If someone was to offer Marcelo Bielsa a way his players could take part in extra training, but with less strain and therefore less risk of injury, and yet still yield better results, then the Leeds United manager would think it was Christmas every day.
Well, that’s already happening according to a Boxing Day report from Ouest France.
The ‘Mad Up’ system is based on Blood Flow Restriction, which is a ‘scientific training method that appeared in Japan some 30 years ago’.
Former footballer Delis Ahou and a team collaborating with him are presenting the method to clubs to get more custom, and Fabrice Bryand, former Nantes and France national teak doctor, has become involved.
Bryand is quoted as saying: “Weightlifting can contract muscles by crushing blood vessels. They carry less oxygen, so you make muscle. With the BFR, one compresses these vessels by a tightening, a sort of tourniquet. The muscle works, and also produces lactic acid. The info goes back to the brain, which in turn triggers growth hormones and other substances. Through the BFR, one does not need to work at 90% of the maximum load of an athlete, but at 30%. And at 30%, the muscle does not suffer. There is no joint damage, or contractions. You can train in the afternoons after a BFR session in the morning.”
That sounds perfect for Bielsa.
Bryand continued: “In the United States, people use rubber bands… It can be dangerous. The brilliant idea is to secure this process. The Mad Up has a sensor that measures limb blockage. And with an algorithm, one blocks to 80% the arterial pressure, which varies according to each individual. We eliminate the risks.”
The system is used by NBA stars and American footballers, but hasn’t really taken off in Europe yet.
Leeds United and Inter Milan are among the small number of clubs said to have already started using Mad Up.
