When powerlifters do squats with restricted blood flow using lighter weights, it makes their slow-twitch muscle fibers grow bigger by 12%, while regular training doesn't change muscle fiber size.

When top powerlifters do a special type of weight training that restricts blood flow, it makes their slow-twitch muscle fibers grow more cell nuclei by 18%, but normal weight training doesn't do this.

When top powerlifters do a special type of exercise that limits blood flow to their muscles, their thigh muscle size grows almost 8% bigger—way more than the tiny growth from normal workouts.

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.

At first, your muscles might actually get a little smaller from this kind of training, but after doing it again later, they grow bigger than before — the growth just takes time to show up.

Doing hip thrusts or squats for 9 weeks with the same total work builds your butt muscles just as much, even though hip thrusts feel like they work your butt harder during the exercise.