FITNESS
BODY WORK
HOW HEAVY SHOULD I LIFT WITH BFR?
The primary advantage to BFR is that
you can increase muscle size at very low
intensities. So how heavy should you lift?
Research has shown gains with as little as
20 percent of your 1RM. However, muscle
growth in this case is primarily caused in
the slow-twitch, not fast-twitch, fibers.
One study compared moderate-pressure
BFR with 20, 30, and 40 percent of
subjects' 1RM. They found that fast-
twitch muscle fibers were not maximally
recruited until 40 percent. However, other
research has shown that lifting at 80
percent 1RM compared to 40 percent does
not increase muscle fiber recruitment. In
addition, there is less metabolic stress.
Taking all this into account, BFR for
maximal muscle growth should likely be
performed at approximately 40 and no
more than 50 percent of 1RM. However, if
you are using BFR as a recovery day, then
performing resistance training at 20-30
percent of 1RM will likely still result in ben-
efits in the slow-twitch fibers. This could be
important, as these fibers are often difficult
to hypertrophy.
HAVE YOUR ARMS STOPPED GROWING? ARE YOU STUCK
IN A RUT, DOING THE SAME OLD BICEP EXERCISES OVER
AND OVER AND NOT SEEING RESULTS? If you answered yes,
then give this arm training protocol a try. A fair warning, this is going
to hurt! It is not comfortable… but most things worthwhile are not.
SAMPLE BICEP
& TRICEP WORKOUT
First you want to go through your compound and heavier
movements for the day.
TRICEPS
SET ONE:
30 REPS TRICEP
PUSHDOWNS
PICK A LIGHT WEIGHT
(20-30% 1RM)
REST 45 SECONDS
SET TWO:
PERFORM 15-20 REPS
REST 45 SECONDS
SET THREE:
LIFT UNTIL YOU
REACH MUSCULAR
FAILURE
REST 45
SECONDS
SET FOUR:
LIFT UNTIL YOU
REACH MUSCU-
LAR FAILURE
ARMS
SET ONE:
30 REPS EZ
BAR BICEP CURLS
LOAD UP THE EZ-CURL
BAR WITH 30%
OF YOUR 1RM
REST 45 SECONDS
SET TWO:
PERFORM 15-20 REPS
REST 45 SECONDS
SET THREE:
LIFT UNTIL YOU REACH
MUSCULAR FAILURE
REST 45 SECONDS
SET FOUR:
LIFT UNTIL YOU REACH
MUSCULAR FAILURE
*After completing the set above,
unwrap your arms and let the
blood circulate for 3–5 minutes,
then re-wrap the arms as high
on the biceps as possible and
repeat for Triceps Pushdowns.
JACOB WILSON, PH.D., CSCS
Dr. Jacob Wilson, Ph.D., CSCS*D, is a
professor and director of the skeletal
muscle and sports nutrition laboratory
at the Applied Science and Perfor-
mance Institute in Tampa, Florida.
40 MUSCLE MEMORY
| AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018