

TommyBananas said:


> I don't even really have an opinion of it; lol. Just.. it seems unnecessary though. I was reading through some of Brad Schoenfelds stuff on it, he did a T-nation articlee that said it may be good, but I think hes changed his opinion lately, not sure - hard to find the info I was looking for


Yeah... I was never really interested in it, sort of for the same reasons... but interestingly, we wanted to experiment and have some fun, and have come to the conclusion that is definitely has its merits.

However, I certainly don't think it's the next best thing since sliced bread, but it's an interesting concept that is going to be VERY useful for me now that I've tried it out.

I'll explain why; there are those times when you might need/want to go very light for whatever reason. With this... there's no need to pump out high rep sets. There is much less volume of work but great response, stimulation/activation and contraction. Then there are deload periods... this is going to be useful. Also, perhaps times you need to do a quick session; the time you can save with this is insane.

Overall, I think it's a good tool to have in the toolbox. 

Will definitely be interested to see any of that information you find, seeing as there are quite a few positive studies about it. I'm no expert but I'm very curious by nature!


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## musclemate (Sep 14, 2012)

Yeah, i do occlusion training. I love it especially for my arms. The key to wrap tight enough to restrict blood flow out of the limb but not too tight that you cut off your circulation.

In addition you use about 50%-60% of the weight you would normally use.

Freaky awesome pumps and my arms are growing much quicker. Downside it is a bit painful when you remove the wraps.


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## spod (Mar 25, 2010)

My...erm...friend wants to know if this method...erm...increases growth on all appendages...? :whistling:


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

spod said:


> My...erm...friend wants to know if this method...erm...increases growth on all appendages...? :whistling:


Only one way to find out. :lol:


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## ah24 (Jun 25, 2006)

I used it periodically last year as a way of being able to train biceps around my tendinitis.

Handy as weights were v v low. Painful.. Did I get any extra growth? Not sure, but mentally was nice to still feel like I was keeping them 'ticking over' and hopefully preventing any muscle loss..


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## bdcc (Aug 15, 2011)

New piece of research on occlusion training which is interesting.

Blood flow restricted and traditional resistance training performed... - PubMed - NCBI

Abstract

This study investigated the hypertrophic potential of load-matched blood-flow restricted resistance training (BFR) vs free-flow traditional resistance training (low-load TRT) performed to fatigue. Ten healthy young subjects performed unilateral BFR and contralateral low-load TRT elbow flexor dumbbell curl with 40% of one repetition maximum until volitional concentric failure 3 days per week for 6 weeks. Prior to and at 3 (post-3) and 10 (post-10) days post-training, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to estimate elbow flexor muscle volume and muscle water content accumulation through training. Acute changes in muscle thickness following an early vs a late exercise bout were measured with ultrasound to determine muscle swelling during the immediate 0-48?h post-exercise. Total work was threefold lower for BFR compared with low-load TRT (P?<?0.001). Both BRF and low-load TRT increased muscle volume by approximately 12% at post-3 and post-10 (P?<?0.01) with no changes in MRI-determined water content. Training increased muscle thickness during the immediate 48?h post-exercise (P?<?0.001) and to greater extent with BRF (P?<?0.05) in the early training phase. In conclusion, BFR and low-load TRT, when performed to fatigue, produce equal muscle hypertrophy, which may partly rely on transient exercise-induced increases in muscle water content.

---

Cliff notes; same gains in hypertrophy but with a lower overall volume of work completed to get there.


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## nWo (Mar 25, 2014)

Yeah tried this about a year ago on legs for a few sessions. ****ing painful to say the least haha, loved it and did see some quick growth, but I had bad circulation in my legs for months afterwards so I decided not to do it again. Might try it on arms at some point though.

The science behind it, for anyone wondering, is that this style of training has been proven to recruit all types of muscle fibres - from the fastest growing fast twitch fibres to the slow twitch ones - as well as induce both sarcoplasmic and myofibrillar hypertrophy. Among other benefits.


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

I would do this as an excuse to look like the ultimate warrior


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## ohh_danielson (Oct 16, 2013)

Interesting read. You certainly got a good pump out of it!! Very vascular if I do say so.

Tempted to give it a try


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## skipper1987 (May 1, 2013)

Trained legs this way few weeks back before I got injured. Once am training again I will be doing this every other week


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

used this method for a while now on myself and my clients, it is very effective when used correctly


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Kristina said:


> ... any of you lot tried it?
> 
> Wasn't really something I've been keen on in the past but today we thought we'd mix things up a bit.
> 
> ...


Kristina.

Dearest Kristina, on a scale of raw milk to tesco value cheese slices. How natty are you?


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

simonthepieman said:


> Kristina.
> 
> Dearest Kristina, on a scale of raw milk to tesco value cheese slices. How natty are you?


Simon, dearest Simon. Sorry to break it to you but I don't do gear... but thank you for your keen interest! :thumbup1:


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Kristina said:


> Simon, dearest Simon. Sorry to break it to you but I don't do gear... but thank you for your keen interest! 1:


Top work. You have a well balance physique.

I saw the 3dmj guys do this. I can't say I'm in a rush. But keen to see it works


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Kristina said:


> Simon, dearest Simon. Sorry to break it to you but I don't do gear... but thank you for your keen interest! 1:


PS the correct answer was, as natty as the first drops of of milk from a grass fed Japanese free range bovine king


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

simonthepieman said:


> PS the correct answer was, as natty as the first drops of of milk from a grass fed Japanese free range bovine king


Haha! I'll be using that one next time. :lol:

Yeah it's an interesting thing if there's ever a day you need to do something different... I've not seen the 3DMJ video on this actually, I'll check it out!


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## simonthepieman (Jun 11, 2012)

Kristina said:


> Haha! I'll be using that one next time. :lol:
> 
> Yeah it's an interesting thing if there's ever a day you need to do something different... I've not seen the 3DMJ video on this actually, I'll check it out!


bovine queen i meant. obviously bull milk is something different than cow milk :lol:


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## GreenVan (Feb 14, 2015)

Relative newbie here but Ive been interested in occlusion training for a while and am planning on looking at it a bit more. Its a big selling point from the likes of Kelly Starret (flossing) from a mobility perspective - I initially looked at it from trying to recover from tendinopathy (which it did feck all for btw but very little has). I really do think it has merit from a mobility perspective however and can be particularly useful for stretching muscle groups that are either difficult to stretch or that you need to stretch effectively but cant go through a full ROM - ie if you're injured.

The other side of things, if I was competing in a BB contest, this would undoubtedly be part of my pre-stage pump-up routine - ridiculous pumps for obvious reasons.


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