The Study
Individual muscle hypertrophy in high-load resistance training with and without blood flow restriction: A near-infrared spectroscopy approach
This study tried two ways of lifting weights on 10 people and saw which one made their muscles grow more. Because they randomly picked which leg got which method, we can say one might have caused more growth — but we can’t be sure because so few people were tested.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
Some people’s legs grow more when they lift heavy weights normally, others grow more when they lift with a tight band around their leg — but no one can predict who will respond which way.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 546 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The result means using blood flow restriction doesn’t reliably make muscles grow bigger than regular heavy lifting — even though it feels harder.
- 2Half of the 10 people grew more with normal lifting (16% increase), half grew more or the same with band-restricted lifting (13% increase).
- 3The band made legs feel more burn, but didn’t make them grow bigger on average.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Journal of Sports Sciences
Year
2024
Authors
J. Bergamasco, Diego Bittencourt, Deivid G. Silva, T. M. P. C. Biazon, S. D. Soligon, Ramon Martins de Oliveira, C. Libardi
Related Content
Claims (8)
Muscle growth occurs mainly due to the tension placed on muscles and the buildup of metabolic byproducts during exercise, not simply because of how heavy the weights are.
While the majority of individuals exhibit similar hypertrophic responsiveness across high- and low-load resistance training, a subset may demonstrate load-specific responsiveness, though such responses are inconsistent and not reliably predictable.
Your muscles grow bigger mainly because of how much total force they feel over time—not whether you do your workouts all at once or spread out over the week.
Some people grow more muscle with regular heavy lifting, others grow just as much or more when they add blood flow restriction — there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
Some people grow more muscle with regular heavy lifting, others grow just as much or more with heavy lifting plus blood flow restriction — there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.
When you do heavy lifting while restricting blood flow to your muscles, your muscles feel more burned and stressed during the workout than when you lift heavy without restricting blood flow.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.