The 2 most common mistakes to avoid when putting on BFR bands

John Wooden, the great UCLA basketball coach was known for beginning a practice by teaching his team how to tie their shoes. This seemed basic and well understood, but his players soon realized that a blister or an untied shoelace could be costly. The same could be said with putting on blood flow restriction (BFR) bands. It seems basic, but if the bands aren’t set up properly it can ruin the experience as would a poorly tied shoe.

After teaching hundreds of professionals and consumers how to perform BFR training with pneumatic bands, there are two mistakes that I commonly see that can be easily avoided to improve putting on BFR bands.

The BFR bands are placed too low on the limb

The top mistake most people make is not getting the BFR bands up high enough on the arm or the leg. For the arm, the band should sit in the crease between the biceps and deltoid muscle. For the legs it should be on the upper third of the quadriceps muscle. Not placing the band high enough and in the proper location can impact the consistency of pressure placed into the limb as well as the overall comfort. This is due to the band covering more of the muscle belly. The video below serves as an example of the difference a half of inch makes with the B Strong BFR band on the arm.

There can also be negative effects from putting the band too high onto the arm or leg. These would be things like experiencing chaffing or numbness, but nine times out of ten the error with band placement tends to be on the low side.

The BFR bands are not secured properly prior to inflating

Prior to putting air into pneumatic BFR bands, many times the initial tension is either too loose or too tight. If too loose, the BFR bands can slide during the exercise. If too tight, you run the risk of the BFR bands causing occlusion of both the artery and vein when inflated. The initial tension can vary depending on equipment specific recommendations.

If using the B Strong BFR bands, they should feel snug and shouldn’t slide with limb movement prior to inflating. Two fingers should also be able to slide partway under the edge of the band to ensure the tension isn’t overpowering the limb once they are inflated.

By avoiding these two mistakes prior to starting exercise, the likelihood of a positive experience with BFR training can be maximized.