How does it work?
Put a form of a tourniquet (bands, wraps, etc.) on to restrict the flow of blood out of the working muscle through the veins back towards the heart.
For example, you can do this by wrapping the tourniquet just above the biceps.
The object is to do something that is very light and has higher reps.
For example, you could use light dumbbells, light cable machines, or a band and do lots of repetitions.
The main thing that you accomplish with occlusion training is that you increase the intensity of the movement.
No different than other tools to increase the intensity. For example, like including drop sets in your training, doing slower negatives, or pyramid sets.
It is just another tool at hand.
If you have joint issues, heavy training may not be your best option.
So tools like the intensity techniques that I mentioned above and occlusion training could be a good alternative to get that hypertrophy response. (Muscle Hypertrophy Definition: involves an increase in the size of skeletal muscle through a growth in the size of its component cells.)
Is this something that I have utilized before?
I’m going to be honest… no I have not.
As of right now, I don’t think that it is necessary.
If I want to get hypertrophy work in, I use some of the other techniques that I mentioned above to increase the intensity.