Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise Versus Traditional Resistance Exercise in Voluntary Exhaustion on Quadriceps Muscle Adaptations in Untrained Young Males: A Randomized Trial

Akgül, Mustafa Şakir; Uysal, Hüseyin Şahin; Keskin, Nevin Köremezli; Çetin, Tuğba; Başdemirci, Merve; Akgül, Melike Nur; Yıldız, Zehra; Çiftçi, Ebubekir; Soslu, Recep

doi:10.3390/medicina61050804

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise Versus Traditional Resistance Exercise in Voluntary Exhaustion on Quadriceps Muscle Adaptations in Untrained Young Males: A Randomized Trial

by

Mustafa Şakir Akgül

^1,*

,

Hüseyin Şahin Uysal

²

,

Nevin Köremezli Keskin

³,

Tuğba Çetin

¹

,

Merve Başdemirci

³,

Melike Nur Akgül

⁴,

Zehra Yıldız

¹,

Ebubekir Çiftçi

⁵

and

Recep Soslu

⁶

¹

Department of Coaching Education, Hasan Dogan Faculty of Sport Sciences, Karabuk University, Karabuk 78000, Turkey

²

Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Burdur 15030, Turkey

³

Department of Radiology, Karabuk University Training and Research Hospital, Karabuk 78000, Turkey

⁴

Eskipazar Vocational School, Karabuk University, Karabuk 78000, Turkey

⁵

Department of Movement and Exercise Sciences, The Institute of Graduate Programs, Istanbul Gelişim University, İstanbul 34315, Turkey

⁶

Department of Coaching Education, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey University, Karaman 70200, Turkey

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Medicina 2025, 61(5), 804; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61050804 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 26 March 2025 / Revised: 14 April 2025 / Accepted: 18 April 2025 / Published: 26 April 2025

(This article belongs to the Section Sports Medicine and Sports Traumatology)

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Abstract

Background and Objectives: This study compared the effects of blood flow restriction resistance exercise (BFR-RE) and high-load resistance exercise (HL-RE) in voluntary exhaustion on quadriceps muscle adaptations in untrained young males. Materials and Methods: This study used a randomized controlled design that included 30 untrained young males (age = 21.42 ± 2.51). The BFR-RE group performed leg extension exercises with 60% occlusion pressure and 30% of one maximum repetition in volitional exhaustion. The same exercise was conducted at 70% 1RM in the HL-RE group. Fourteen variables were used to evaluate the intervention efficacy, including muscle thickness, stiffness, strength, cross-sectional area (CSA), and subcutaneous fat thickness. Analyses were reported using frequentist and Bayesian approaches. The Bayes factor (BF10 and BFincl) was interpreted based on negative and positive values. Results: The results revealed that the main effect of time was statistically significant for muscle strength, thickness, CSA, and stiffness (p < 0.05, BFincl > 1) and, in intragroup comparisons, both groups showed improvements in these parameters (p < 0.05, BF10 > 1). A statistically significant decrease in subcutaneous fat thickness was observed in the BFR-RE group (p < 0.05, BF10 > 1), while this change was not observed in the HL-RE group (p > 0.05, BF10 < 1). Similarly, a statistically significant increase in right rectus femoris muscle stiffness was detected in the BFR-RE group (p < 0.05, BF10 > 1) but not in the HL-RE group (p > 0.05, BF10 < 1). Furthermore, time’s main effect was statistically insignificant for thigh circumference (p > 0.05, BFincl < 1). The group × time interaction was statistically significant only for peak power leg flexion left (p < 0.05, BFincl > 1), and a statistically significant difference in favor of the BFR-RE group was observed in the intergroup comparisons (p < 0.05, BF10 > 1). Conclusions: In conclusion, BF-RE exercise with voluntary exhaustion may be as effective as HL-RE for hypertrophic adaptations in untrained young males.

Keywords: vascular occlusion; ultrasonography; hypertrophy; muscle strength; cross-sectional area

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MDPI and ACS Style

Akgül, M.Ş.; Uysal, H.Ş.; Keskin, N.K.; Çetin, T.; Başdemirci, M.; Akgül, M.N.; Yıldız, Z.; Çiftçi, E.; Soslu, R. Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise Versus Traditional Resistance Exercise in Voluntary Exhaustion on Quadriceps Muscle Adaptations in Untrained Young Males: A Randomized Trial. Medicina 2025, 61, 804. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61050804

AMA Style

Akgül MŞ, Uysal HŞ, Keskin NK, Çetin T, Başdemirci M, Akgül MN, Yıldız Z, Çiftçi E, Soslu R. Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise Versus Traditional Resistance Exercise in Voluntary Exhaustion on Quadriceps Muscle Adaptations in Untrained Young Males: A Randomized Trial. Medicina. 2025; 61(5):804. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61050804

Chicago/Turabian Style

Akgül, Mustafa Şakir, Hüseyin Şahin Uysal, Nevin Köremezli Keskin, Tuğba Çetin, Merve Başdemirci, Melike Nur Akgül, Zehra Yıldız, Ebubekir Çiftçi, and Recep Soslu. 2025. "Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise Versus Traditional Resistance Exercise in Voluntary Exhaustion on Quadriceps Muscle Adaptations in Untrained Young Males: A Randomized Trial" Medicina 61, no. 5: 804. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61050804

APA Style

Akgül, M. Ş., Uysal, H. Ş., Keskin, N. K., Çetin, T., Başdemirci, M., Akgül, M. N., Yıldız, Z., Çiftçi, E., & Soslu, R. (2025). Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise Versus Traditional Resistance Exercise in Voluntary Exhaustion on Quadriceps Muscle Adaptations in Untrained Young Males: A Randomized Trial. Medicina, 61(5), 804. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61050804

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Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Resistance Exercise Versus Traditional Resistance Exercise in Voluntary Exhaustion on Quadriceps Muscle Adaptations in Untrained Young Males: A Randomized Trial

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