My Take on Occlusion Training

Over the past year or so, I have done a reasonable amount of reading on the topic of occlusion training. The basic idea is that muscular hypertrophy can result from restricting blood flow to a particular body part and performing low-weight repititions. This idea originated in Japan, where researchers use a specialized device called a Kaatsu to control exactly how much pressure was applied to the body part being trained. Unfortunately, the Kaatsu devices are not available to the common public, so I have attempted to replicate their technique using what I do have available: a couple of blood pressure cuffs. This allows me to set the pressures typically used in these types of studies (between 120 - 200 mm HG). The literature on this topic is quite amazing, as most research shows significant increases in muscle cross-sectional area, muscular strength, and levels of blood growth hormone (all good things for bodybuilders). One of the biggest benefits is that this type of training can be done multiple times a week since the low weights used do not tax the central nervous system very heavily. A couple of recent studies can be found here and here.

The growing consensus is that for the body part being trained, the weight should be set to 20-50% of your 1RM. The muscle should stay partially occluded (150mm HG is fairly constrictive pressure, but not "fully" occluded) throughout the sets, but the pressure should be released after no more than 5 - 10 minutes. The first set is fairly easy, and typically 30 repititions are done. Then, with about 30 - 60 seconds of rest, 3 additional sets are done of around 15-20 reps. These become increasingly painful as the occlusion continues and frankly is unlike any other type of pain I have experienced during weightlifting. However, the relief when the pressure is released feels amazing. Here are a couple of pics of how I use occlusion training for my calves (I don't use any weight, just toe raises):




I do this 4 times a week, usually after walking my dogs in the morning. I have tried it on a few other bodyparts, but mostly I only do that when I have no other options for training, such as when I travel for conferences. The few studies that have looked at how this type of training compares to traditional heavy weights suggests that I won't be stopping the heavy training any time soon, but that occlusion training does have its place. As to whether it has improved my calves...I won't know until I diet down again! But my calves are so poor (and have been since I started bodybuilding) that any type of growth would be a major improvement.

I love this type of outside-of-the-box thinking for improving as a bodybuilder! Keep the great scientific work coming!