When people do light weight training with restricted blood flow very often (at least 5 days a week), their slow-twitch muscle fibers grow bigger faster. Some less frequent training also helps, but not as much.

When people do light weightlifting with restricted blood flow, their slow-twitch muscles can grow as much or more than their fast-twitch muscles, which is different from heavy lifting where fast-twitch muscles usually grow more.

For people new to strength training, lifting light weights with restricted blood flow works just as well as lifting heavy weights for building muscle size over 6 weeks.

When adults do light weight training with restricted blood flow, their slow-twitch muscles grow as much or more than their fast-twitch muscles, which is different from heavy weight training where fast-twitch muscles usually grow more.

Using a special training method with lighter weights and restricted blood flow along with heavy lifting might help trained people build more muscle by growing certain muscle fibers better, but different studies have found different results.

For people who exercise casually but aren’t trained, doing light weightlifting with blood flow restriction helps grow fast-twitch muscle fibers almost as much as lifting heavy weights — and after 6 weeks, the difference between the two isn’t big enough to matter.