JHR May 2009 - Blood Occlusion Training

[Venom]

We have published numerous articles here which have literally revolutionized the way that bodybuilders view optimal nutrition, training, and supplementation.

I am proud to say...this will be another classic. I can honestly say the principles discussed in this article have completely changed the way that I train.

So here it is: how to apply blood occlusion training to your program, brought to you by our very own, Jeremy Loenneke (AKA willwork4andro).

Enjoy!


http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/ABCocclusionpaper.pdf

[HardCory]

Great read as always, this is something I'm definitely going to implement into my training. One question that has crossed my mind is DOMS after occlussion training, how does it compare to training regularly?

[will-work4andro]

thanks guys...i really hope everybody enjoys it...occlusion is something i'm very passionate about and i truly believe it to be the future of training...it has helped me tremendously.

[klosey]

thanks guys...i really hope everybody enjoys it...occlusion is something i'm very passionate about and i truly believe it to be the future of training...it has helped me tremendously.

Excellent stuff bro, one thing though occluded Dips? ooooouch!!

[will-work4andro]

Great read as always, this is something I'm definitely going to implement into my training. One question that has crossed my mind is DOMS after occlussion training, how does it compare to training regularly?

i think DOMS is probably a little more after occlusion than regular training...at least that's been my experience

[Venom]

I've occluded around my arms for delts and it works great. I thought I was occluding my delts; but maybe I was just occluding my arms and using my delts more? Have to try this for chest and back...

[Venom]

Great read as always, this is something I'm definitely going to implement into my training. One question that has crossed my mind is DOMS after occlussion training, how does it compare to training regularly?

Studies so far don't show a significant increase in muscle damage from occlusion training. Which is a huge advantage. FYI DOMS is one of the measures of muscle damage.

[Commander]

Nice read, that is awesome that you have an article in JHR!

If one wanted to try without wraps, do you think it would be possible to perform leg extensions while consciously flexing more than normal to provide some occlusion. And between sets, you would keep the quad flexed to prevent normal blood flow? Just curious. I am intrigued by the idea of getting a better horomonal release to assist with upper body hypertrophy.

[Venom]

Sure Jer will add but some comments...

Occlusion does not occur with static contraction unless you are at 60% + max. So you could hold something statically, at 60% max between sets. Also, you could try stretching between sets. I do this a lot and it is really similar to the occlusion feeling, and I can barely lift anything.

[will-work4andro]

Studies so far don't show a significant increase in muscle damage from occlusion training. Which is a huge advantage. FYI DOMS is one of the measures of muscle damage.

i've honestly never thought of DOMS as being a marker for muscle damage...as Gabe said, there have been no increases in known markers for muscle damage.

[icehawk]

The idea that during the bench press, the triceps would fatigue fast, resulting in a higher recruitment of the chest to pick up the load.

I'm not sure if I agree with this statement. The reason being is that you could also fatigue the triceps with an isolation exercise before, but this would likely hinder your bench press performance. More specifically, your triceps would fail before your chest and you would have to stop the movement. Therefore, you would actually have a weaker recruitment of the chest since you couldn't reach as much muscular stress as you could with fresh triceps.

That being said, this was a really good read and I definitely want to get some elbow and knee wraps and try it myself!

[Venom]

I thought of that, too icehawk...I need to try it out...

[will-work4andro]

the idea is that you would likely use less resistance with the occlusive stimulus, thus occlusion would provide you with the "pre fatigue" without the mechanical stress on the joint.

[Venom]

have u tried it for chest or back, jer?

[will-work4andro]

have u tried it for chest or back, jer?

no i haven't...not direct occlusion...i prefer the indirect method...the 50% then follow it with occluded legs...i feel the hormone response is much greater that way.

[Commander]

Andro,
did you see this?
http://www.musculardevelopment.com/content/view/1563/51/1/3/

[Ben2285]

Excellent Job Jer! Big fan of the article, I was looking for a thorough review like this!

I have always wondered this with occlusion though:

What about raising intensity? Surely adaptation will take place in response to occlusion training, but after the initial stressor wouldn't you need to continue to increase weight to keep seeing benefit? Basically just like the need of progressive overload in normal resistance training.

[will-work4andro]

Excellent Job Jer! Big fan of the article, I was looking for a thorough review like this!

I have always wondered this with occlusion though:

What about raising intensity? Surely adaptation will take place in response to occlusion training, but after the initial stressor wouldn't you need to continue to increase weight to keep seeing benefit? Basically just like the need of progressive overload in normal resistance training.

if you stick with training with the percentages i think the progression would take care of its self. for instance, if you are training squat month#1 and your max is around 200...then when you would use occlusion with squat, you would be working with 60 pounds if you were using 30% 1RM...now lets say a couple months later your squat is up to 250...now you would use 75 pounds...so in a way you have progressed.

if you are referring to solely training with occlusion and progression, without the inclusion of heavy resistance training...then i think yes, you would slightly increase the weight overtime...much of the research into training progression is done with increasing the amount of pressure used, but using elastic knee wraps, it would be hard to gauge that...i would say, very slow, slight adjustments in weight over months...did that answer the question?

[Ben2285]

if you stick with training with the percentages i think the progression would take care of its self. for instance, if you are training squat month#1 and your max is around 200...then when you would use occlusion with squat, you would be working with 60 pounds if you were using 30% 1RM...now lets say a couple months later your squat is up to 250...now you would use 75 pounds...so in a way you have progressed.

if you are referring to solely training with occlusion and progression, without the inclusion of heavy resistance training...then i think yes, you would slightly increase the weight overtime...much of the research into training progression is done with increasing the amount of pressure used, but using elastic knee wraps, it would be hard to gauge that...i would say, very slow, slight adjustments in weight over months...did that answer the question?

Answered it and then some, thanks

[BlueFlameEyes]

Hey guys, long time no post... I'm confused by a couple things in this article/thread.

The occlusion training method is based on using 20-50% of your 1 rep max, for recommended sets of 30/15/15/15... This doesn't sound like very low intensity to me. What percentage of your max would you normally do high rep sets with? I don't work with max at all, but I couldn't imagine using anywhere close to half of your max for a set of 15 let alone 30 reps.

Also, with no apparent increase of DOMS, how does this increase muscle growth? A good healthy muscle pain is the main sign of tearing muscle fibers, which is the only way a muscle grows.

This sounds like mostly a good shock technique to overcome a plateau, rather than a regular method of training. Any thoughts?

-Andy

[will-work4andro]

Hey guys, long time no post... I'm confused by a couple things in this article/thread.

The occlusion training method is based on using 20-50% of your 1 rep max, for recommended sets of 30/15/15/15... This doesn't sound like very low intensity to me. What percentage of your max would you normally do high rep sets with? I don't work with max at all, but I couldn't imagine using anywhere close to half of your max for a set of 15 let alone 30 reps.

Also, with no apparent increase of DOMS, how does this increase muscle growth? A good healthy muscle pain is the main sign of tearing muscle fibers, which is the only way a muscle grows.

This sounds like mostly a good shock technique to overcome a plateau, rather than a regular method of training. Any thoughts?

-Andy

20% of 1RM is extremely low intensity...high reps are inherently low intensity...also, occlusion has been shown to increase DOMS, but DOMS is not necessary for muscle growth...this is not a shock technique...this is a very legit way to increase muscle growth...and in fact, some good stuff is going to be coming out on this in the near future...as in how occlusion training can increase protein synthesis in the elderly, despite the fact that they didn't increase with heavy resistance training...make no mistake about it...this is not a gimmick...this is not a "shock" technique, this is something to get on board with right now.