Blood Flow Restriction as a Shortcut to Muscle Growth

Dr Glenn McConell chats with Associate Professor Jeremy Loenneke from the University of Mississippi, USA. He is an expert on resistance training and in particular the effect of blood flow restriction (BFR) on muscle hypertrophy and strength. He is finding that you can get similar increases in hypertrophy, and close to similar increases in strength, by conducting low load resistance training with blood flow restriction compared with high load resistance training. Surprisingly, he is also finding that there can be dissociations between increases in strength and increases in hypertrophy when undertake resistance training. We also discussed other interesting research he has been undertaking. I was actually blown away by some of his findings. A very interesting, long chat. Twitter: @jploenneke
0:00. Introduction and how Jeremy got into exercise research
4:20. How to utilize resistance training for hypertrophy vs strength
9:45. Dissociations between hypertrophy and strength with resistance training
15:35. Why changes in muscle size may not effect strength
17:55. Specificity of training and strength
19:35. What is blood flow restriction (BFR) and why do it?
21:28. BFR and aerobic/endurance exercise
23:25. The history of BFR and exercise research
27:45. How much pressure is applied during BFR to reduce the blood flow?
31:50. Discomfort from BFR
34:15. % of 1RM to use during BFR
35:22. Comparing resistance training with and without BFR
37:58. BFR and rehabilitation
41:00. Using BFR to train harder?
43:57. How common is BFR?
45:30. Do some use BFR to not have to train as hard?
46:41. What does BFR feel like? Uncomfortable?
48:06. Mechanisms that BFR during exercise has its effects
52:43. BFR, resistance training and muscle fibre recruitment
56:24. Hypoalgesia: reduced pain during and after exercise
1:01:31. Safety issues and BFR? Muscle damage, blood clots, blood pressure?
1:07:52. Relationship between muscle mass and strength
1:09:44. Hormonal responses to BFR and resistance training
1:11:50. Muscle signaling with BFR and resistance training
1:13:50. Protein synthesis with BFR and resistance training
1:14:40. Endurance exercise and BFR
1:18:00. Ischemia preconditioning
1:20:50. Cost of BFR systems etc
1:25:20. Effects of BFR on endothelium dysfunction or veins?
1:28:38. Any sex differences with BFR and resistance training
1:32:50. Strength training one arm affects the other arm
1:39:08. Do men and women have the same strength per muscle size?
1:43:56. Hand grip in kids as a biomarker
1:46:24. Career challenges etc
1:50:50. Takeaway messages
1:54:43. Outro (9 seconds)
Inside Exercise brings to you the who's who of research in exercise metabolism, exercise physiology and exercise’s effects on health. With scientific rigor, these researchers discuss popular exercise topics while providing practical strategies for all.
The interviewer, Emeritus Professor Glenn McConell, has an international research profile following 30 years of Exercise Metabolism research experience while at The University of Melbourne, Ball State University, Monash University, the University of Copenhagen and Victoria University.
He has published over 120 peer reviewed journal articles and recently edited an Exercise Metabolism eBook written by world experts on 17 different topics (https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-94305-9).
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Not medical advice