Short-Term Blood Flow Restriction Increases Power Output and Bar Velocity During the Bench Press

Abstract

Wilk, M, Krzysztofik, M, Filip, A, Zajac, A, Bogdanis, GC, and Lockie, RG. Short-term blood flow restriction increases power output and bar velocity during the bench press. J Strength Cond Res 36(8): 2082–2088, 2022—This study examined the effect of blood flow restriction (BFR) with 2 different types of cuffs on peak power output (PP), mean power output (MP), peak bar velocity (PV), and mean bar velocity (MV) in the bench press exercise (BP). Fourteen healthy strength-trained male athletes (age = 27.6 ± 3.5 years; body mass = 84.1 ± 8.0 kg; height = 175.8 ± 6.7 cm; BP 1 repetition maximum [RM] = 138.6 ± 17.8 kg) performed 3 different testing protocols as follows: without BFR (NO-BFR), BFR with a narrow cuff (BFRNARROW), and BFR with a wide cuff (BFRWIDE) in a randomized crossover design. During all sessions, subjects performed one set of 3 repetitions of the BP exercise using 70% 1RM. Cuff pressure was set to approximately 90% full arterial occlusion pressure of the upper limb at rest. Analyses of variance showed an increase in PP (by 21%, p < 0.01; effect size [ES] = 1.67), MP (by 16%, p < 0.01; ES = 0.93), PV (by 22%, p < 0.01; ES = 1.79), and MV (by 21%, p < 0.01; ES = 1.36) during BFRWIDE compared with NO-BFR and a significant increase in PP (by 15%, p < 0.01; ES = 1.07), MP (by 17%, p < 0.01; ES = 0.78), PV (by 18%, p < 0.01; ES = 1.65), and MV (by 13% p < 0.01; ES = 1.00) during BFRWIDE compared with BFRNARROW. There were no significant differences in any of the variable between NO-BFR and BFRNARROW. The results of the study indicate that short-term BFR training increases power output and bar velocity during the BP exercise. However, only BFRWIDE significantly influenced bar velocity and power output, which indicates that the width of the cuff is a critical factor determining acute exercise adaptation during BFR resistance training.

Does Post-Activation Performance Enhancement Occur during the Bench Press Exercise under Blood Flow Restriction?

“…However, based on the direct analysis of changes between particular sets, significant differences were observed in result of set 3-set 2 between CONT and BFR conditions. Furthermore, the results of the present study show significant increases in power output and bar velocity during the BP exercise for the BFR condition compared to the CONT condition, which confirms previous results [23].…”

“…The increased metabolic stress following exercise with BFR results from the accumulation of metabolic products of physical activity in the part of the limb that is restricted from blood flow [24,39]. However, the increase in metabolic stress following exercise with BFR probably does not refer to short-term occlusion [23], as has been conducted in the present study. The occlusion applied in our experiment lasted only a few seconds (3 repetitions; maximal tempo of movement; ~5 s) during each set of the BP exercise.…”

“…However, most studies with BFR relate to chronic adaptive changes [34][35][36]. Only the study by Wilk et al [23] analyzed acute changes in power output and bar velocity between exercises performed without and under BFR. The study of Wilk et al [23] showed that short-term and high-pressure BFR increased power output and bar velocity during the BP compared to exercise without BFR.…”

“…The average value was then used to set the cuff pressure for the exercise protocol. The pressure of the cuff for BFR condition was set to~90% of full AOP (152 mmHg ± 11.4 for BFR) [23]. The level of vascular restriction was controlled by a handheld Edan SD3 Doppler (Edan Instruments, Shenzen, China).…”

“…The level of vascular restriction was controlled by a handheld Edan SD3 Doppler (Edan Instruments, Shenzen, China). During the BFR condition, the restriction was set immediately before the onset of exercise and released following the completion of the third repetition [23].…”