~ 7 minute read
Could I grow my arms and forearms in 30 days with the addition of Blood Flow Restriction training?
To get straight into the point, Yes.
and here is how much I grew.
Now I wasn’t starting out with small arms but I’m a fan of training arms often with high volume, strength based reps and just any style or variation I could do and I’ve been training for over 10 years so easy gains are not guaranteed any more.
I trained arms (Biceps & Triceps), 2-3 times per week already at the end of my upper body days, accumulating around 8-12 sets of direct arm training on each muscle.
However, doing more volume daily with a decent load I predicted would cause some overuse injuries/strains and as I am prepping for a powerlifting competition, I didn’t want to take the risk.
However, I was gifted a Hytro Blood Flow Restriction top which gave me the option to easily perform some blood flow restriction sets with no real set up.
Now, I have dabbled in BFR training for years, but it has always been just a little bonus/token pump at the end of a workout using either leg wraps or tourniquets.
This top gave me the ability to perform it easily and make it measurable. (BTW, this is not an advert for Hytro, even though it comes across as one as I write this 🙄)
A quick science on BFR (Blood Flow Restriction)
“Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) training, or occlusion training, is a scientifically proven technique used to rapidly increase muscle size and strength and accelerate recovery. It involves applying a tightened strap to the proximal point of the arms or legs. This allows oxygenated blood to flow to the muscles but restricts the amount that then returns to the heart. As a result, blood remains in the muscle, which causes it to swell. Once the muscle swells, a whole host of physiological reactions occur that ultimately result in enhanced muscle size and strength – along with the greatest muscle pump of your life.”
– taken directly from the Hytro website
So after being gifted one of these tops and recording a deep dive podcast episode with the founder of Hytro, Dr. Warren Bradley (Check out the podcast below), it got me thinking.
Could I add growth by just adding the BFR protocol on top of what I currently do?
Pretty much 10 minutes or less per day at the end of each session or just picking up a bit of kit at home to knock out some BFR.
Over the 4 weeks I varied training approaches, from Foundational movements to Strength based reps, an increase in total Volume and then all the reps in the Overload week.
For the final 2 days (Day 29 & 30) we combined some Myo-Reps & some more BFR.
I also opened this experiment out to my social media audience.
Over a 30 days, 21 men received a daily email with my bolt on arm workout which at the end of the 30 days, they gained a range of improvements from +1cm (1/3 inch) to +2.7cm (1.1 inch) of arm size growth.
Not Bad.
I enjoy training arms and I wanted bigger arms, to put it simply.
There is a bit of a stigma at the moment to not want to just look better. But to be honest, that was my main driver. To see if I can grow my arms, because who doesn’t want their t-shirt fitting that bit tighter on their sleeves.
For sure, I did enjoy how committing to 30 days on one thing not only gave me the improvements of muscle growth, but improved other areas in my life, from nutrition consistency to lifestyle habits.
Over the 30 days, I missed 3 days and had to add the sessions on to the other arm bolt on days, so I still got the volume but for whatever reason, the day got away from me and I missed those days.
However, the fact I can commit to 30 days and see improvements like this, then I will definitely repeat this block.
I enjoyed getting a arm pump everyday. It made me feel great and put me in a good mood. It motivated me in other areas of training and it kept me accountable to something from 30 days which carried over to other areas of my life. So win win.
I didn’t enjoy the initial resistance to training everyday. It started out feeling like a bit of a chore, but after the week 2, I saw the light and really started feeling the gains.
This was also why I took halfway measurements to keep me in check and keep me pushing to the end.
This bolt on can be easily added on to the end of your training and all the blood flow restriction work doesn’t require much equipment so can easily be done at home if necessary with some bands or a light dumbbell or kettlebell.
You can purchase and download the Arm Experiment Bolt On Interactive PDF right here for only £9.99.
Train with purpose and achieve growth in 30 days of your money back. I am that certain that you will see growth in 30 days.
You have nothing to lose but bigger arms to gain.
BONUS
Hytro provided me with an exclusive discount to give to my audience and will save you 20%.
Use my code ROB20 at checkout.
Thanks for reading and happy gaining 💪🏼
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