Practical Blood Flow Restricted Bench Press On Forearm Blood Flow And Vasodilatory Capacity

Abstract

Traditional whole-body resistance exercise is known to improve forearm blood flow (FBF) and vasodilatory capacity (VC). However, the effects of upper-body resistance exercise with and without practical blood flow restriction (pBFR) on FBF and VC are unclear. PURPOSE: To evaluate the effects of bench press with and without pBFR on FBF and VC in resistance-trained men. METHODS: Fourteen resistance-trained men (23 ± 3 years old) participated in the study. FBF, forearm vascular conductance (FVC), peak blood flow (BFpeak) and area under the curve (AUC) were assessed using venous occlusion plethysmography at rest and after low-load bench press with pBFR (LL-pBFR), traditional high-load bench press without pBFR (HL), and control (CON). The LL-pBFR utilized of 4 sets of 30, 15, 15, and 15 repetitions at 30% 1-repetition maximum (1RM) with 30 seconds rest between sets, and two knee wraps were wrapped at the proximal end of both arms to achieve pBFR. The HL consisted of 4 sets of 8 repetitions at 70% 1RM with 60 seconds rest between sets. The CON consisted of supine rest for 10 minutes. A repeated measures ANOVA was used to evaluate the conditions (LL-pBFR, HL, CON) across time (rest, recovery) on FBF and VC. RESULTS: There were time-by-condition interactions (p < 0.001) for FBF, FVC, and AUC such that FBF (LL-pBFR: rest: 3.1 ± 1.6 ml/100 ml/min; recovery: 7.2 ± 4.5 ml/100 ml/min; HL: rest: 3.7 ± 1.8 ml/100 ml/min, recovery: 6.1 ± 2.3 ml/100 ml/min; and CON: rest: 3.7 ± 1.6 ml/100 ml/min; recovery: 2.8 ± 2.1 ml/100 ml/min), FVC (LL-pBFR: rest: 0.041 ± 0.020 ml/min/100 ml/mmHg; recovery: 0.095 ± 0.060 ml/min/100 ml/mmHg; HL: rest: 0.048 ± 0.021 ml/min/100 ml/mmHg, recovery: 0.077 ± 0.028 ml/min/100 ml/mmHg; and CON: rest: 0.048 ± 0.022 ml/min/100 ml/mmHg; recovery: 0.035 ± 0.029 ml/min/100 ml/mmHg), and AUC (LL-pBFR: rest: 76.3 ± 31.5 ml/100 ml/min; recovery: 124.9 ± 44.1 ml/100 ml/min ; HL: rest: 83.8 ± 28.8 ml/100 ml/min, recovery: 132.7 ± 54.1 ml/100 ml/min; and CON: rest: 81.5 ± 39.2 ml/100 ml/min, recovery: 74.8 ± 45.5 ml/100 ml/min) were significantly elevated after LL-pBFR and HL compared to rest and CON with no difference between LL-pBFR and HL. However, there was no change for BFpeak. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that LL-pBFR and HL significantly increase forearm blood flow and vasodilatory capacity in a similar fashion.