Physiological and Perceptual Responses to Aerobic Exercise With and Without Blood Flow Restriction

Abstract

Physiological and perceptual responses to aerobic exercise with and without blood flow restriction. J Strength Cond Res 35(9): 2479-2485, 2021-Although previous studies have demonstrated the potential benefits of aerobic exercise (AE) with blood flow restriction (BFR), these findings have been limited by the approaches used to determine the occlusive pressure. In addition, the physiological and perceptual responses of AE with BFR compared to high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) remain unclear. Thus, we investigated the physiological and perceptual responses to AE with and without BFR, and HIIE. Twenty-two men were randomly assigned to 4 experimental conditions: AE (40% of maximal oxygen consumption [V _ O2peak]), AE with 50% of BFR (AE-BFR: 40% VV _ O2peak), HIIE (80% V _ O2peak), and a no exercise control condition (CON: 50% of BFR). Each exercise bout lasted 18 minutes, during which oxygen consumption (V _ O2), heart rate (HR), and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured at rest and at every 3 minutes during exercise. Ratings of discomfort before and after each trial. The HIIE condition induced the greatest increases in V _ O2 and HR (p , 0.05), whereas AE-BFR was significantly (p , 0.05) greater than AE and CON. HIIE and AE-BFR also elicited the greatest (p , 0.05), but similar (p . 0.05), increases in RPE during exercise, although AE-BFR was significantly greater than HIIE immediately after exercise (p , 0.05). AE-BFR and HIIE also induced similar levels of discomfort after exercise (p . 0.05). In conclusion, HIIE induced the greatest increases in V _ O2 and HR, although the perceptual responses were essentially the same compared with AE-BFR. However, albeit inferior to HIIE, V _ O2 was greater during AE-BFR compared with AE, indicating that this training method may be used to replace HIIE and still significantly elevate V _ O2.

Negative effects of blood flow restriction on perceptual responses to walking in healthy young adults: A pilot study

“…Additionally, similar to the findings from BFR resistance exercise, a couple of studies by Silva et al. [ 19 , 20 ] also reported that perceptual responses induced by low-intensity aerobic exercise with BFR were greater than those induced by low-intensity aerobic exercise with NBFR and similar to those induced by high-intensity aerobic exercise. These previous findings suggest that BFR aerobic and resistance exercises have negative effects on perceptual responses, which may decrease adherence to both exercise modes on the part of some individuals.…”

“…Previous studies reported that increases in RPE and leg discomfort during both modes of resistance and aerobic cycling exercises were greater with BFR than with NBFR [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 19 , 21 ]. Moreover, in both exercise modes, increases in these perceived exertion parameters induced by low-intensity exercise with BFR are similar to or higher than that induced by high-intensity exercise [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 19 ]. Furthermore, several previous studies demonstrated that an increase in RPE during walking is greater with BFR than with NBFR [ 12 , 16 , 17 ].…”

“…This finding corroborates the results of the previous studies [ 12 , 16 , 17 ]. Therefore, although it is a mild exercise mode, perceived exertion responses are more elevated during BFR walking than during NBFR walking, according to the results of resistance and aerobic exercises [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 19 , 21 ].…”

“…Nevertheless, previous studies determined that BFR exercises result in elevated responses of perceptual parameters [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. For example, low-intensity resistance exercise-induced increases in perceived exertion such as the ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and leg discomfort were greater with BFR than with non-BFR (NBFR) [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 21 ].…”

Acute and Chronic Responses of Aerobic Exercise With Blood Flow Restriction: A Systematic Review

“…AE + BFR has been shown to elicit neuromuscular (Abe et al, 2006; Ozaki et al, 2010; Corvino et al, 2014; Kim et al, 2016), metabolic (Abe et al, 2010b; Ozaki et al, 2010; Park et al, 2010; Loenneke et al, 2011; Kim et al, 2016; Taylor et al, 2016; Silva et al, 2019) and cardiovascular (Abe et al, 2010a; Ozaki et al, 2010; Renzi et al, 2010; Kumagai et al, 2012; Karabulut and Garcia, 2015; Silva et al, 2018) adaptations in healthy adults, obese, elderly individuals, and athletes. However, a consensus on the protocols that are used to perform AE + BFR has not been attained.…”