Upper Body Blow Flow Restriction Training PT. 2

Are you following The Movement Fix on Instagram? Find us @themovementfix

Want better shoulder mobility? Download Day 1 of our Shoulder Mobility Program for free:

If you didn’t watch part 1, go watch now so that this all makes sense: https://themovementfix.com/upper-body-blow-flow-restriction-training/

Last week we talked about how to actually implement blood flow restriction (BFR) training for the upper body and what it actually looks like being performed. This week we take a look at, well what do I do right after I finish?

You don’t just want to stand around afterwards. You don’t want to passively stretch out the muscle afterwards. It will feel like your muscles need to be stretched because they feel tight. That tightness feeling is them being full.

What you want to do instead is use the agonist, or opposing muscle, to the biceps. For this we can do a simple banded tricep pull down.

Just attach a thing band to a pull up bar and start pumping out tricep extensions.

The reason this is effective is because you get a relaxation effect by using the opposing muscle to the biceps. You will also pump out the build up by using the muscles of the arms vs doing nothing.

I can tell you that by doing this tricep work right afterwards, I immediately felt recovered. I was really amazed how much the BFR took out of me physically and mentally. Having a way to recover right afterward is important.

I want to reiterate the importance of BFR training because I feel that it isn’t appreciated necessarily the way that it should be.

Muscles can grow from mechanical damage or let’s say ‘chemical’ stimulation.

BFR allows you to get growth from chemical stimulation, meaning you don’t NEED mechanical damage the way you do during heavier lifting.

This is HUGE for the performance world, especially in crossfit because you can train your muscles to grow and recover faster without the need for higher volume.

In a time when everyone thinks more volume is the only answer, it isn’t!

Thanks again to Dr. Mario Novo for sharing his knowledge with us.

Oh and I also want to mention, the FHT program that I am doing does incorporate some BFR sets into the overall program for exactly the reasons mentioned above and in the video. Make sure to check out FHT here to learn more.

-Ryan