Practical Guide to BFR Training

Philip Pape 0:01

If you've been curious about BFR training but aren't sure exactly how to implement it , or maybe you've tried using blood flow restriction but haven't seen the muscle building results you expected . Today's episode is for you , because I am breaking down exactly how to incorporate BFR training into your program for maximum muscle growth , from selecting the right exercises and equipment to programming it alongside your heavy training . You'll learn why so many lifters get subpar results from BFR and , more importantly , how to avoid those mistakes . Whether you're dealing with an injury , looking to add training volume without beating up your joints , or just want another tool in your muscle building toolbox , this episode will show you exactly how to make BFR training work for you . You exactly how to make BFR training work for you . Welcome to Wits and Weights , the show that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart , efficient systems to achieve your dream physique . I'm your host , philip Pape . I recently had BFR expert Nick Colosi on the show this was a few weeks back , episode 235 , to discuss the science behind blood flow restriction training , and everybody really loved the episode . The response was incredible . It's not something I had talked about before and many of you wanted to learn more about exactly how to implement BFR into your own training . We kind of teased you here and there in the conversation with Nick , but today I wanted to give you exactly that a complete , practical guide to using BFR training for maximum muscle growth . If you are already lifting weights . We'll explore everything from proper setup and exercise selection to how to program it alongside your regular training . Because that's what it is it is a compliment . It is not intended to replace your primary lifting . Plus , I'm going to share the biggest mistakes that I see lifters make with BFR and , of course , how to avoid them . And to go along with today's episode , I've put together a free , comprehensive , downloadable guide called Blood Flow Restriction Training . Just for you , it includes detailed protocols , exercise examples , programming templates that you can start using right away . To get your free copy , just click the link in the show notes or go to witsandweightscom slash free . Again , that's a free BFR training guide . There's a link in the show notes or you could always go to witsandweightscom slash free . Find it there , along with a ton of other guides that keeps getting expanded over the years that I add to it .

Philip Pape 2:21

All right , let's break down the BFR training into four segments today . First , I'm going to quickly recap what are we talking about ? What is BFR ? Why does it work ? Especially if you missed the interview with Nick , of course I'm going to link that episode in the show notes so you can go and listen to that . Second , I'm going to go over the proper setup and execution , the technical details that you have to get right when you are using these . I've been using them personally for about three years , so I have quite a bit of experience . Third , I'll share the common mistakes the most common mistakes that I see lifters make with BFR and how to avoid them . And then , finally , I'm going to dig into some of the programming so that you can incorporate BFR systematically into your existing routine . All right , let's start with a quick refresher For those who might have missed my interview with Nick or just want some more details on how this works .

Philip Pape 3:07

Bfr training blood flow restriction training involves using specialized cuffs . There are bands that you can tighten around your limbs , but I don't recommend them because they are hard to get the right pressure . So usually you want some sort of cuffs , and there are multiple brands on the market . I'm going to tell you which one I use , and the idea is those cuffs partially restrict blood flow , while you're then able to exercise with much lighter weights . And I do mean much lighter to the point where if you've got an ego , you tend to be a little bit embarrassed when somebody sees you hammer curling . You know 20 pounders . I'm talking to guys you know my size who are used to curling . You know 50 , 60 , 70 pounds in an arm . You go way down from that . So wherever you normally lift , it's going to be a small fraction of that because of the limb occlusion is what it's called 20 to 30% of your one rep max . If you need numbers Again , you might be thinking like how is it possible to then build muscle with such light weights ?

Philip Pape 4:02

You talk all about heavy lifting and lower rep ranges and you talk about strength . You know building strength . So here's where it gets interesting , because I think this is all consistent with what we know about mechanical tension , lifting heavy training close to failure and by close I mean two to three reps or more from failure . We don't often have to go all the way to failure , but here's how it works . From failure . We don't often have to go all the way to failure , but here's how it works by restricting blood flow while keeping the weight low , we create metabolic stress in the muscle far beyond what you would get without that restriction . And then this triggers many of the same muscle building signals you'd get from heavy lifting , but without say the joint stress and the central nervous system fatigue . Now , some of those things are beneficial , not necessarily joint stress per se , but central nervous system fatigue , neuromuscular adaptation all of these are important for heavy lifting , which is why I never tell you to replace heavy lifting with this at all , and Nick didn't either when I interviewed him last time .

Philip Pape 4:59

But think of it like this when you do a heavy set of squats , you're creating mechanical tension , right , and you're creating it on that , what some people call effective reps , but they're the reps closer to failure . And we're learning more and more . I think Michael Zordos just released the huge meta-analysis that you could be pretty far from failure and still get hypertrophy and still get pretty good results , but it doesn't necessarily give you the most results in terms of strength as well . That's why you still use the range of two to three reps from failure . So when you're doing a heavy set of squats , let's say three sets of five , you know it shouldn't be a grind necessarily , but maybe the last rep of the last set is a grind , but for the most part you're getting close to failure , but not all the way , and that's one pathway to muscle growth .

Philip Pape 5:46

Now , blood flow restriction , bfr , creates metabolic stress , which is kind of another pathway to muscle growth , but it's still related to the tension piece and what it does is it traps metabolites in the muscle , and there are a lot of theories that you know . Is it cause and effect ? Like ? Are the metabolites that you're creating in your muscle , lactate , for example , causing the hypertrophy ? Are they just a side effect ? But we do know that training in that way and this is why we like low reps and moderate reps and different types of tension for different types of exercises and movements to lead to gains through the different mechanisms that lead to gains and putting them all together . This is an argument for variety that lead to gains and putting them all together . This is an argument for variety , if I want to put it that way . This is an argument for variety , not for variety's sake , but to kind of make sure you're taking advantage of the various mechanisms that lead to strength and muscle gain . And here we're primarily talking about muscle , we're talking about hypertrophy . So that's kind of the basics Now I want to segue now into the technical details , that kind of make or break the results you get when you use bfr .

Philip Pape 6:46

So you're not wasting your time . And I think the equipment is the most important thing to start , because with bad equipment you're just Setting yourself up for either injury or just not getting the results you want , or it's going to be super uncomfortable but not actually work . So I'm talking about those cheap elastic bands that you see on amazon . Okay , and I have a couple of pairs of those that I used for a while and I'm glad I went through that experience because then I realized how inaccurate it was . They're problematic because you cannot measure or control the pressure right and then they loosen up over time and your arms are at different pressures and maybe you can over-tight tighten it and so on . So I personally use and recommend BFR cuffs that you can either pump up to an accurate pressure measure in some other way or they automatically pump up right . They're definitely more expensive . They're electronic devices that have gone through some level of testing but they are safer . They are safer and they're more effective , which is what we need when we're lifting weights .

Philip Pape 7:45

Really , that's the foundation of anything we do in the your limbs , your upper arms or your upper thighs , period . Do not put them on your forearms , do not put them on your calves . That is mistake number one that I see people make . I see way too many YouTube videos and shorts with people doing calf raises and they're placed just above the calves . And I think kind of what Nick said on the episode was it's all the same plumbing and you're actually increasing your chance of nerve damage by putting them further down , you know , distally on the limb . Put them proximally , at the very top . I shouldn't use those words because you're going to say , well , proximal to the calves is near the calves , okay , forget that , put them at the top of the limb .

Philip Pape 8:41

So , upper arm , upper thigh , so if the arms place them as high as possible without hitting your armpit , that's all it is . I mean , basically , your armpit is a natural stop . And then for your legs , get them high as you can on your thigh and guess what , your groin , your crotch , is a natural stop . So get them pretty darn close to there and you're good . And then the pressure is crucial and that's why I like the auto-inflating cuffs you want . Otherwise your limbs are going to turn purple , you're going to completely cut off blood flow and it's not what we're going for . And , don't worry , you have a lot of tolerance on that . I mean a significant amount of tolerance on that .

Philip Pape 9:13

So , if you're using proper cuffs , like the ones I use and yes , I use the one from Smart Tools , and Nick is the founder of Smart Tools , who I interviewed last week , but just so you know the order of events here , I've been using their cuffs for years . I then asked them to be on the show . They then sent me a pair of cuffs after that , which , of course , I'm not going to say no to that . So , yeah , I'm a shill for them , but I also use them . It's kind of like some of the other products I use that I promote because I use them . So I think it's perfectly aligned and these are the best ones on the market . Now they have different versions . Their latest version is quite expensive . I'll be totally honest , it's quite expensive . So they have a version three that came before that . I think they're version four now and it was version three . But whatever the previous version was is significantly lower in cost and I think they may even drop the price when the new one came out , and they're just as effective . They're just a little older , so the way that they get set up and everything is a little bit slightly more clumsy . But I used them for years and I thought they were great . Okay .

Philip Pape 10:08

So , using cuffs like that , if you find others that auto-inflate , that you respect the company , you think they are tested properly , go for it right . And once you've got those cuffs , you're going to use about 50 to 60% LOP limb occlusion pressure for the arms . So the arms are 50 to 60% and then 70 to 80% for the legs . And if you're new to this , I would start on the lower end of those ranges because it could feel quite uncomfortable .

Philip Pape 10:35

For me personally , the legs almost hurt . I know , I know they're not . It doesn't actually get to the point of pain , it's just so tight . It's like when you get your blood pressure and you're like , is this supposed to keep inflating ? And then you're like , okay , I get it , cause it right around that point it's a . It starts to stop the calibration and say , okay , now we're at your limit , now we're going to dial it back to what percentage you want . So when it's calibrating it might feel uncomfortably tight , but then the actual limb occlusion pressure you select is going to be a little bit backed off from that . So 50 to 60% for arms , 70 to 80% for legs and start lower and build up to it . So that's kind of the details on that .

Shonnetta 11:14

Hi , my name is Shawnetta and I want to give a big shout out to Philip of Wits and Weights . I discovered his podcast just a few short months ago , but I quickly realized how valuable his content is . With all the many fitness and nutrition influencers out in the world today , I often suffer from information overload , but Philip poses careful questions to his guests that get to the meat of the subject matter , while most everyone offers free guides to this , and that what I found most unique about Philip is his live training and weekly Q&A sessions . If I can't make it live , I can always catch the replay . I am very grateful to find someone I feel is so passionate and genuine to his purpose , while also being hands-on within the Wits and Weights online community . He is truly only a click away . Thanks , philip , for all you do .

Avoiding Common Mistakes in BFR Training

Philip Pape 11:59

Now I want to talk about common mistakes and then what to do about those , the solutions to those mistakes and these will improve your result . So the first one is going too heavy . All right , the first mistake is having an ego and thinking that , okay , I'm just doing bicep curls , so I'm going to go almost as heavy as I normally do . Don't do that . Don't do that . Remember , we are talking 20 to 30% of your one rep max . So if you can curl , let's say , 40 pound dumbbells for your working sets , you might use 10 pounders or 15 pounders for BFR . Seriously , I'm telling you , you got to check your ego at the door with this stuff . If anybody asks you to say , yeah , I'm doing rehab or I'm doing a warmup , okay , not that it matters , but , guys , you know what I'm talking about . Okay , the amazing thing is when you do that and I actually recommend going slightly lighter than heavier , because the protocol we're going to talk about is going to slam you because of the number of reps and you'd be better off starting that way and getting all the reps and feeling accomplished and then knowing what you can go up to , rather than going too high and then be like man , I can only get you know , half the reps I'm supposed to get , it is going to feel plenty heavy by the end of your set . In fact , just this morning I did hammer curls and I was right at the limit using 20 pounders and I actually fell a few reps shy on the final set because it was just so . There was such a massive pump and it was so tight . It felt great but also miserable in a way , and I'm being honest because this is not for everyone and it's not easy Like you think . Oh , lightweights , it's going to be a walk in the park . It's a different kind of hard , that's the way I can put it . It's a different kind of hard . Okay , so that's the first mistake is going too heavy . The second mistake is not using enough volume , and so if you stick to the classic protocol , you'll be fine .

Philip Pape 13:45

The classic protocol is 30 , 15 , 15 , 15 , 30 , 15 , 15 , 15 , with 30 seconds rest between sets , super easy to remember , and that first set of 30 , 30 is a decent amount of reps , but it still might feel a little bit easy , depending , right , if it actually starts to feel hard at rep 20 , you may have selected too high of a weight . Go back to mistake number one and fix that . But it should feel kind of easy but a little bit hard , and then you keep going and by the final set of 15 , you're going to feel it Like I said this morning . I on the third set I was like man , I could barely get the 15 . And on the fourth set I think I got nine or 10 reps which I was fine with Like it was . I knew for sure that I had trained basically to failure . And they say you're not really supposed to go that close to failure . It should be where you could get all the reps with a little bit left in the tank . But we are talking isolation work , so it's probably not a big deal to kind of experiment . So that's the second one is not getting enough volume . So just follow the protocol 30 , 15 , 15 , 15 with 30 seconds in between . And , by the way , when you're wearing the cuffs that I recommend the smart tools you could do a continuous mode or an intermittent mode . A continuous mode would be they stay inflated the whole time , so that's like hardcore all the way . The intermittent mode is they inflate for the set and then when you tell it the set's done , it will deflate for the rest and then reinflate . You just got to make sure to tell it to start again a few seconds ahead of time , so it inflates by the time the 30 seconds is done .

Philip Pape 15:11

All right , the third mistake is trying to do all of your lifting with BFR . Okay , don't do that either . Don't think okay , I'm just going to switch everything to BFR . It's going to be a walk in the park and I'm going to get just as much gains . Because they just told me that you can get the same response as a heavy lift but with lighter weights . And the real answer is , first of all , that's not entirely true . Right , it's more of a proxy for that in terms of the metabolic stress , but it doesn't replace the other benefits of heavy lifting , and we talked about that on the podcast with Nick . So I would definitely check it out for deep dive on that subject .

Philip Pape 15:45

But this is a compliment to your regular training . This is not a replacement for your training . You use it strategically for accessory or isolation work or , say , when you need a deload or when you've got a nagging injury or some pain , and you're able to work with lighter weights without the pain , and now you can add some difficulty to it with the cuffs . That's how I like it . So that's the third mistake . And then the fourth mistake is improper exercise selection . Bfr works best with isolation exercises , especially arm and legs , but it will work distally for your pecs , say on an incline bench , for example , or for your calves on a calf raise . But think isolation exercises , bicep curls , tricep extensions , leg extensions , walking lunges I mean , nick talked about all the use cases where you can do like Bulgarian split squats , walking lunges , just walking in general , or riding on a bike while wearing the cuffs . You can get very creative . So those are some of the mistakes people make and I think it's important to understand what not to do .

Philip Pape 16:47

And then , finally , I want to talk about how you incorporate BFR into your routine . How do you program with it ? And the first question to ask yourself is when should I use it ? And I think there are three scenarios . The first is as a finisher after your main lifts . Right , I love finishers because it kind of makes lifting a little more fun . You've got lengthened partials , you've got myoreps , you've got rest pause , you've got all these fun ways to add finishers where you're just adding a little more volume without much stress , right , that's , you know , not only to get a pump , but really to get a little extra hypertrophy volume on the muscle group . So adding BFR as a finisher is a great idea .

Philip Pape 17:23

Today I did standard bicep , barbell , bicep curls , you know , heavy , like sets of four to eight and then eight to 12 . And then I switched to BFR for hammer curls with 20 pounders , where I normally would do the hammer curls with like 50 or 60 at lower reps . So that's a good way to do it . That's scenario one . Scenario two is during a deload , right During a deload , where you're dropping the intensity and you're dropping the volume , think creatively about okay , maybe I'll switch some of my normal exercises that I've been using and just switch them to BFR . That effectively deloads you on those lifts .

Philip Pape 17:58

And then the third scenario is when dealing with joint issues , and I'm not going to define specifically for you what that might be . It could be a nagging pain or injury , it could be a recovery from surgery . For you what that might be , it could be a nagging pain or injury , it could be a recovery from surgery . It could be just too much stress on the joint fatigue , things like that and you just want to reduce loading in that area . But keep getting the stimulus , keep training . I love that , because then you're saying , look , I'm not going to give up , I'm not just going to rest , I'm going to keep moving and getting the blood flow , I'm going to get the blood flow , and it's a nice compromise or a nice trade-off , I should say . So that's the three scenarios .

Philip Pape 18:32

As a finisher , during deload or joint issues , and then for a typical four-day upper-lower split just very common type of program the vast majority of people tend to run would look like this . So , on an upper body day , after your main pressing and pulling movements , I would pick a bicep and a tricep exercise , and that would be great for BFR , right , and maybe you want an extra one or two in there without BFR . That's fine , depending on how much time you have . But I would pick one of those isolation movements with biceps or triceps , do with BFR . Maybe it's overhead extensions , line tricep extensions , barbell curls , all the types of curls , so those would be a good idea there .

Philip Pape 19:08

You could , of course , also incorporate it with like , say , decline push-ups or incline presses with light weights and dumbbells . For example , on lower body days , after your squats , after your deadlifts , after your big movements and accessories , I would choose one quad-focused and one hamstring-focused isolation exercise . So that could be leg extensions , hamstring curls . You might see people doing these with squats . I'm not a huge fan of that . Only because you probably should be getting your squats through main lifts that are heavier and because you tend to have to do a lot of reps with the squats , it ends up being more like a CrossFit workout with a lot of eccentric loading that makes you pretty damn sore the next day , and sometimes that's not what you want . You know , when we're lifting for strength and muscle you don't want to be overly sore , but I'm not discouraging experimenting with it .

Philip Pape 20:01

Now , the other piece here is cardio . You can incorporate your BFR with cardio , like pushing a prowler going for a walk , and it should up the stress just a little bit without impeding recovery , and kind of enhance the rigor and the difficulty of the cardio and , should you know , burn some more calories . Give you a little bit extra cardio work . There's some correlation with a higher VO2 max for folks that wear BFR . It's a lot of fun ways to do this , and so get creative .

Philip Pape 20:27

Again , use Google as your friend , reach out to me if you want more specific ideas , and I would say , go ahead and use it two to three times per week per muscle group . I mean no more than that really . I would pick one upper day and one lower day , and then maybe one other day where you use it at the most , and any more than that is probably not necessary and it could impede recovery and it could be taken away from your traditional lifting as well . So got to balance it in there All right . Now , we've talked a lot about building muscle today , but I've also found that BFR is incredible for recovery . Right , and that's one of the main reasons BFR even exists is for rehab and recovery . So you've had a tough training session , like a heavy leg day . The next day , doing some very light BFR work could actually reduce soreness and improve blood flow to the muscles . So think about ways to do that .

Philip Pape 21:11

A lot of pro athletes use it for this purpose . When I talked to Nick , you know he worked with LeBron James on that , and if you download my guide , you'll see that the cover photo is , with copyright permission , a picture of the King right , king James using it on his legs to recover and he's reading a book or something on a stationary bike , and that's what Nick mentioned . Right , is that there's something super powerful about getting blood flow to the muscles after you've hit them hard , but without beating them up more , to kind of enhance that recovery . And then guess what that does ? Is it when you get to the gym the next time you might feel even more fresh and recovered to be able to really hit it hard and get all those reps . Maybe push it a little more , maybe get a little stronger and build more muscle with your traditional lifting , and that's where the power is for this .

Philip Pape 21:56

So , even if you hear critics talk about well , bfr is kind of you know it's , you don't need it . Like a lot of people say , it's unnecessary because you can just train normally , and there is some truth to that . But there are some other unique benefits to BFR , like recovery , that you might want to give a chance . That will help with your traditional lifting as well , not to mention the mental and the psychological aspect of the kind of variety and getting that pump . It's pretty cool , all right . So as we wrap up today's episode , let me emphasize that BFR training is a powerful tool , but it is only one tool in the toolbox , like anything we do . It's not magic . It's not going to replace heavy compound lifts , but when you use it correctly , it can help you build some muscle with a little bit less joint stress . It can maintain gains during deloads and it can enhance recovery . You don't have to use it , it's just another option . It's pretty cool . A lot of new studies being done on it , so keep an eye out for the literature .

Philip Pape 22:49

If you have follow-up questions , reach out to me , send me a text message through the show notes and I'll tell you my thoughts . The key here with BFR is you've got to be safe , you've got to be consistent with it , you've got to implement it properly . So start with the guidelines we covered today . I really hope today was a complete guide and then the downloadable guide I made spells it out a little bit more detail so you can reference it . You can go back and say okay , what's the protocol again , and what did he say about limb occlusion pressure , what did he say about where to wear these and so on , and then , as always , track your results , see how you feel and respond and then adjust it based on how your body responds

Ultimate Guide to BFR Training

Philip Pape 23:23

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Philip Pape 23:23

And if it doesn't work for you , you know you don't have to use it . So remember , if you want to implement everything we covered today , don't forget , go , grab your free copy of my blood flow restriction training guide . It includes the detailed protocols , the exercise examples and the programming templates that complement everything we discussed today . Just click the link in the show notes or visit witsandweightscom . Slash free Again . That's the BFR training guide , the link's in the show notes or witsandweightscom . All right , everybody , until next time , keep using those wits , lifting those weights , and remember sometimes the smartest way to train isn't just lifting the heaviest weights . I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast .