While going to the gym is a good way to build muscles and gain a buff body, a newer supplemental training is slowly making its name in the health and fitness section. Kaatsu Occlusion training is an up and coming method which utilizes blood flow restriction to the veins in order to improve gains and strength on the different areas of the body.
A Kaatsu training involves the use of a device which is usually wrapped on the area closest to a working muscle in order to elicit gains in its size and strength while doing an exercise. This method was developed in Japan by Dr. Yoshiaki Sato. Since then, it is making its way into being one of methods used in muscle training.
How Is Occlusion Training Usually Done?
Kaatsu training in itself is quite expensive considering that you need around $12,000 for it. However, most experts have developed a way to make it available for everyone in a more practical way.
Nowadays, a blood flow restriction (BFR) band is usually wrapped at the top of a limb in order to occlude blood flow from the veins going to the heart. In order for an occlusion training to be effective, it is important to know that you should not completely restrict blood flow on the veins but only on an adequate pressure level to allow enough remaining blood to circulate.
With the use of Kaatsu training bands, the low levelsof oxygen on the limb forces lactic acid to be released to the body, thereby increasing protein synthesis. This in return improves muscle gain especially when lifting or walking.
With BFR training used when lifting, the lowering portion of the exercise produces more gains compared to the lifting part. The lowering process of lifting creates more gains as lactic acid builds up on the body, particularly on the muscle being targeted.
How Tight Should a BFR Band Be Wrapped Around The Muscle?
For the legs and lower extremities, the tightness of wrapping a BFR band should go around 6-7 on a scale of 10. However for arms, it should be lower. An estimate of 5-6 tightness on a scale of 10 should be observed.
This should be sufficient to restrict flow to the targeted muscle and safe enough not to occlude the arteries of the body. This is simply due to the fact that arteries circulate blood going to the distal portions of the body system.
BFR bands offer high-quality Kaatsu training bands for sale at a reasonable price. This should be enough to help you jump start your muscle gain training.
