

Lifting Heavy Under BFR: Potential Benefits and Emerging Literature with Dr. Lee Winchester
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On today’s episode, we welcome Dr. Lee Winchester (PhD, Physiology and Biophysics). Lee is a professor in the exercise physiology department at the University of Alabama - his lab has particular interest in the alterations to immune cell function and vascular/muscular adaptations to resistance training.
He's spent the past several years exploring the potential merit to training at high loads under blood flow restriction. In this episode, we discuss the theoretical mechanisms behind favorable adaptations from high load BFR training, what Lee has observed from his lab, and where he sees research headed in this space.
Some of the specific topics of this discussion include:
- Hypertrophy stimuli: how heavy load BFR training may (big caveat) offer a unique stimulus by capturing the upper end range of each stimuli's benefit (mechanical tension and metabolic stress)
- Mechanotransduction: the cellular and molecular responses to resistance training (and where BFR fits into the picture)
- Cellular swelling from blood flow restriction
- Results from two separate high-load BFR studies
References
Acute Responses to High-Intensity Back Squats with Bilateral Blood Flow Restriction
Contact: steven@saga.fitness
Disclaimer: This episode and all information on SAGA’s podcast, website, and other platforms is for informational or educational purposes only, and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultations with healthcare professionals.