Recovery Studio at Outlast Health and Performance

We are excited to offer several recovery services and tools to our clients! Our studio is available to help you upgrade your rehab experience, enhance your recovery between training sessions, and prepare for your next bout of training.

Our studio is equipped with the same recovery tools used by professional athletes. These tools are expensive to buy for home use, but we have compiled them together and offer a membership option for you to have unlimited access.

Unlimited access to our recovery tools:

• Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) Training

• NormaTec Recovery System

• Hyperice Percussive Tools

• Mobility Tools

We decided not to list the specific product lines as we will continue to upgrade our products as more research and technology becomes available.

Click here to contact us if you have any questions about our recovery studio or our membership options.

Benefits of blood flow restriction (BFR) training:

1- Improves muscle strength and size

 Making gains in muscle size and strength are typically done by training at higher intensities, such as 70+% of your 1-RM. These gains can be made with BFR training at 20-40% of your 1-RM. It’s all about your net protein (amount of protein synthesis minus your protein breakdown). Some other factors that play a role in increasing muscle strength and size are significant increases in gene expression like mTOR1c (protein synthesis), increases in hormones like Growth Hormone (GH) and Insulin Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) all of which signal the body to grow muscle and recover faster. Additionally, there is a down regulation, or blocking, of the Myostatin gene. This is important because the less Myostatin the more muscle growth you will have.

2- Improves endurance

BFR training can help improve your VO2 max via lactate production. Increased lactate production increases cognitive ability, increases motor recruitment, and increases the number and efficacy of your body’s mitochondria. Increased mitochondria means increased oxygen consumption and increased energy production. This all happens in relatively short bouts of BFR training and means that muscular endurance is improved in less time than with traditional endurance or interval training.

3- Activates more muscle fibers

With low-intensity training, the muscle environment remains in an aerobic state, meaning that it is using oxygen. When you apply BFR cuffs during low-intensity training, it creates an environment that is lacking oxygen (similar to high-intensity training). This is important because it causes you to fatigue your slow-twitch muscle fibers and activate your fast-twitch muscle fibers to perform the movement. Without releasing the cuffs, the environment will remain anaerobic and you will continue to recruit more and more muscle fibers that you otherwise would not have used. This leads to more muscle growth, strength, and power!

4- Quicker workouts

For endurance athletes looking to get in a strength training session or for anyone looking to workout at submaximal loads for long durations to get a “pump” or for hypertrophy, it can take a long time to get through a workout. BFR training allows you to workout at submaximal loads, but speeds up the fatigue process to get the same results in a faster session.

5-Improves athletic performance

Athletes of all types, shapes, and sizes can benefit from BFR. The ability to increase in-season training volume without increasing the demand for recovery allows the athlete to maintain higher levels of strength and muscle size throughout the season without jeopardizing game-time performance. In fact, the ability to maintain higher levels of strength and size may actually help increase in-season performance. If it is good enough for elite athletes and the military special forces, it is good enough for you!

6- Increases HGH levels

Human growth hormone (HGH) increases by up to 300% with the use of BFR training. Increased HGH leads to increased insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1). When combined with higher testosterone levels, this stimulates muscle growth. BFR training can help with testosterone replacement therapies. This is more natural than using supplements.

7- Avoids muscle atrophy and weakening after surgery

BFR training helps you recover faster after surgery. This is my favorite utilization of this modality because the impact is that much greater! Typically after surgery, you will deal with pain, swelling, stiffness, and weakness. After a knee surgery (i.e. ACL reconstruction, total knee replacement, arthroscopy, etc.), your quads will have difficulty activating and you will be on precautions to avoid lifting and squatting. When all of this happens, you lose a lot of muscle size and strength. For the reasons in #1, you can use BFR training with low-impact, low-intensity exercises to fight off muscle wasting.

8- Aids recovery from tendon injury

As we talked about earlier, BFR training can increase HGH levels by up to 300%. HGH helps with muscle and tendon healing. Also, tendon rehab can be challenging due to the high levels of pain typically experienced during exercise. Research shows us that BFR training can mitigate the pain response in tendons during exercise while at the same time allowing you to build up strength and tissue resilience

Benefits of the NormaTec recovery system:

1- Reduces pain sensitivity

NormaTec Pulse compression is a promising means of accelerating and enhancing recovery by reducing muscle tenderness from pressure stimuli.

2- Improves range of motion

NormaTec Pulse compression rapidly enhances acute range-of-motion with less discomfort and time.

3- Reduces muscle fatigue after exercise

A 30-minute treatment of NormaTec Pulse compression increases blood flow in the lower extremity, possibly making Pulse compression a viable option in the management of exercise-induced muscle damage (DOMS). NormaTec Pulse compression increases flexibility and reduces select skeletal muscle oxidative stress and proteolysis markers during recovery from heavy resistance exercise.

4- Clears metabolites passively

NormaTec Pulse compression significantly lowers blood lactate concentrations when compared to a passive recovery group.

5- Increases oxygenated hemoglobin

NormaTec Pulse compression significantly increases total and oxygenated hemoglobin.

6- Improves endothelial function

A single bout of NormaTec Pulse compression improves conduit artery endothelial function systemically and improves RH blood flow in the compressed limbs.

7-Facilitates muscle protein rebuilding

A 60 min bout of whole-leg, NormaTec Pulse compression transiently upregulates PGC-1αmRNA, while also upregulating eNOS protein and NOx concentrations in biopsy samples. NormaTec Pulse compression appears to upregulate RPS-6 and downregulate Stat1, which may facilitate positive adaptive responses to exercise.

Benefits of percussive therapy:

1- Improves blood flow and oxygen distribution

Percussive treatments have been proven to improve blood flow, flexibility, muscle strength and physical performance, all of which contribute to better workouts and a lower risk of injury.

2- Reduces muscle soreness after activity

Percussive therapy has been shown to have a similar effect on delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) as traditional massage. Using a massage gun can help relax tense muscles and reduce discomfort.

3- Improves range of motion

Temporary improvements in muscle flexibility can be seen immediately after using percussive products. This is likely due to an alteration in the neural input from the nervous system into the muscles. You can use this to your advantage by using percussive therapy before or during stretching sessions.

4- Improves pain sensitivity

Percussive therapy can help calm down a painful area with a high-frequency stimulation to disguise the pain. In addition, if tension in the muscles are related to your pain, then percussive treatments can help soothe these muscles by affecting the neural input to the muscles from the nervous system.

Click here to contact us if you have any questions about our recovery studio or our membership options.

Corey Hall, PT, DPT

 Additional Resources:

1. Clark et al. 2011. Relative Safety of 4 Weeks of Blood Flow-Restricted Resistance Exercise in Young, Healthy Adults.

2. Loenneke et al. 2011. Low Intensity Blood Flow Restriction Training: A Meta-Analysis.

3. Nielsen et al. 2012. Proliferation on Myogenic Stem Cells in Human Skeletal Muscle in Response to Low-Load Resistance Training with Blood Flow Restriction.

4. Neto et al. 2016. Effects of Resistance Training with Blood Flow Restriction on Haemodynamics: A Systematic Review.

5. Hughes et al. 2017. Blood Flow Restriction Training in Clinical Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

6. DePhillip et al. 2018. Blood Flow Restriction Training After Knee Surgery: Indications, Safety Considerations, and Postoperative Protocol.

7. Korakakis et al. 2018. Low Load Resistance Training with Blood Flow Restriction Decreases Anterior Knee Pain More Than Resistance Training Alone. A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial.

8. Mattocks et al. 2018. The Application of Blood Flow Restriction: Lessons From the Laboratory.

9. McEwen et al. 2018. Why is it Crucial to Use Personalized Occlusion Pressures in Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) Rehabilitation?

10. Hughes et al. 2018. Interface Pressure, Perceptual, and Mean Arterial Pressure Responses to Different Blood Flow Restriction Systems.

11. Bowman et al. 2019. Proximal, Distal, and Contralateral Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Training on the Lower Extremities: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

12. Mouser et al. 2019. High-Pressure Blood Flow Restriction with Very Low Load Resistance Training Results in Peripheral Vascular Adaptations Similar to Heavy Resistance Training.

13. Ilett et al. 2019. The Effects of Restriction Pressures on the Acute Responses to Blood Flow Restriction Exercise.

14. Centner et al. 2019. Low-Load Blood Flow Restriction Training Induces Similar Morphological and Mechanical Achilles Tendon Adaptations Compared with High-Load Resistance Training.

15. Hughes et al. 2019. Examination of the Comfort and Pain Experienced with Blood Flow Restriction Training During Post-Surgery Rehabilitation of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Patients: A UK National Health Service Trial.

16. Hughes et al. 2019. Comparing the Effectiveness of Blood Flow Restriction and Traditional Heavy Load Resistance Training in the Post-Surgery Rehabilitation of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Patients: A UK National Health Service Randomised Controlled Trial.

17. Centner et al. 2019. Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Training on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy in Older Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

18. Patterson et al. Blood Flow Restriction Exercise: Considerations of Methodology, Application, and Safety.

19. Hughes and Patterson. 2020. The Effect of Blood Flow Restriction Exercise on Exercise-Induced Hypoalgesia and Endogenous Opioid and Endocannabinoid Mechanisms of Pain Modulation.

20. Talbot et al. 2012. Postoperative Use of the NormaTec Pneumatic Compression Device in Vascular Anomalies.

21. Keck. 2012. Effect of Lower Limb Compression (NormaTec) on Glycogen Resynthesis.

22. Cochrane et al. 2013. Does Intermittent Pneumatic Leg Compression Enhance Muscle Recovery after Strenuous Eccentric Exercise?

23. Hanson et al. 2013. An Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Device Reduces Blood Lactate Concentrations More Effectively Than Passive Recovery After Wingate Testing.

24. Draper. 2014. Effects of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression on Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) in Long Distance Runners.

25. Sands et al. 2014. Peristaltic Pulse Dynamic Compression of the Lower Extremity Enhances Flexibility.

26. Vincent-Horta et al. 2015. Acute Effects of External Pneumatic Compression on Peripheral and Central Hemodynamics.

27. Hernandez. 2015. A Preliminary Study on External Counterpulsation System: An Alternative Therapeutic Option for Fontan Patients.

28. Keck et al. 2015. Effects of Commercially Available Pneumatic Compression on Muscle Glycogen Recovery After Exercise.

29. Kephart et al. 2015. A Single Bout of Whole-Leg, Peristaltic Pulse External Pneumatic Compression Upregulates PGC-1α mRNA and Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Protein in Human Skeletal Muscle Tissue.

30. Martin et al. 2015. Acute Effects of Peristaltic Pneumatic Compression on Repeated Anaerobic Exercise Performance and Blood Lactate Clearance.

31. Martin et al. 2015. Peripheral Conduit and Resistance Artery Function are Improved Following a Single, 1-H Bout of Peristaltic Pulse External Pneumatic Compression.

32. Sands et al. 2015. Dynamic Compression Enhances Pressure-to-Pain Threshold in Elite Athlete Recovery: Exploratory Study.

33. Lindahl. 2016. The Effect of Intermittent Pneumatic Compression on the Management of Pain Associated with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness.

34. Martin et al. 2016. A Single 60-Min Bout of Peristaltic Pulse External Pneumatic Compression Transiently Upregulates Phosphorylated Ribosomal Protein s6.

35. Martin et al. 2016. Impact of External Pneumatic Compression Target Inflation Pressure on Transciptome-Wide RNA Expression in Skeletal Muscle.

36. Chase. 2017. The Impact of a Single Intermittent Pneumatic Compression Bout on Performance, Inflammatory Markers, and Myoglobin in Football Athletes.

37. Haun et al. 2017. Concomitant External Pneumatic Compression Treatment with COnsecutive Days of High Intensity Interval Training Reduces Markers of Proteolysis.

38. Haun et al. 2017. Does External Pneumatic Compression Treatment Between Bouts of Overreaching Resistance Training Sessions Exert Differential Effects on Molecular Signaling and Performance-Related Variables Compared to Passive Recovery! An Exploratory Study.

39. Brock et al. 2018. Sequential Pulse Compression’s Effect on Blood Flow in the Lower Extremity.

40. Martin et al. 2018. Unilateral Application of an External Pneumatic Compression Therapy Improves Skin Blood Flow and Vascular Reactivity Bilaterally.