Showing posts with label Mark Wahlberg. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mark Wahlberg. Show all posts

Friday, April 16, 2021

B Strong On The Road

For who? Businesspeople, executives, competitive athletes, Baby Boomers, retirees, travelers
For what? Functional movement, strength, muscle tone, stress relief, jet lag, insomnia



One of the world's most popular actors and highly diversified entrepreneurs, Mark Wahlberg leads a remarkable life. Even his fitness regime is unusual and specialized. Wahlberg explains about BFR training on Instagram, "B Strong training bands restricts the blood flow."

Wahlberg is fit, rich and successful as a producer, business leader and father. He works out intensely between 3:40 - 5:15 am with heavy weights and B Strong training bands that he shows off on his new HBO Max special Wahl Street.

But is everyone that motivated, driven, and focused?

"I wish I could get up at 2:30 am like Mark and hit it hard all day long," says Steven Munatones. "He is so focused and achieves what he sets his mind to. He is a great actor and is so successful in everything he touches. But for more common people, fathers and mothers across America who do not have staff and have to report to others - not give orders and set their own schedules, there is KAATSU."

Most people would prefer not to lift heavy weights and be so intense in the weight room on a daily basis. But in a heartbeat, many men would gladly switch their dad bod to Wahlberg's physique.

That is where KAATSU comes into play. KAATSU is simple, easy, convenient, and can be done anywhere anytime.

There are so many applications. For example, check into a hotel and simply unpack with your KAATSU Air Bands on - you will feel the pump and see improved muscle tone.

Relax after a day of hard work on the road - with your feet kicked up and your KAATSU Air Bands on your legs.

The KAATSU Cycle presents a new paradigm for the overstressed and overly busy road warriors and for salespeople with hectic, chaotic lives sandwiched between their airports and business meetings. The same goes for people who are traveling for recreation and leisure.

While Wahlberg pushes himself to the max with heavy weights and B Strong bands, KAATSU, the original BFR and inspiration for B Strong, can be done anywhere anytime by anyone - including in a hotel on the road. That is a seismic difference. The choice for individuals from the U.S. military and those going to the Paralympics or the Warrior Games, KAATSU is safe and effective, but more importantly, KAATSU is extremely convenient and easy to use.

Not everyone has the luxury of time and opportunity to workout like Wahlberg.

In that case, KAATSU is the answer.

The preciseness and specificity, convenience and ease-of-use that are enabled by KAATSU equipment is an unparalleled opportunity for the average non-actor and non-professional athlete.

Performed regularly for less than 20 minutes per day while sitting down or simply walking, incremental increases in performance and in the Quality of Life can make significant changes in the lifestyles of anyone looking for an edge - or a reduction in pain levels due to injuries.

Copyright © 2014 - 2021 by KAATSU Global

Thursday, April 15, 2021

B Strong with KAATSU

For who? Students, competitive athletes, Baby Boomers, retirees
For what? Functional movement, strength, muscle tone, mobility, balance


One of the world's most popular actors and highly diversified entrepreneurs, Mark Wahlberg leads a remarkable life. Even his fitness regime is unusual and specialized. Wahlberg explains about BFR training on Instagram, "B Strong training bands restricts the blood flow."

Wahlberg is fit, rich and successful as a producer, business leader and father. He works out intensely between 3:40 - 5:15 am with heavy weights and B Strong training bands that he shows off on his new HBO Max special Wahl Street.

But is everyone that motivated, driven, and focused?

"I wish I could get up at 2:30 am like Mark and hit it hard all day long," says Steven Munatones. "He is so focused and achieves what he sets his mind to. He is a great actor and is so successful in everything he touches. But for more common people, fathers and mothers across America who do not have staff and have to report to others - not give orders and set their own schedules, there is KAATSU."

Most people would prefer not to lift heavy weights and be so intense in the weight room on a daily basis. But in a heartbeat, many men would gladly switch their dad bod to Wahlberg's physique.

That is where KAATSU comes into play. If a working middle manager wants to gain some muscle tone with a minimum of effort and a maximum of safety, KAATSU is it. If a middle-age man wants to see a little more definition in their upper body and a little less softness in their torso, KAATSU is the ideal. If people are too exhausted after work - or too sleepy before work - then doing KAATSU at their desk or on their sofa is the answer.

The KAATSU Cycle presents a new paradigm for the overstressed and overly busy employees and for people with hectic, chaotic lives sandwiched between their children and parents. The same goes for people who are recovering from surgery or limited mobility in their limbs.

While Wahlberg pushes himself to the max with heavy weights and B Strong bands, KAATSU, the original BFR and inspiration for B Strong, can be done anywhere anytime by anyone. That is a seismic difference. The choice for individuals from the U.S. military and those going to the Paralympics or Warrior Games, KAATSU is safe and effective, but more importantly, KAATSU is extremely convenient and easy to use.


"Your legs are stronger than life..." said New York Mets star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes about his use of KAATSU on an ESPN special. Cespedes explained his condition after a tough KAATSU leg workout with sports broadcaster Jessica Mendoza in an ESPN interview.

Mendoza tried KAATSU with Cespedes and Mike Barwis, an early adopter of KAATSU, at the Barwis Methods Training Center in Port St Lucie, Florida.

Personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, and exercise physiologists believe that optimal muscle building requires lifting of weights or doing resistance exercises. This leads to DOMS (Delayed-onset muscle soreness) that is felt after a hard workout and acute muscle soreness that is felt during or immediately after a workout. Conventional wisdom is that the heavier the weight and/or the more repetitions or time in the gym, the larger and faster muscles will develop.

The muscle-building process leads to DMOS where the muscle fibers are damaged while weight lifting, and leads to the secretion of HGH (Human Growth Hormone) that results in muscle recovery, growth and size.

But not everyone has the luxury of time and opportunity to workout like Wahlberg and Cespedes.

In that case, KAATSU is the answer.

The preciseness and specificity, convenience and ease-of-use that are enabled by KAATSU equipment is an unparalleled opportunity for the average non-actor and non-professional athlete.

Performed regularly for less than 20 minutes per day while sitting down or simply walking, incremental increases in performance and in the Quality of Life can make significant changes in the lifestyles of anyone looking for an edge - or a reduction in pain levels due to injuries.

Copyright © 2014 - 2021 by KAATSU Global

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Berra On The Background And Benefits Of KAATSU, The Original BFR

For who? Competitive athletes
For what? Strength, functional movement, mobility

Yoga Berra is one of the greatest catchers in American baseball history and a popular Hall of Famer. He once said, "Baseball is 90% mental. The other half is physical."

Something similar can be said of KAATSU because KAATSU is a catalyst for many beneficial biochemical reactions that occur in the brain while enabling the physicality of the body (muscle, bones, ligaments, tendons) to improve.

Berra's granddaughter is Lindsay Berra, a former Major League Baseball reporter and ESPN Magazine writer who specializes in fitness.

She wrote about the background and benefits of KAATSU Fitness in the October 2020 issue of Men's Health Magazine (US edition see Blood Rush article here).

In her article, Berra writes about the origins of KAATSU the original BFR. "Yoshiaki Sato, Ph.D., M.D., a Japanese bodybuilder, sat in an hours-long Buddhist ceremony in the Seiza posture, thighs folded onto his calves. When he stood, he felt his calves throbbing. He theorized that this was due to restricted blood flow and spent the next 20 years working to re-create the feeling by wrapping his muscles with bike-tire tubes, ropes and judo belts (with uneven success)."

To be precise, Dr. Sato worked relentlessly and experimented constantly between 1966 and 1995, developing the KAATSU protocols Then in the mid-1990's, he began collaborating with Professor Ishii at the University of Tokyo, and then later with cardiologists Dr. Nakajima and Dr. Morita at the University of Tokyo Hospital.

Ultimately, Dr. Sato and his collaborators tested KAATSU on over 7,000 cardiac rehab patients, developing the safe protocols that are used today.

Berra continued, "Only when Dr. Sato attached pneumatic bands to a digital control system did he find he could consistently and safely restrict blood flow. He dubbed his machine the Kaatsu (Japanese for “additional pressure”), and it remains one of a handful of tools that deliver proper and precise pressure to restrict blood flow. These tools cost serious coin. (The Kaatsu runs $900, and the units used by NFL teams are as much as $5,000.) But that hasn’t stopped Mark Wahlberg, Lakes center Dwight Howard, and many others from turning to BFR for an edge."

The KAATSU equipment that she refers to is the KAATSU Cycle 2.0 device [shown above with 72-year-old Dr. Sato]. The device that costs more is the Delfi Portable Tournique System for Blood Flow Restriction.

"KAATSU and Delfi are very different systems," explains Steven Munatones, CEO of KAATSU Global. "When the wide bands of the Delfi unit are used, you can see how the device is a modified tourniquet that is designed to occlude blood flow.

In contrast, nothing about KAATSU is about restricting blood flow, especially arterial flow into your arms or legs. The narrow elastic, stretchable bands of the KAATSU equipment allows freedom of movement so athletes can throw balls, musicians can play instruments, businesspeople can type emails, and others can easily do everything from household chores to physical therapy.

With the wider tourniquet bands, the increased girth of the arms pushes hard against the unforgiving cuffs that serve to occlude arterial flow which is why a Doppler device is required. You do not want to occlude too much which is why the occlusion rate is always monitored. In contrast, when occlusion is not a part of the equation, like with KAATSU, this risk is eliminated. This was one of the outcomes of the decade-long study of KAATSU at the University of Tokyo Hospital by cardiologists
."

Berra described the benefits in her article, "The promise is enticing, and BFR’s mechanism is based in sound physiology.

Lifting heavy weights forces your muscles to contract so tightly that they briefly trap blood, causing the sought-after pump.

That natural blood flow restriction also causes lactic-acid build-up, triggering the release of muscle-building proteins and hormones, like HGH and insulin-like growth factor. BFR mimics the effect of heavy weights, causing the body to release the same proteins and hormones. When done properly, with a device that monitors the pressure in your arteries, it can increase muscular strength and growth, according to 2019 research published in Frontiers in Physiology.


Berra understands the need to be safe. She writes, "Message boards claim you can DIY bands and skip precise tracking, but experts disagree. At worst, you’ll tighten the bands too much, risking nerve and vascular damage. Leave them too loose and BFR won’t work, says Adam Anz, M.D. of the Andrews Institute for Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine in Gulf Breeze, Florida. To achieve the effects of BFR, you must completely compress your surface veins, he says, trapping that blood in your muscles. That’s difficult to do without equipment and constant monitoring."

"With KAATSU Fitness or KAATSU Therapy, however, you do not have to completely compress your surface veins - not even close," explains Munatones. "The arterial blood flow continues uninterrupted and the venous return is only slightly modified [see image below]."

"While occlusion training advocates recommend fully occluding blood flow, KAATSU Specialists would never do that.

And we work with people with all kinds of stages of health in several dozens of countries up to the age of 104
," says Munatones.

As Berra explains about antiaging, "BFR may help combat sarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass.

According to a 2019 Sports Medicine review, older adults utilizing BFR achieved more muscle hypertrophy than those doing classic resistance training
."

That is certainly true, as described is this post about the oldest client of KAATSU Fitness, doing the original BFR:



Copyright © 2014 - 2020 by KAATSU Global