Technology and fitness are not strangers when it comes to finding ways to get the best out of your training and to reach your fitness goals. The latest is from Saga which has developed a Bluetooth cuff for blood flow restriction (BFR) which helps accelerate your results.
BFR is also known as tourniquet training which can increase muscle growth while training with weights or your own body weight.
Using a tourniquet – in this case the Saga BFR Cuffs – around your arm or your leg restricts blood flow to the muscle and this causes the muscle to fatigue faster and work harder.
Ultimately the benefits are increasing muscle size and strength faster than you normally would.
Saga says the results of BFR training can be seen in as little as two to three weeks which is better and faster than traditional weight training.
The Saga Cuffs are the world’s first auto-inflating BFR cuffs. They are completely wireless and offer intelligent and intuitive calibration for your own safety.
Users can take complete control of the cuffs through the companion app on their smartphone.
The Saga BFR Cuffs can be linked to the Saga Fitness app which can be downloaded on iPhone and Android.
But before you do that you need to go through a BFR screening to ensure you don’t have any medical conditions that could offer a risk during the tourniquet training.
Saga advises that if you feel pins and needles, numbness or excessive pain at any time you should stop your BFR training and seeking medical advice.
The screening tool asks a number of questions about any medical conditions including thrombophilia, pregnancy, infection, cancer, diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, varicose veins, obesity, varicose veins and if you’re a smoker.
Once completed the app will tell you if you are at a low, medium or high risk when trying BFR training.
The next step is to pair the cuffs through the app and, when they are connected, to specify whether you are using them on your arm and leg.
Next step is calibrating the pressure on your arm or leg.
Users place the cuff on their relaxed limb and then it inflates to work out the best pressure to apply during your workout.
During this calibration you can feel the cuffs inflating and tightening to work out the ideal pressure to apply for your workout.
When you’re ready to go you can then start the timer and you’ll hear and feel the cuffs inflate for your weights session.
The tighter sensation when doing your weights take a little getting used to but the best way of describing it is feeling an even deeper burn when doing weights or any other aerobic activity.
We used the cuffs on our arms but we’d imagine the same effect would be felt on leg day if the Saga cuffs were placed around your thighs.
There are suggestions on the app about the types of exercise you can perform including the number of reps to get the most benefits.
Before using these cuffs we had no idea what BFR training was but we can appreciate the benefits a fitter person would achieve.
Our feeling is that if you’re unfit or getting back into fitness then you’re probably not ready for BFR and these cuffs.
If you’ve already got a decent level of fitness under your belt then the Saga Cuffs would be ideal for you to explore this interesting new way of achieving an even greater level of muscle growth and strength in a much shorter time.
It’s a case of working our smarter not harder and that’s certainly when the Saga Cuffs can help you with.
The Saga Cuffs are available now in two sizes – medium and large – and are priced at $249 and $279 respectively.