Effects of strength training with continuous or intermittent blood flow restriction on the hypertrophy, muscular strength and endurance of men

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of strength training (ST) with continuous or intermittent blood flow restriction (BFR) on the muscle hypertrophy (MH), dynamic muscle strength (DMS), isometric muscle strength (IMS) and localized muscular endurance (LME) of healthy men. Twenty-five men with experience in ST were randomly divided into 3 experimental groups: a) 4 low-load exercises at 20% of the one-repetition maximum (1RM) combined with continuous BFR (LL+CBFR), b) 4 low-load exercises at 20% of 1RM combined with intermittent BFR (LL+IBFR); and c) 4 low-load exercises at 20% of 1RM without BFR (LL). Twelve sessions of ST were performed (twice a week for 6 weeks). There were no differences between groups for all variables (p > 0.05). However, there were significant differences in time for the LME in the triceps pulley only in the LL+CBFR group (p < 0.001) and in the biceps pulley in the groups LL+CBFR, LL+IBFR and LL (p < 0.001, p = 0.002, p = 0.032), respectively, with large magnitudes only for the two forms of the BFR. It can be concluded that continuous or intermittent BFR seems to be a good alternative for the increase of the LME of the upper limbs in single-joint exercises.

Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Exercise on Muscle Endurance and Aerobic Capacity in Different Populations: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…21 articles were excluded, caused not contain complete information or wasn't RCT design. Finally, 19 studies with a total population of N = 429(muscle endurance:217,female 95;aerobic capacity: 212, female 9) were included in the quantitative analysis [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. A detailed description of the selection process can be seen in Fig.…”

“…Neto andDavids et al compared the intermittent LBFR-RT with continuous LBFR-RT, with no difference in enhancing muscle endurance[33, 58]. Neto et al thought that BFR + RT could promote muscle endurance in some populations regardless of the restriction form (continuous or intermittent).…”

Changes in Arterial Stiffness in Response to Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Training: A Narrative Review

“…Another important protocol variation is the implementation of continuous versus intermittent pressure during exercise. When using LOP, both continuous and intermittent BFR provide similar grades of muscle hypertrophy [50,51]. Maintaining cuff pressure during rest intervals increases post-exercise release of noradrenaline and is associated with a heightened brachial blood pressure increase [37].…”

Respuestas perceptuales a la aplicación de restricción de flujo sanguíneo en diferentes programas de ejercicio. Una revisión sistemática.

“…Aunque la mayoría aplican restricción continua, hay autores que optan por la intermitente 25,26,35,40 o no lo especifican 27,30,45,46,48 . Esto supone una nueva limitación para el estudio pues se ha observado que oclusiones continuas pueden generar mayor estrés metabólico con el consiguiente empeoramiento de en las sensaciones perceptuales 68 .…”