You gotta love the Japanese.

They start with a little of this:

Add in a little of this:

And end up with this:

Occlusion or Kaatsu training.

What is Occlusion or Kaatsu Training?

In a nutshell, Occlusion Training involves applying a tourniquet of some sort (Researchers use a pneumatic tourniquets similar to a blood pressure cuff) to the proximal portion of one of your limbs to restrict blood flow (partially or fully) while you perform low intensity exercise.

And why would you do that?

According to this recent study:

Low intensity occlusion (50-100 mm Hg) training provides a unique beneficial training mode for promoting muscle hypertrophy. Training at intensities as low as 20% of 1 rep maximum with moderate vascular occlusion results in muscle hypertrophy in as little as 3 weeks. A typical exercise prescription calls for 3 to 5 sets to volitional fatigue with short rest periods. The metabolic buildup causes positive phsiologic reactions, specifically a rise in growth hormone that is higher than levels found with higher intensities. Occlusion training is applicable for those who are unable to sustain high loads due to joint pain, postoperative patients, cardiac rehabilitation, athletes who are unloading, and astronauts.



In fact, during the study, test subjects saw some pretty startling results:

Lactate increased

Growth Hormone increased

Norepinephrine increased

IGF-1 increased

Noradrenaline increased

Myostatin decreased

One rep maximum strength increased

Isometric strength & torque increased

Isokinetic strength & torque increased

Muscular endurance increased

Cross-sectional area of the muscle increased

Slow twitch fibers changed into Fast twitch fibers

And all you need to turn yourself into a muscle-building Kaatsu warrior is some bondage gear and the ability to ignore the stares and giggles of your fellow health club members.





So, what do you think of that?

I may come back and expand this post with more data in the next few days. I just received a full copy of this latest study and I am poring over the details. But, I couldn’t wait to share this with you.

Looking forward to the comments.

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