ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Physiol.
Sec. Exercise Physiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1453153
Effects of BFR-RST on Upper Limb Performance in Boxers: A Study Based on Physiological Indices, Anthropometric Measurement Indices, Anaerobic Power, and Punching Performance
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhejiang Guangsha Vocational and Technical University of Construction, Dongyang, China
- 2Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
This study examined the effects of a four-week, 40% arterial occlusion pressure blood flow restriction-specific repeated sprint training (RST) regimen on the upper-limb anaerobic capacity and punching performance of male collegiate boxers. Thirty-six healthy participants were assigned to either a blood flow restriction training group (Experimental Group, EG, n=18) or a conventional training group (Control Group, CG, n=18). Physiological measurements indices and anthropometric measurement indices (resting heart rate, heart rate after Wingate test, upper arm tensed circumference, upper arm relaxed circumference, BPP), upper-limb anaerobic power indices (PP, MP, tPP, PD), and punching performance indices (peak punching speed, total number of 6s all-out punches, peak punching speed post 6s all-out punches) were recorded at T0 (pre-intervention), T1 (mid-intervention), and T2(post-intervention). Two-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that, compared to the CG, the EG showed significant increases at T2 in upper arm tensed circumference (+4.6%), BPP (+11.24% at T1, +10.18% at T2), PP (+10.09% at T1, +9.03% at T2), MP (+12.29% at T1, +11.69% at T2), tPP (+16.00% at T1, +8.09% at T2), total number of 6s all-out punches (+8.4% at T2), and peak punching speed post 6s all-out punches (+10.7% at T2). In contrast, heart rate after the Wingate test (-3.2% at T2) and PD (-6.57% at T1, -5.59% at T2) decreased (p < 0.05), with significant group-by-time interactions observed at T2 (p < 0.05). This study demonstrates that both types of RST training effectively enhance upper-limb anaerobic power and strength in boxers, with the improvements from blood flow restriction training proving superior to those from conventional RST. Furthermore, while neither training method significantly affected peak punch speed, the BFR-RST program significantly outperformed conventional RST in terms of fatigue resistance, leading to notable enhancements in anaerobic power.
Keywords: combat sports, Blood flow restriction, repeated-sprint training, Wingate test, peak punching speed
Received: 22 Jun 2024; Accepted: 17 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 XU, Mao and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
QingLou XU, Zhejiang Guangsha Vocational and Technical University of Construction, Dongyang, China
Ruiqiu Mao, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.