Episode 34: Jim Stray-Gundersen explains how blood flow restriction training builds muscle and improves performance

Blood-flow-restriction training is a topic of growing interest. But as IHMC director and STEM-Talk co-host Dr. Ken Ford points out, there’s also a great deal of misinformation about the training. Episode 34 of STEM-Talk addresses some of that misinformation with our interview of Dr. Jim Stray-Gundersen, who helped pioneer blood flow restriction training and leads the Live Hi/Train Low program for the US Athletic Trust. Since receiving his board certification in general surgery in 1985, Jim has focused his work and research on maximizing human performance, health and resilience. He pioneered the Hi-Low training protocol and played a key role in the development of the anti-doping test, SAFE, which stands for Safe And Fair Events. It is considered the most aggressive blood-profiling test in the fight against doping. He has worked with numerous Olympians in various sports and has an ongoing relationship with world renowned long-distance runner Alberto Salazar, who also is a coach and director of the NIKE Oregon Project. Jeff has been an official physician and consultant of the United States, Norwegian and Canadian Olympic teams. He is an official member of 15 world championships. Jim completed post-doctoral fellowships in cardiovascular physiology and human nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He received appointments as an associate professor of orthopedic surgery and physiology. He spent 20 years on the faculty of UTSW and helped build and direct two human-performance centers at St. Paul and Baylor University hospitals. He has served on international medical committees that include the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, International Biathlon Committee, International Ski Federation and the International Skating Union. Jim also is the sports science advisor for the US Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA), and continues to lead human performance and altitude camps for Olympic athletes, masters athletes, as well as Navy SEALs. He runs The SG Performance Medicine Center and Sport Technologies for Maximal Athletic Performance, overall fitness, weight loss, and recovery in Frisco, Texas, and now the new center in Park City, Utah, located inside The Center of Excellence USSA Building. As if that isn’t enough, he also is the chief medical officer of KAATSU Global, Inc., a Southern California-based company founded by professor Sir Yoshiaki Sato, and Steven Munatones. KAATSU is a patented exercise method developed by Dr. Sato that is based on blood-flow restriction exercise, also known as vascular occlusion moderation training. During the interview, Jim refers to several studies and articles. Below is a link to those studies and papers, and two suppliers of blood flow restriction gear. Be sure to also check out the US Athletic Trust, an organization that supports American Olympic hopefuls, that Jim talks about toward the end of the podcast. Studies: -- Rapid increase in plasma growth hormone after low-intensity resistance exercise with vascular occlusion -- Effects of resistance exercise combined with moderate vascular occlusion on muscular function in humans -- Repetitive restriction of muscle blood flow enhances mTOR signaling pathways in a rat model -- Use and safety of KAATSU training: Results of a national survey -- Blood flow-restricted exercise in space -- Proliferation of myogenic stem cells in human skeletal muscle in response to low-load resistance training with blood flow restriction -- Blood flow-restricted strength training displays high functional and biological efficacy in women: a within-subject comparison with high-load strength training -- Applications of vascular occlusion diminish disuse atrophy of knee extensor muscles Gear: Kaatsu Global Go B Strong, with 15% discount Show notes: :30: Dawn welcomes Ken, who talks about how he has been using blood flow restriction training for the past several years and what a fascin...