The Study
Muscle Adaptations to High-Load Training and Very Low-Load Training With and Without Blood Flow Restriction
This study is like a fair race where people trained their legs in different ways, and scientists measured what changed. Because they randomly assigned who did what, we can say one method probably caused a change in strength or endurance — but only for the specific tests they used.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study tested if lifting very light weights (15% of max) with or without squeezing your thigh to cut blood flow can make you as strong and muscular as lifting heavy weights (70% of max).
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 569 / 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.
- 1Yes — you don’t need heavy weights to grow muscle if you train to exhaustion, but you do need heavy weights to get better at lifting your absolute maximum.
- 2Squeezing your thigh while lifting light helps you endure longer.
- 3Heavy lifting (70%) made people 3.15 kg stronger on a 1-rep max test.
- 4All groups — light, light with squeeze, or heavy — grew similar amounts of muscle.
- 5Only the group with tight thigh squeeze (80% pressure) got much better at doing more reps without getting tired.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Frontiers in Physiology
Year
2018
Authors
M. Jessee, S. Buckner, J. Mouser, K. Mattocks, S. Dankel, T. Abe, Z. Bell, John P. Bentley, J. Loenneke
Related Content
Claims (6)
After 8 weeks of training with very light weights to complete fatigue, healthy young adults experience the same increase in thigh muscle thickness whether or not blood flow is restricted.
When resistance exercises are performed until complete muscular fatigue, the amount of muscle growth is the same regardless of whether the weights are heavy or light, or whether blood flow to the muscles is restricted.
After 8 weeks of training, lifting heavy weights (70% of maximum capacity) increases maximum strength by about 3.15 kg in healthy young adults, while lifting very light weights (15% of maximum capacity) with or without blood flow restriction does not increase maximum strength.
In healthy young adults, applying blood flow restriction at 80% arterial occlusion pressure during training leads to greater improvements in muscular endurance after 8 weeks than training with very low loads without restriction or with high loads, due to a distinct metabolic response that increases resistance to fatigue.
Using blood flow restriction during low-load exercise allows the same muscle growth and endurance gains as higher-volume training without restriction, because each repetition produces greater fatigue.
When people train to muscular failure, their gains in muscle strength at 180°/s and during maximum voluntary contractions are the same whether they use heavy weights or very light weights, with or without restricting blood flow.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.