In this shortened review from “Monster” Michael Todd, you can see how BFR by means of the newly developed Arm Cuff V3 is used to augment his sports specific training for arm wrestling. The full version can be found on Youtube: “Monster&MrsMonster”
BFR or blood flow restriction is currently showing its efficacy as a performance optimizer in many different sports, both anecdotally but definitely also from a scientific standpoint. (Wilk et al. 2020).
Though, currently lacking any specific data on arm wrestling the potential benefit of BFR is a dead giveaway.
The popularity of arm wrestling has increased enormously in the recent years, probably because of the intense and audience friendly setup. Even though, at first glance it might seem straightforward, the sport is actually very technical e.g. positioning etc!
Thus, a substantial part of success in arm wrestling can bee contributed to raw physical ability, such as maximal strength and not at least muscular endurance.
The two main physical components can for obvious reasons be augmented by adding BFR to the sport’s specific exercises in arm wrestling. We recommend to use the standard principles for low-load BFR training, but as you can see in the video Michael is adapting some arm wrestling-specific positioning and shorter ROM.
As a relevant factor to consider, is the extremely high training volume which is paramount for all professional arm wrestlers. Because of the inherent training adaptations in arm wrestling, the rep scheme, sets and exercises can probably be much higher compared to what is normally recommended for upper body BFR. Though, the optimal way to program BFR for arm wrestling is currently unexplored.
As discussed in the latest post, BFR can be used as the primary modality in short blogs or as a finisher to your conventional workout. But for any of you that have watched arms wrestling, I would like to know your initial thoughts on how to use and program BFR for performance optimization in this population!?
Source:
Wilk et al. (2020) The Acute Effects of External Compression With Blood Flow Restriction on Maximal Strength and Strength-Endurance Performance of the Upper Limbs.
