New Year - New Arms!
Fancy having bigger or firmer arms in 2018? And looking for a bit of variation in your training routine? Well, read safely on then.
Training with a thick bar is one of the most effective ways to build muscular strength in your arms and upper body. BfR Professional now offers the latest alternative to expensive specialty bars: the original, blue Fat Gripz. This user-friendly exercise tool can be latched on to almost any barbell or dumbbell.
And by combining these non-slip rubber grips with our BfR Pro ARMS straps in our new Ultimate Arm Pack, we’ve made sure that you’re getting yourself a match made in heaven. Be prepared for the burn, though!
How does it work?
In short, Fat Gripz work by increasing the diameter of the bar. This enables you to up your arm building to extreme heights as using thicker handles leads to more muscle activation in your hands, arms and upper body. No wonder that professional athletes and Special Forces soldiers are all recommending this product.
The many merits of occlusion training/BFR training (as well as our top seller BfR Pro ARMS) have already been described in detail on our website and blog, so go check it out if you want to discover how easily and efficiently you can optimise your workout without having to compromise when it comes to output.
What if I’m new to BFR training?
Fear not! We understand that proper understanding of a complementary training method is pivotal to actually gaining from it. In order to release the full potential of your body, you need knowledge. Our Ultimate Arm Pack comes with a free BfR e-book where we’ve tried to cram in as many inspirational BFR exercises for arms as possible. It also includes general information about BFR training.
And remember: occlusion training is for everyone. Male, female, young, not so young, fit or going through rehabilitation… And with a brand new year at our hands, there’s no reason not to kickstart your workout routine.
BFR-training is easy to learn and builds on your body’s natural reaction pattern. Simple concept, intelligent training, as we say.
Anyway, what are you still doing here?! Go check out our Ultimate Arm Pack!
And don’t forget to leave a review or share your personal BfR success story with the rest of the BfR family.
Go grab 2018 by the throat!
Team BfR Professional
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The Good Kind of Pain - A Study on BFR in Physiotherapy
In the spring of 2017, BfR Professional teamed up with two physiotherapist students focusing on the qualitative aspect of blood flow restriction training, and how people perceive the use of this still very new training method. Below you can read more about their interesting findings from their bachelor project.
Buckled up and ready for training
- A qualitative study based on interviews
By Højfeldt R. Jeanette, Jensen H. Pernille, BA. Physiotherapy, VIA University College Aarhus, Denmark.
Background and purpose
The project includes six participants. A physiotherapist, two patients with varying injuries and three self-trained subjects, one with an injury. In addition to using physiotherapists, all participants have been using blood flow restriction training in time periods spanning from three weeks to three months.
Results
The analysed data can be grouped into topics with key findings:
Application
Blood flow restriction training is versatile in its use and can, for instance, be used to max out in the last part of your session after high load training, or to prevent further pain from an injury during training. When tightening the band, some participants express a problem. They aren't sure whether the band is too tight or too loose, which is a common concern among the participants. This means that every individual has their own strategy to ensure the correct use, and therefore the tightening is self-perceived. Despite this issue, the band is reported easy to use:
Even though the band is tight, it gives the muscles room to expand during training.
Physical experience
A common experience is accelerated muscle atrophy compared to regular training. The participants observed visual changes in the veins, as these became more proinent and with a blue and red colour. This is an observation that the physiotherapist confirms. Another observation during training is a fast burning and a lactic feeling in the muscles. Several participants described blood flow restriction training as having a different feeling to its compared to regular training. The exhaustion was somehow different. One of the participants described the post experience like this:
Three out of six explain that blood flow restriction training has prevented pain from a current injury when training. One of them says that:
Back then, before I used the bands, I could barely do my exercises without feeling pain in my injury - I went home without working my muscles. It just hurt enormously.
Mental experience
The participants express great joy and satisfaction when using blood flow restriction training. Some mention that this kind of training is: fantastic, different, awesome, effective, a short and hard workout. In particular, they justify the relieving ability of the bands which causes the muscles to be stressed before the joint:
Just as annoying the soreness has been, it felt equally amazing - it's great because I feel alive.
Some of the participants report struggles with the low load training and motivation at the beginning:
At some points, it's demotivating not to have the usual kilos for someone who's used to training with a high load. But suddenly, I can take far more repetitions, and I came to notice that my legs become really tired, even without hurting the joints.
Among the participants, the feedback is an overall positive one concerning motivation for doing blood flow restriction training. For some, it was the applicability, for others, the competition and socialising.
Safety
The participants feel safe using blood flow restriction training. This is explained by the fact that they don't associate low load training with high risk of injury, despite tightening problems and a lack of knowledge:
I can go crazy while knowing I'm not going to break. I feel safe using it because I know the muscles get tired long before it ever gets dangerous for me.
Some of the participants report that the perception of safety is being created by the connection with the physiotherapist.
Conclusion
All participants found blood flow restriction training to be effective and said that it had a positive impact both physically and mentally. However, there is an issue with the subjective tightening of the bands, which requires more knowledge. The informants experienced a lactic and burning sensation, as well as an increased soreness, but this was not experienced as pain. This training method will suit both the elite and patients with injuries. However, consideration should be taken because blood flow restriction training can affect blood circulation.
Hope you enjoyed this read!
Team BfR Professional
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Who we are and how we can help you reach your goals
In this short video pitch, the team behind BfR Professional explains in Danish who we are and what our mission is. (English translation written out below).
Often people think that blood flow restriction (BFR) training is only meant to be done by hardcore bodybuilders and fitness athletes, but that's far from the truth.
BFR training also enables people who aren't comfortable with or able to do heavy lifting to still obtain the same level of hypertrophy (muscle growth) as with traditional high-load workouts.
For example, it's extremely effective for the purpose of rehabilitation and injury prevention for persons of all ages (+18). Many women also enjoy using occlusion straps to build more strength and firmness in thighs and bottocks.
The growing popularity and use of BFR (or occlusion training, as it is also called) across the world is undeniable; however, we still come across many people who've never heard about this amazing training method.
Here at BfR Professional, we want to move your physique from A to B with our customised products as fast as possible in the most effective, gentle way by the use of occlusion training. This trending workout form is based on an old Japanese training method named “kaatsu" which means “increased pressure”.
Therefore, we'll be releasing more inspiration and valuable insights over the next months here on our blog as well as on our Facebook, Instagram and YouTube channel.
Stay tuned and make sure to sign up for our inspirational newsletter (which often comes with special offers and discounts) in order to not miss out on anything from our world.
Translation of the video is done in English below - just scroll down a bit.
BfR Professional - Bliv mere fit på kortere tid med os from STUDENTERVÆKSTHUS AARHUS on Vimeo.
Translation:
We are BfR Professional and have a question for you.
Did you know that if you strap our products onto your arms or legs, you can train faster and more effectively?
Are you tired of the never-ending training sessions and heavy weights or are you struggling with injuries as we've done ourselves for the past many years? Or do you just need a great alternative to your current training routine? Then we have the solution for you.
We want to move your physique from A to B as fast as possible in the most effective and gentle way by the use of occlusion training which is based on an old Japanese training method named “kaatsu”, which by the way means “increased pressure”.
It is simple and intelligent training for all so if you desire faster and more effective training sessions at home, while travelling or in the gym, then visit our website at www.bfrpro.com.
To your success,
Team BfR professional
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Product Review of BfR Pro ARMS by Fitness Magazine
Here at BfR, we're proud to announce that the widely read Danish fitness magazine Aktiv Træning has tested our BfR Pro ARMS, which are our customised straps for blood flow restriction (BFR) training, and has put together a product review for all of their many readers.
Aktiv Træning is a fitness and health magazine known for guiding readers to a healthy lifestyle with everything from fitness and running to proper dieting and sleep in order to optimise your physical shape. At the same time, Aktiv Træning aims to test and review the best products on the market, and in their April issue of 2017 our BfR Pro ARMS was put to the test and received 4.5/6 stars.
The review in English
Obviously, the review is in Danish (see below), but we're keen to share so we've translated it into English for all of you guys to read here:
Occlusion training is a new trend in the strength training world. Many are using knee wraps for this training method, but the special occlusion bands here are clearly a more practical choice. Plastic buckle, velcro closing and anti-slip material make it super easy to strap on, close it and tighten it. Apart for the edges of the velcro which can be a little sharp, they are comfortable during training. It is nice that the whole band is sitting closely to the arm, and with a width of just 3 cm, you avoid the band disturbing the muscle when for example you are doing biceps curls.
A simple and relatively cheap solution for occlusion training. The straps are easy to handle, and without problems you get the pressure that you want applied to your arm muscle.
A positive experience
The product received 4.5 stars out of 6, which means that it’s a really good product according to their ranking system. As regards their comment about the Velcro pinching a bit, we suggest using a T-shirt or similar under the straps if you feel like it's bothering you.
If this positive review makes you curious, go check out our selection of quality equipment for BFR training now!
Below is the original review in Danish:
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We hope this has piqued your interest! If so, swing by our store and let us help you.
All the best,
Team BfR Professional
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Why You Should Buy a Premium Product for Occlusion/ BFR Training
Since we launched BfR Professional using the world’s largest crowdfunding platform called Kickstarter to distribute our premium product for blood flow restriction (BFR)/occlusion/KAATSU training, we’ve been asked quite a few times why you can’t just use a rope or regular elastic band when performing this new training hack?
Of course, it all comes down to preferences, but we've tried a lot of different alternatives ourselves over the past two years, and the conclusion is that the design and comfort of the strap/band/cuff absolutely matter! In fact, our British BfR Pro Ambassador and guest blogger James Ruckley has been through the same trying to find the perfect occlusion straps; read more about his experience here).
Below are some of the things we have taken into consideration as we designed the BfR Pro ARMS for ourselves and you…
Different sizes
As BFR training becomes increasingly popular within fitness and for rehabilitation, more products will naturally hit the market, but the quality of them already varies greatly. Most of the current products come with a “one-size fits all” mentality, which may be just fine for you. Indeed, our own BfR Pro LEGS is a one-size product as this made sense to us in the case of leg training.
However, we decided to focus on offering a customised arms product in different sizes to match the needs of the individual, and this is how our top teller BfR Pro ARMS came to be. This makes it not only more comfortable to wear but also a lot nicer to look at from an aesthetic point of view without half of the band flapping around your arm as you work out. (If you're as vain as we are from time to time, you'll surely appreciate this!).
Finding the right size for you
Our website has a size guide as well as instructions on how to measure your upper arm correctly in order to pick the right strap size. In short, you should measure the area below your shoulder but above your biceps and triceps – not the area around the middle of your biceps where the circumference is naturally larger.
You may ask, “I’m between two different sizes, so which one should I choose?” We always recommend going for the larger one since it's better to apply a lower pressure than too hard of a pressure which can have a negative effect on your muscle-building and in worst cases cause an injury. Another advantage is that picking the larger of the two will allow you to grow - and believe us, you will!
Single-handed fitting
One of the major challenges using knee wraps or other one-size occlusion bands can be to strap it on in the first place without the assistance of a buddy since this kind of product is typically long and unhandy.
And although you may be the type of person who welcomes any opportunity to interact with your fellow gym-goers, these makeshift bands may often also cause an uneven pressure to be applied to the muscle which may decrease the actual physiological effect of your training.
We solved this by designing a product that you can strap on and release with one hand making it even more simple to use leaving you to focus on finding and applying the right pressure for you.
In doubt about how to find the correct pressure? Read this post with 4 easy tips that will enable you to take your workout to the next level.
Anti-slip technology: Don't worry, we got you
The white anti-slip stripes embedded in the specialised elastic band support the single-handed fitting as they grab on to your skin once you tighten the strap around your arm.
The anti-slip technology eases the use of this new and intelligent training method considerably. After all, BFR training should propel your workout forward and challenge you to break free of your routine - not be the cause of frustration because you can't even strap on the product to begin with.
Width; wider is not always better
Unlike most other products available for occlusion training on your upper body, we decided to create our strap with a width of 3 cm. According to the latest scientific research done on the practical application of BFR training, it's recommended that the straps used on your upper body extremities (meaning your arms) should be between 3-5 cm wide.
After hours of testing prototypes ourselves in the gym and outside doing functional training, we found that applying a wider strap was less comfortable and often annoying, especially to your biceps during sets.
Lastly, to see our BfR Pro ARMS straps in action, check out our 3 min Kickstarter campaign video here.
We hope you find this an inspiring read! If you've got any questions, don't hesitate to hit us up via e-mail at contact@bfrpro.com or on Facebook.
All the best,
Team BfR Professional
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Occlusion Training May Be a Paradigm Shift Within Fitness
In November 2016, we contributed to an online article about occlusion training on the Danish fitness website blivstor.dk. We're happy to do so since we're obviously enthusiastic about this new training method ourselves and want to share it with the world. The article is in Danish and can be found here.
BfR Professional on occlusion training
In some of our previous posts here on the BfR blog, we've outlined how practical blood flow restriction (BFR) or occlusion training works in simplified terms, what effects this training method can have and what results this might bring to your body.
In addition, we've gone through how to perform practical BFR training with our 4 tips on how to apply the correct pressure in another one of our blog posts recently, which you can check out here.
All our recommendations are made based on our own practical experience over the past two and a half years doing occlusion training in combination with studying the global scientific research within this topic, which is fortunately a body of work increasing continuously.
We view BFR training as a healthy complementary training method to your traditional training routine – not as a replacement for more heavy load oriented training as this too has its merits on improving your physical shape.
Simple and smart at the same time
The key is to be smart about your training and bring variation to the table using occlusion straps while being consistent over long periods of time. Preferably forever. This is basically why we've chosen "Simple concept, intelligent training" as our official slogan.
Take it to the next level with
Team BfR professional
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Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) / Occlusion Training: What Is It?
Most of us view our workouts as a break from our busy daily lives; a place where we can let go and work on ourselves.
At the same time, we want to see results as fast and as efficiently as possible – but how?
Blood flow restriction (BFR) training, also sometimes referred to as occlusion training, may certainly be the answer to this. Studies have now been carried out widely on an international scale leading sports scientists and highly respected Ph.D.’s to be more conclusive with regards to the benefits and overall potential of this new and upcoming way of training.
Origins and terminology
Actually, the idea behind BFR training isn't new but was first discovered in Japan back in the 1960’s by a man named Yoshiaki Sato, who would later become the inventor of the KAATSU training principle. Often you'll see three terms - occlusion training, blood flow restriction training, KAATSU training - being used interchangeably to describe the same thing, and there are indeed many similarities between these three forms of training, but technically there are some (slightly nerdy) differences between them.
How it works
The main idea of what we try to teach you guys about here is that by restricting (occluding) part of the blood flow from your extremity like your arm or leg back to your heart you cause a pooling of blood in your muscles along with increased levels of lactide acid which triggers a state of hypertrophy (muscle growth) by increasing the level of growth hormone from your brain.
The muscles react to the decrease in oxygen level caused by the restricted blood flow forcing them to work harder and fatiguing also the fast twitch (Type II) muscle fibres, which are the ones with the highest growth potential compared to the slow twitch ones (Type I).
The best part is that you should only do your sets using between 20-50% of your 1RM (meaning 20-50% of what you can lift one time only) in weights.
This means that your joints and ligaments - well, your whole body in the long run – will thank you for taking away large parts of the stress that traditional heavy lifting causes.
Therefore, BFR training is an amazing supplement to traditional training but has also proven to be a very powerful tool in injury prevention and during rehabilitation. If you'd like to dig in to the physiological details about what goes on in your body during a BFR workout, check out this post by our guest blogger and BfR Pro ambassador James Ruckley. (Also, if you'd like to be an ambassador for us yourself, don't hesitate to contact us!).
In other words, BFR training is intelligent training where you trigger your body to naturally produce more out of less. "Simple concept, intelligent training", as we put it.
Here at BfR Professional, we want you to reach your physical goals faster and more efficiently, and we can’t wait to be part of your journey towards a fitter, stronger you.
Link on types of muscle fibres for further inspiration:
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/teen-shane6.htm
Take it to the next level!
Team BfR Professional
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Kickstarting a Startup Success
The idea behind BfR Professional all began more than two years back when one of our founders, Martin, first heard about the concept of blood flow restriction training and how it has the potential to revolutionise the way people do fitness today.
He enthusiastically shared this knowledge with his longtime friend Lars, who would later become the other founder, and thus the seeds of what would eventually become BfR Professional were sown.
Want something? Go create it yourself!
The scientifically proven training method of blood flow restriction (BFR) has been rather extensively researched and especially within the recent decade. The idea of training with lower weights, while still gaining significant muscle strength and growth, is appealing to many of us.
However, we became increasingly frustrated about not being able to find any customised equipment for this new training method, so we decided to create our own product.
After many months of product development, tests and redesigning, we're now ready to introduce and share with you the first generation of our blood flow restriction gear. The product is named BfR Pro ARMS, which is essentially a custom-made elastic anti-slip band designed to be used on your upper arms for blood flow restriction training, which is also popularly known as occlusion training.
ARMS will come in four different sizes suitable for more or less everyone who wants to take on this new and upcoming way of training to complement their existing workout routine. Furthermore, we are already now planning to introduce the LEGS version specifically designed for blood flow restriction training, so stay tuned here on our blog and social media. Also don't forget to sign up to our newsletter on our website!
Come cheer us on
We'ill be launching our product and opening for sales this coming October through an online campaign using the world’s largest crowdfunding platform: www.kickstarter.com. Naturally, we will be posting and keeping you updated about our progress and details concerning the campaign continuously, and we urge you to stay tuned if this new and scientifically proven training method is something which you would like to try out for yourself. Obviously, we would love your support on kickstarter.com!
After all this time, we are more than keen to share our knowledge and our products with the world. We promise that we'll aim to give all the guidance necessary both here on our blog, Instagram, and Facebook, where we'll be talking about not only how our specific product can help you in connection with blood flow restriction training and reaching your physical goals, but also more generally how blood flow restriction training can benefit you. We simply want you to train smarter and better. We believe in your potential.
Take it to the next level
Lars & Martin
Team BfR Professional
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