Sunday, February 27, 2022

KAATSU Helps the Healing of Hands of Hard Work

If you have hands of hard work or gym hands, you are often faced with raw, dry skin often with calluses and blisters. Your hands can get dry, itchy, irritated, painful, and, in some cases, embarrassing or debilitated.

Whether you workout in a gym, rock climb, row, ride, do gymnastics, play musical instruments, or use your hands in your daily work in construction, all your repeated hard work can cause cause pain, discomfort, and inflammation in the skin of your hands as well as strain on its ligaments and tendons.

While your child, partner or other family members appreciate your hard work, they undoubtedly prefer a smoother, softer, more tender touch when you place your calloused and blistered hands on them - out of their love, care and appreciation for you.

KAATSU allows you to achieve both: continue hard work and tender loving care of your hands and skin.

In the same way that KAATSU can immediately help with reducing the red marks of cupping (see here), the reduction of inflammation and pain from getting tattoos (see here), a remarkably fast recovery from surgical incisions (see here), tendinitis (see here), carpal tunnel syndrome (see here), and broken toes (see here), KAATSU can help keep your hands and fingers smoother, softer, more tender no matter what your sport or profession is.

The key is to do KAATSU Cycle sets (on a KAATSU B1, KAATSU C3, KAATSU Cycle 2.0, KAATSU M3, KAATSU Master 2.0, or KAATSU Nano) before and after your workout or work session.

With KAATSU Air Bands on your upper arms in the KAATSU Cycle mode, you can automatically apply progressively, incrementally, and repeatedly higher pressures.

This protocol starts from the point of a very gentle pressure to the point where the tiny capillaries in your fingers, hands and wrists are fully engorged with blood.

This process of pressure on for 30 seconds and then pressure off for 5 seconds - performed automatically with KAATSU equipment - kickstarts curative biochemical reactions in your body.

As the vascular tissue is engorged with blood and then released, there is a cascade of plasmalogens, ceramides, and growth hormone that is naturally produced. These help heal the stress that is placed on your hands and fingers. The process also enables the increased elasticity of the vascular tissue in your hands that augment this healing process.

Photo on left shows a black KAATSU C3 model




























Photo above shows the difference in color of the skin and the distension of the veins that indicate the engorgement of blood in the vascular tissue on the right where the KAATSU Air Band is placed on the upper arm

Key Points
o Do KAATSU Cycle sets first on your arms (and then on your legs, if you have time) for optimal systemic results.
o Do between 3-6 KAATSU Cycle sets on your arms for optimal systemic results.
o Ideally, do KAATSU Cycle sets before and after each workout or work time, but if you have less time, do it afterwards for best results. Optimally, do KAATSU Cycle sets before and after, and then once again within an hour of going to bed.
o Start with a low pressure and build up to higher pressures during each KAATSU session.
o Relax, sit down, chill out, or do light stretching or casual walking or isometric exercises during the KAATSU Cycle sets on your arms.
o Ideally, the skin of your fingers and toes should get pinker or redder (a beefy red) as you do the KAATSU Cycle sets. You want the blood engorgement in the veins and capillaries of your hands.
o There is no need to use the KAATSU Constant mode. In fact, the KAATSU Cycle mode is better. You especialy want the flush of waste products after each workout or work session.

Reoovery Protocols
1. Manually tighten your KAATSU Air Bands on your upper arms below your deltoids by your armpits and above your biceps and triceps (shown below).


























2. Begin the KAATSU Cycle sets by starting in the LOW pressure setting. Each KAATSU Cycle set will take about 5 minutes. You can keep the pressure at LOW pressure settings if it feels good or increase to MEDIUM or HIGH pressure settings on the subsequent sets, if you wish.

o Note 1: Even if the first KAATSU Cycle set does not feel tight enough, it is perfectly acceptable to start at the LOW pressure.

o Note 2: As a workout finisher, you can do the KAATSU 3-Point Exercises while sitting down (Hand Grips, Biceps Curls, Triceps Extensions), performed slowly and with maximum muscle contraction.

3. Remove the KAATSU Air Bands from your arms and rehydrate. Then apply the KAATSU Air Bands on your legs.

4. Similar to your arms, you can relax, sit down, chill out, or do light stretching or casual walking, or isometric exercises during the KAATSU Cycle sets with the KAATSU Air Bands on your legs.

Therapeutic Protocols

o Do the following exercises slowly and deliberately with the KAATSU Air Bands on your arms.

o If you feel any numbness or pain during or after exercising, stop immediately and contact your therapist or physician.

o As you do the progressive KAATSU Cycle sets, you can see your fingers and hands get pinker or redder. In some cases, the vascular tissue may be so engorged that your hands may even have a purple hue.

Sample Range-of-motion Movements

o You can slowly open and close your hands. Try to widely stretch your fingers as far as possible, performed either deliberately or casually.

o You can gently bend and move your fingers or even tap out text messages your phone or write emails on a laptop.

o You can do any kind of wrist extension and flexion exercises.

o You can do extend your arms out from your body and then slowly and repeatedly twist your arms clockwise and counterclockwise (arm supination and pronation. That is, when your palms or forearms face up, they ar supinated. When your palms or forearms face down, they are pronated). o You can also do this arm supination and pronation while your arms are down by your side.







Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Friday, February 25, 2022

Dr. Peter Lansbury on the Benefits of KAATSU



Dr. Peter Lansbury, Professor of Neurology, talked on his use of KAATSU in the video above.

Since first trying KAATSU in 2014, Dr. Lansbury has used the KAATSU Master 2.0, KAATSU Nano, KAATSU Cycle 2.0, and KAATSU C3 products. Next month, he will start using the latest model, the KAATSU B1.

Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Andrew Matejka, KAATSU Ambassador at Stanford University

Andrew Matejka is a 6'-7" (200.6 cm) junior at Stanford University, a double major in history economics.

Originally from Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts, he is one of America's fast middle distance freestylers - and looking to get faster. With a newly minted dual citizenship of the Czech Republic, he is looking forward to possibly competing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Andrew may have the edge now to realize his dream. He was first introduced to KAATSU in high school by his club coach Chris Morgan at the Gator Swim Club.

Andrew and his brothers - Matthew, Benjamin and Owen - are all hard-working athletes. Matthew rowed at Yale, Ben was a cross country runner at Dartmouth, and Andrew spends his time training and competing for the renowned Stanford University swim team. The Matejka brothers know - and welcome - hard work.

But Andrew has a not-so-secret weapon: he uses KAATSU equipment. Andrew uses for performance enhancement in an innovative way: for recovery. After his intense training sessions on the Stanford campus and between his individual swims at dual meets and invitationals, he puts his pneumatic KAATSU bands on his arms and does KAATSU Cycle sets. A metabolic flush results and he is ready for his next workout or race.

KAATSU not only makes Andrew feel more recovered than a normal "swim-down", but KAATSU also helps him feel mentally prepared for his next bout of intensity. The first time he used KAATSU at Stanford, he set his personal mid-season best times.

The KAATSU recovery of 30 seconds of pressure followed by 5 seconds of release - performed automatically, repeatedly, and progressively but in incrementally higher pressures - is the same protocol that hundreds of Olympic medalists in a wide variety of sports - from wrestling to track, from ski jumping to swimming - have followed since the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games.

What Andrew finds is most useful is that his KAATSU device is portable. Its compact so this enables convenience: he can take it with him around campus, in the team bus, in airports, and in his school apartment in addition to using it at the pool and training gym.

Andrew says, "With so many hours spent per week in the pool, weight room and classroom while pursuing my studies at Stanford, I used to feel like I didn't always have time to adequately recover. KAATSU has helped solve that problem. KAATSU allows me to spend time recovering from my grueling workouts from the comfort of my dorm room or even while studying in the library. I couldn't be more excited to partner with KAATSU as I pursue the highest levels in competitive swimming."

Andrew cuts an imposing figure wherever he goes while his ubiquitous KAATSU Air Bands helps stand him apart even further.

Matejka started his use of KAATSU under the director of Chris Morgan, an Olympic coach and the Head Coach of Gator's Swim Club in Massachusetts where Matejka trained in high school.


























Morgan recalled, "We work on speed, strength and stamina every workout at the Gator's Swim Club. Back in 2016, our swimmers began KAATSU Aqua, an innovation to our entire training regime that has resulted in unprecedented drops in time."

Over a 3-month period, some of the swimmers' improvements included:

Henry Gaissert (17 years old)
• 100 freestyle: from 47.0 to 44.8 (44.1 relay split)
• 100 butterfly: from 52.4 to 49.8
Maddie Wallis (16 years old)
• 100 backstroke: from 57.1 to 54.9
• 200 backstroke: from 2:07.9 to 2:00.3
Johnny Prindle (17 years old)
• 100 freestyle: from 48.1 to a 45.9 relay split
• 200 freestyle: from 1:47.2 to 1:41.5
• 100 breaststroke: from 59.0 to 57.5

Morgan continued, "What is our secret?

In a word, KAATSU. KAATSU is what we use to gain specific strength in order to improve speed and increase stamina in the water.

We use very specific and customized pressures with carefully engineered pneumatic bands used in short durations. These pressures are specific for each athlete that can vary from day to day and workout to workout. Those specific pressures, that vary from athlete to athlete, are how our athletes have maximized the benefits of KAATSU.

I learned how we could replicate 'race pain' without the need for traditional time-consuming sets in the pool by using the KAATSU bands. By engorging the vascular tissue in the muscles in blood. In addition and equally as important, Andrew and his Gator teammates used KAATSU for recovery, too.

We use KAATSU to quickly recover sore shoulders and to overcome overuse injuries without ice or any kind of medical procedures. We use the KAATSU Cycle modality that starts off with lower pressures and gradually builds up to higher pressures. These protocols are the same protocols that are used by Olympic gold medalists and members of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympians and 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympic athlete. Andrew learned long before he got to Stanford how to use the KAATSU Cycle modality between his races and between his preliminary heats and final races during a multi-day event to help him.

For 'race pain' training with the KAATSU bands, our sets can range from 10 x 15m breakouts to 10 x 50 at a specific pressure."

So Andrew has a lot of experience - in training and in competition - that he can share with others
.".

Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Thursday, February 10, 2022

The Collaboration Between Dr. Sato and Professor Ishii




















Dr. Yoshiaki Sato invented KAATSU in 1966, but it took him decades of further discovery and fine-tuning both the usage protocols and equipment before he met Professor Naokata Ishii of the University of Tokyo, a renowned Japanese exercise physiologist.

Their work ultimately led to the first seminal paper on KAATSU called "Effects of resistance exercise combined with moderate vascular occlusion on muscular function in humans", published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in 2000.

The paper concluded, "Owning to its small mechanical stress and large effect in inducing muscular hypertrophy, the deliberate combinatino of low-intensity resistance exercise and moderate vascular occlusion is potentially useful for accelerating the recovery of muscular strength in patients and aged people."

The paper explained, "Among aged populations, weakening of muscles in the lower extremity gives rise to serious problems such as inability to stand up and lethal injuries associated with a fall. Postmenopausal older women are subjected to an additional risk of osteoporosis."

Based on the practical applications of KAATSU over the last two decades and this basic information explained by Dr. Ishii and Dr. Sato in the 1990's, the use of KAATSU can significantly grown among Baby Boomers since.

For more information on Professor Ishii, see here.




































Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Round Red Cupping Marks Go Away Quickly With KAATSU

A 48-year-old woman and KAATSU user did cupping with an acupuncturist. The photo on the left shows the back of her shoulder after cupping. The 2 days after her cupping session, she did 4 KAATSU Cycle sets per day.

The photo below shows the same location 4 days later. Her doctor was pleasantly surprised, "It usually takes about two weeks for the round red spots disappear. But in her case with KAATSU Cycle sets, her spots disappeared in a few days with only two KAATSU Cycle sessions."

Can KAATSU help a much faster removal of the round red cupping marks? Yes.

Can KAATSU replace cupping? Yes.

The Greatest Olympian of All Time, Michael Phelps, attracted a lot of attention to the ancient Chinese art of cupping during his gold-medal run at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

Along with other American Olympians like 12-time medalist Natalie Coughlin and actresses like Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jessica Simpson, were also seen with several visible red round marks on their body.

Cupping has long been used for recovery and to relieve pain. It is also used to treat pain, shingles, acne and breathing difficulties.

Practitioners of cupping use small glass cups that are placed over the skin and then a vacuum is induced inside a cup. The suction pulls the skin up into the cup that breaks the capillaries and causes the blood to pool and stagnate. This creates a bruise and leaves circular spots on the skin.

Cupping is commonly used among athletes because they want to stimulate blood flow in order to help muscles heal more effectively and quickly.

But physicians and physiologists know that bruises happen when a physical trauma causes blood to leak into surrounding tissues.

While improved blood flow or not may not matter to Olympic athletes if the placebo effects of cupping provide them with a psychological advantage. This positive mindset may be enough to provide a 0.04 second boost – or the difference between Michael Phelps’ gold medal performance in the 200m butterfly and the time of the silver medalist.

But there is an alternative to cupping, a scientifically proven, effective, and safe way to improve blood flow and enhance recovery from strenuous exercise, either in competition or in training: KAATSU.

KAATSU, or generically described a blood flow optimization exercise, was invented in Japan in 1966 by Dr. Yoshiaki Sato. After three decades of meticulous testing with people ranging from 4 to 104 years and years of research, athletes in 70 countries have discovered what has been describe in 100+ peer-review published papers.

KAATSU is now used by athletes and teams in the NFL, NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball as well as Olympic swimmers, runners, triathletes, judoka, rowers, wrestlers, basketball players and rugby players from the United States, Japan, Brazil and China, as well as countries ranging from Hungary to Tunisia.

It is also used by NASA, American colleges from West Point to the University of Missouri, and in hospitals and clinics from the University of Tokyo Hospital to the Albert Einstein Hospital in São Paolo.

KAATSU equipment consists of a portable handheld unit that carefully monitors the external compression of pneumatic bands placed on the upper arms and upper legs.

These pneumatic KAATSU bands serve to safely, briefly, gently, progressively and repeated reduce the venous flow in the limbs, thus leading to an effective pooling of blood in the arms and legs. Through stretching or any form of movement – either strenuous exercise or physical therapy – with the KAATSU Air Bands on, the pooling of blood helps expand the veins and capillaries. Additionally, the KAATSU Cycle function effectively flushes out lactate in the muscles.

After 5-10 minutes of KAATSU Cycle sets, athletes feel rejuvenated because the lactic acid is not only effectively removed from the muscles, but also the expansion of the vascular walls leads to an increased elasticity of the veins and capillaries.

There is also a concurrent release of growth hormones and nitric oxide caused by this blood pooling that aids recovery. This biochemical reaction is a natural effect of blood pooling that has positive systemic effects on the body. The hormones are transported throughout the body via the vascular system. When these hormones reach muscle cells that are under stress, cell receptors in these cells interact as the body is designed to do.

Therefore, KAATSU is a scientifically proven modality that has natural systemic effects on the body. These are not only more healthful and effective than localized cupping, but it also leads to a natural hormonal release and improved elasticity of the vascular system.

KAATSU versus Cupping, Advantages versus Disadvantages:

*Cupping breaks the capillaries in a localized area. KAATSU improves the elasticity of the capillaries.
*Cupping creates bruising in a localized area. KAATSU leads to a natural hormonal response.
*Cupping leads to visible red spots on the body. KAATSU leaves no visible marks on the body.
*Cupping requires an experienced practitioner. KAATSU can be done anywhere anytime by anyone who follows the standardized KAATSU protocols.
*Cupping feels very good to many people after a session. KAATSU makes the body feel recovered and very good after a session.

Of course, if you want to cup, but do not like the round red spots to be visible, do KAATSU Cycle sets. KAATSU can quickly help heal the damaged capillaries caused by cupping.

Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Saturday, February 5, 2022

Broken Little Toe? No Problem with KAATSU

Dave Carlson broke his two smallest toes this week. It was the second time that he had broken his small toes - and it hurt. "The last time, I was walking in pain for over a week. I went to the doctor, but he said the body will recover."

So he did repeated KAATSU Cycle sets - both single-leg and dual-leg sets. "By the second day, I was no limping. I had almost no pain if I don't touch the toes. Of course, if I do touch my toes, I feel pain. When I started to do the KAATSU Cycle sets, I noticed that the bruising started to spread, but I felt less pain. By Day Four, I had no pain. I could not believe how fast it healed with KAATSU. I'm stoked. When I tell people what happened the last few days, they find it hard to believe. I take fast recovery for granted now with KAATSU."




























Day 1




























Day 2 - no limping, almost no pain




























Day 3 - no limping, almost no pain




























Day 4- no limping, no pain

Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Thursday, February 3, 2022

John Doolittle Featured On An Open Water Swimmer's Podcast

William Henry Ellis, a British open water swimmer, prolific film, television, theator and radio actor, and voice artists, hosts An Open Water Swimmer’s Podcast, Chartable #1 UK Swimming Podcast.

During his first two seasons, Ellis has interviewed the venerable Who’s Who of the global open water swimming community: the best of the best, the most hardened and the most extreme athletes who venture beyond the shoreline.

His latest guest is former Navy SEAL captain John Doolittle. Ellis says, "John swam the English Channel in memory of his friend Neil Roberts who was the first SEAL killed in combat after 9/11. John continues to raise money for fallen and injured servicemen and their families through open water swimming (Tampa Bay Frogman Swim).



We chat about all sorts on this one including shallow water blackouts, hammerhead shark breeding grounds and boxing eagle rays in the ocean, [from] a man who has been around the world many times over as an American special forces operative who has seen it and done it [shown on left entering the Gulf of Mexico)
."

To listen to the 1 hour 8 minute podcast with John Doolittle and William Ellis where they touch upon KAATSU among many other far-reaching subjects and questions, visit here.

Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Sunday, January 30, 2022

A Revolutionary Concept That Continues To Evolve: KAATSU and BFR

While some competitors in the BFR market claim that BFR (Blood Flow Restriction) training started in the 1930's, it is interesting to read the original United State patent on KAATSU bands and KAATSU training.

KAATSU inventor Dr. Yoshiaki Sato (see brief summary of history here) submitted his original patent filing in November 1993: Tightening tool for muscle training and muscle training method using same. The patent submission was granted by the US Patent & Trademark Office in November 2000 in the United States and other countries.

The original patent (read here) describes "a tightening tool including an elastic body in the form of a belt, rope, tube, etc. for forming a tightening loop adapted to surround a desired part of muscles and tighten it, and locking means for holding the tightening loop at a desired size. A muscle training method for accelerating enlargement and strengthening of the muscles can be practiced by the tightening tool to temporarily block the flow of blood to the desired part of the muscle."










































































































Dr. Sato's original KAATSU elastic, stretchable bands and the concept of using bands to strengthen muscle were revolutionary then - and remains so even now as the KAATSU technology, equipment and protocols have advanced many iterations after decades of dedicated research by academics, and clinical testing by physiologists, cardiologists, internists, and physical therapists, and practical applications by coaches, athletes, sedentary individuals, cardiac rehab patients, and individuals up to the age of 104 years.



Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Monday, January 3, 2022

Listening and Learning about the Pursuit of Gold with Laura Wilkinson

The Pursuit of Gold with Laura Wilkinson is a podcast by Olympic 10m platform diving gold medalist and world champion Laura Wilkinson focusing on in-depth discussions with Olympic and Paralympic athletes, sports professionals, elite coaches, and experts.

During her conversations that cover a wide spectrum of topics , KAATSU user Wilkinson and her guests describe their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual tools that help shape them and generate peak performance.

The links to each of her podcasts to date are posted below:

1. An honest conversation about the Olympic postponement with Mariel Zagunis (listen here)
2. Keys to a gold medal mindset with USOPC sports psychologist Dr. Karen Cogan (listen here)
3. Learning to perform instead of compete with legend, Greg Louganis (listen here)
4. Softball is back on the Olympic schedule and so is Cat Osterman (listen here)
5. From World Champion Gymnast to World Renowned Coach with Kim Zmeskal (listen here)
6. You're never too old to dream big with Olympic medalist Lauren Gibbs (listen here)
7. Extend your athletic career with Susie Parker-Simmons (listen here)
8. Celebrating the Olympic Games with broadcaster Ted Robinson (listen here)
9. How heartbreak led to an historic victory with Kaillie Humphries - part 1 (listen here)
10. The secret formula for 20 years of impact with coach Chip Baker (listen here)
11. Overcoming abuse and writing history with Kaillie Humphries - part 2 (listen here)
12. US Navy EOD Officer to Gold Medal Paralympian with Brad Snyder (listen here)
13. Why you need a goal greater than yourself with AJ Edelman (listen here)
14. You don't need to have sight to have vision with Amy Dixon (listen here)
15. Being a mom can make you a better athlete with Elana Meyers Taylor (listen here)
16. Mindset is everything with speed skater Apolo Ohno (listen here)
17. When the competitive spark is reignited with gymnast Chellsie Memmel (listen here)
18. When your purpose becomes greater than your goal with Chaunte Lowe (listen here)
19. You need to always be in a season of learning with swimmer Michael Andrew (listen here)
20. Recognizing and overcoming abuse with pro golfer Tracy Hanson (listen here)
21. Make each day better than your last with shot put gold medalist Michelle Carter (listen here)
22. Training and competing with no regrets with World's Greatest Athlete Trey Hardee (listen here)
23. When the beautiful Olympic moment is not what you expected with Abbey and Jacob Cooper (listen here)
24. Special birthday Q&A with our host Laura Wilkinson and daughter Arella (listen here)
25. Breaking barriers with World Champion weightlifter Kristi Brewer (listen here)
26. Grins, gold & becoming a #girldad with Olympic swimmer Nathan Adrian (listen here)
27. How to be resilient through adversity & improve performance with Dr. Ben Houltberg (listen here)
28. When your passion becomes your way of life with Olympic swimmer Cammile Adams (listen here)
29. Finding the positive side of challenges with Paralympic Champion Allysa Seely (listen here)
30. For the love of sport with speedskating legend Bonnie Blair (listen here)
31. When the Journey Brings You Full Circle with Olympic Diver and Coach Gabi Chereches (listen here)
32. The Secret to Dominance with World Champion High Diver Gary Hunt (listen here)
33. How to keep moving forward in uncertain times with our host Laura Wilkinson (listen here)
34. Turning the Tables on the Media with Emmy Award Winner Randy McIlvoy (listen here)
35. How to Face and Overcome Fear with Our Host, Laura Wilkinson (listen here)
36. Always be Learning Your Craft with Volleyball Olympic Medalist Rachael Adams here (listen here)
37. Learning to run free with World Champion Chanelle Price (listen here)
38. Paralyzed to Powerful with Rugby Player Robert Paylor (listen here)
39. Chasing dreams and making history with Olympic runner Dom Scott (listen here)
40. Coming back from injuries stronger than before with our host Laura Wilkinson (listen here)
41. Chess on Bikes with Olympic cyclist Giddeon Massie (listen here)
42. Redefining Success with Olympic Hurdler Sarah Wells (listen here)
43. How wisdom and experience are earned with professional cyclist Brad White (listen here)
44. How to start taking action on your biggest goals with our host Laura Wilkinson (listen here)
45. Ministry and competition with our host Laura Wilkinson and Power Up Sports Ministry (listen here)
46. 17 scars that paved the way to Tokyo with taekwando Olympian Victoria Stambaugh (listen here)
47. An unstoppable drive with our host Laura Wilkinson on the Jedburgh Podcast (listen here)
48. How to Have a Championship Mindset with Chad Busick (listen here)
49. Bouncing Forward with Paralympic snowboarder Amy Purdy (listen here)
50. Worth the risk with aerial skiing Olympian Emily Cook (listen here)
51. Connecting sport, faith and life with Dr. Chad Carlson & Dr. Brian Bolt (listen here)
52. Unwavering Belief with 2-Time Super Bowl Champ Tory James (listen here)
53. Anything is Possible with Olympic bronze medalist Krysta Palmer (listen here)

To listen to the podcast, visit www.laurawilkinson.com/podcast.



Copyright © 2014 - 2022 by KAATSU Global

Saturday, December 25, 2021

Is Blood-Flow Restriction the Future of Performance?



Outside Magazine recently published an article entitled, "Is Blood-Flow Restriction the Future of Performance?" Reporter Hayden Carpenter points that that Olympic athletes like Mikaela Shiffrin have started adopting the training technique to increase endurance, muscle mass, and more. The global revolution started in 2014 with KAATSU Global and its patented KAATSU equipment and proprietary, protocols.

Carpenter is a climber and a writer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

KAATSU® was invented in Japan by Dr. Yoshiaki Sato in 1966 and was quietly used by a number of competitive, Olympic and professional athletes in Japan for decades before it was introduced in the United States in 2014. KAATSU's line of products are engineered and designed in Southern California where KAATSU Global established itself as the pioneer and gold standard in the emerging Blood Flow Restriction (BFR) market that automatically and safely optimizes blood circulation for health, fitness, rehabilitation, and recovery.

KAATSU® equipment (KAATSU M3, KAATSU Nano, KAATSU Cycle 2.0, KAATSU C3, KAATSU B1) includes a small automated compressor and pneumatic, stretchable bands which are placed around your arms or legs. The bands inflate and deflate in a patented sequence based on algorithms that boost circulation, improve hormonal balance, and develop muscle tone in a time-effective manner with a minimum of effort.

KAATSU® equipment and proprietary protocols offer unparalleled performance, precision, and safety for users of all ages, fitness levels, and walks of life - and can be used anywhere anytime to help you Recover Faster, Rehab Stronger and Perform Better.

KAATSU® equipment and proprietary protocols are also widely used by Summer Olympic medalists in swimming, water polo, diving, track & field, wrestling, boxing, basketball, baseball, soccer, etc.

Copyright © 2014 - 2021 by KAATSU Global

Thursday, December 9, 2021

Kevin Perrott's Vision of the Future Is Happening Now





















Kevin Perrott, PhD is a cancer survivor, KAATSU user, healthcare entrepreneur, and an adjunct professor of the University of Alberta.

The OpenCures CEO explains his view of the future, "We have entered a new golden age of biology and medicine. The rapid development and convergence of multiple technological fields have led us to expect tremendous breakthroughs in addressing previously unapproachable medical problems.

We now envision a future where the degenerative diseases people suffer and die from as they get older will be eliminated or drastically reduced. Imagine, no Alzheimer's disease, no Parkinson's disease, no heart disease, no COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) or the myriad other ailments which afflict our parents and older loved ones, and, eventually, ourselves
."

That is, admittedly, an ambitious view of healthcare's future. But Dr. Perrott is motivated to see it come to fruition.

"As a cancer survivor, one thing I am particularly clear on, is that we are all patients-in-waiting.

You never know when you or someone you love is going to go from healthy to patient...sometimes in a moment
."

He is driven to make a significant impact in accelerating the development of the therapies and interventions promised by emerging technologies - in a collaborative effort. "Those of us who understand that we all win in terms of extended health if we WORK TOGETHER to minimize the time to the arrival of new effective health technologies, perhaps in time for our parents' generation. This is my compass and my focus, from my own research, to the convening of like minds and organizations to bring their own expertise and skills to bear on our common challenges."

Dr. Perrott wants many people to take part in this evolution - rather, a revolutionary global effort - that everyone can take part in. "One may think they have no role to play in taking research from bench-to-benefit, but there is no Department of Cures. There is no cavalry coming to save us. We don't know exactly when breakthroughs will occur, but they will take longer if people just standby and wait for others. You have a lot to contribute. You can get engaged."

But he believes the public is the cavalry. "It is clear to anyone who has faced an existential medical crisis that we have a problem with slow development of ways to maintain and restore health. We need to warpspeed research and development for cures for disease. A global threat by a virus galvanized research and industry to cut the development time of a vaccine more than tenfold. We know it is possible to move MUCH MUCH faster than things have been moving.

The reason why development is slow is not technological, but human. Companies are more concerned with pleasing investors focused on a return than on warpspeeding the development of products and services that can help customers. Time to the development of cures is not their concern, they are not their own customer. They are not bad people, but in a normal economic cycle, not serving the customer would result in the company going broke. The customer has no recourse for non-performance of the system supposedly developing their products and services.
"

Dr. Perrott believes patients are much too patient. "It's time to wake up and realize how badly we are being served by the research and health technology industry. OpenCures seeks to remedy this shortcoming by engaging the customer who wants solutions developed as quickly as possible and harnessing their self-interest. With OpenCures, you can use science to examine your health at unprecedented resolution. Together we build a rich data resource that is used to reward research important to us. No one is going to do this job for us."

Dr. Perrott and his team at OpenCures believes that when it comes to curing aging, there can be no compromise or delay. They work diligently and strategically to speed up every aspect of the longevity intervention development cycle by combining tools, technology, and the ecosystem to get to new interventions, precision medicine, and better personal health management.

VitaDAO, the world's first decentralized intellectual property collective with a mission to extend the human lifespan through research, financing, and commercialization of longevity research, and Gitcoin, a platform of open source software in Python, Rust, Ruby, JavaScript, Solidity, HTML, CSS, and Design, partnered to fund longevity - and selected OpenCures as one of their selected projects. "Both companies teamed up to propose Longevity Projects curated by the VitaDAO community that help further the mission and goals of the Longevity space. They are promoted on the Gitcoin platform to receive community-driven funding through quadratic funding. With the quadratic funding mechanism, donating $1 will match over $200 from a larger investment pool to your desired project. OpenCures would love your help - visit here."

If individuals would like to request access to the OpenCures platform, visit here.





Copyright © 2014 - 2021 by KAATSU Global

Thursday, December 2, 2021

Naoyuki Kato Wins Bronze at the IFBB World Championships

Naoyuki Kato of Gold's Gym Japan placed third in the 2021 IFBB World Championships.

The former competitive gymnast from Saitama Prefecture in Japan competed in the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness 40-44 years, under 80 kg masters division and finished his highest career placing yet in the competition in Santa Susanna, Spain on November 8th.

13 top bodybuilding and fitness representatives from Japan had to quarantine, but Kato worked on free weights and used KAATSU equipment during his final build-up to the championships.

The 40-year-old Kato has a number of podium finishes in domestic Japanese competitions (2005 Chiba Prefecture Body Building Championship Championship, 2008 Kanto class Championship 75 kg class championship, 2011 Kanto Body Building Championship, 2012 Japan Open Championship Championship, 2013 Japan Championship 9th place, 2014 Japan Championship 11th place, Japan Class Championship 70 kg class, 2019 Japan Championship 3rd place, Japan Class Championship 70 kg class 3rd place, 2021 Japan Class Championship 4th place), but this was his first top finish in an international IFBB championship.

Kato explains the importance of balance, "I try my best to keep balance between work, family, and bodybuilding. To do that, I must first be healthy. I can work because I am healthy and also help with child-rearing and housework at home.

If you are healthy, you can build muscle. Health is the basis of everything
."

Kato first used the KAATSU Cycle 2.0 equipment as a countermeasure against swelling on the airplane when traveling to Spain. "Since the competition was in Spain and the flight time from Japan was 15 hours, I brought the KAATSU Cycle 2.0 on board as my carry-on baggage and used it [in the airplane] as a countermeasure against swelling. I performed four Cycle sets at the pressure levels 3-4 on the airplane twice every 5 hours with my legs. By pressurizing with the KAATSU Air Bands, my blood flow improved, and I was able to enter the country while maintaining my good condition.

I also used the equipment for my on-site KAATSU CycleⓇ training. The training facility at the local hotel had a limited amount of free weights, so we were able to maintain training intensity by utilizing KAATSU Cycle sets that with low loads. In addition, during times when training time was not available to us, we used KAATSU pressure in our rooms to perform KAATSU Training using resistance bands.

Lastly, I also used the KAATSU equipment for pumping up the backstage during the day of the championships. Immediately before my time on stage, the KAATSU pressure was set at 200 SKU and I got pumped up.

I was able to efficiently pump up my muscles in a short time.


Kato explains how the KAATSU equipment can be used in the future, "We can use for rehabilitation and injury prevention. Once a week, we do medium intensity KAATSU Cycle sets with a large range of motion and high frequency. We can also use the KAATSU Constant mode for muscle hypertrophy, especially on our arms; other body parts are used to pump up as a finisher to our training."







































Copyright © 2014 - 2021 by KAATSU Global

Saturday, November 13, 2021

Why Chris Hemsworth Did Not Continue Using KAATSU - Basic KAATSU Protocols Were Not Followed


When experienced KAATSU Master Specialists first saw famed actor Chris Hemsworth do KAATSU on Instagram, they cringed (see here) and shook their heads.

The flood of emails and texts from around the world that were sent to KAATSU Global headquarters were a clear indication that the Australian actor best known for playing Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe was incorrectly doing KAATSU and was not following basic, well established, and proven KAATSU protocols.

Jackson Thomas of Insider recently wrote an article (Chris Hemsworth has stopped using blood-flow restriction to build his arm muscles, side effects can be 'quite painful') that described Hemsworth's KAATSU experience.

As the experienced KAATSU Master Specialists know well, KAATSU is not meant to be painful; KAATSU is meant to be gentle on the body. In particular, the Progressive KAATSU Cycle mode provides a rhythmic, progressively incremental pressure and decompression pattern that builds muscle very effectively and efficiently. KAATSU is certainly not meant to be used with heavy weights or cause extreme discomfort.

"A KAATSU workout can certainly be intense for some athletes and actors who wish to quickly transform their bodies, but it is never meant to be painful," explains Steven Munatones who has been doing KAATSU since 2001. "Pain should have been a clear signal to Chris that his use of KAATSU was wrong, especially for a first-time user.


The commonly held premise, primarily demonstrated and explained online YouTube, that KAATSU restricts blood flow is wrong. There is certainly a moderation (slowing down) of venous flow from the limbs back to the torso, but there is no occlusion - or at least, there is not meant to be restriction or occlusion when people properly, safely and optimally do KAATSU. This concept of restriction and occlusion is a very unfortunate result of flat-out wrong information that is often posted online and marketed by young trainers and social media savvy BFR promoters on Instagram and YouTube.
"

In the above image of an arm with the KAATSU AirBands on at a high SKU pressure (300 SKU), you can see the arterial blood flow remains unimpeded and the venous return is only slightly moderated when the AirBands are inflated in a gradual, progressively incremental pattern.

Hemsworth's trainer Ross Edgley described KAATSU as "...one of the most uncomfortable training methods I’ve experienced but part of the puzzle in growing Thor’s arms to look like the legs of a racehorse. Don’t try this at home unless you have yourself a professional pain guru."

"Pain should NOT part of the KAATSU journey. There is no need for pain gurus in the KAATSU community. Pain should have been an immediate signal to stop," said Munatones. "Chris also did not do Progressive KAATSU Cycle sets, the standard protocol. This is THE key essence of the entire KAATSU principle. In Chris' Instagram post, you can see when the KAATSU AirBands were placed on his upper arms, he immediately opened and closed his hands. Then, Chris started right into lifting heavy weights with the AirBands placed on too tightly - this was another wrong step. His frowning facial expressions were indicative of his extreme discomfort. These indicate that occlusion was setting in - as opposed to engorgement which is what KAATSU users want. KAATSU users want the blood IN the limbs; not OUT of the limbs.

We can confidently assume that if Chris had checked his CRT (Capillary Refill Time) on the palm of his hands by firmly pressing his thumb into the base of his palm, the blood would refill quite slowly; certainly slower than the recommended 1-2 seconds.

This slow CRT on the palm of his hands is a clear, visual indication that arterial flow is being significantly impeded. That is, blood flowing from his torso to his arms through his brachial artery is being occluded and there is insufficient blood circulation to his arm.

The brachial artery is the major blood vessel supplying blood to your upper arm, elbow, forearm and hand. It starts in your upper arm, just below your shoulder, and runs down through the crease in front of your elbow. This artery is purposefully occluded when you get your blood pressure taken. When this artery is sufficiently compressed (as with an inflated blood pressure cuff or improperly applied KAATSU AirBands), blood flow is occluded - an unsafe practice.

Experienced KAATSU Master Specialists often talk about the KAATSU Smile. The Smile is the usual and expected outcome of users after their KAATSU sessions. In contrast, Chris's pain clearly showed on his face throughout and after his KAATSU session. He was uncomfortable and not happy. There is a clear difference between the discomfort due to intensity of KAATSU movements and the lactate build-up and the pain of misuse. Damage to soft tissue and our joints and ligaments is far different than the physiological discomfort from metabolic waste build-up.

KAATSU is - simply put - not a tourniquet or blood pressure cuff or occlusion bands. KAATSU AirBands were never designed or manufactured to cut off or restrict any blood flow. Ever. This was not the invention of Dr. Sato. Rather, KAATSU equipment was specifically designed and manufactured to do quite the opposite, in fact. Properly applied KAATSU AirBands in the KAATSU Cycle mode leads to greater blood circulation and a hormonal response precisely because the vascular tissue becomes more elastic with gradual, gentle KAATSU Cycle sets. The blood engorges the vascular tissue - it is not occluded as is implied with the acronym BFR: Blood Flow Restriction
."

But, for too many years, trainers and coaches have pushed occlusion and pain are part of BFR training. They augment their campaign with images of young, fit, chiseled models. While occlusion and pain may be a part of BFR because of their tourniquets, cuffs and occlusion bands, these outcomes are not part of proper, safe and optimal KAATSU.

"That is why KAATSU is used by so many people over the age of 50 - and by the U.S. military and professional athletes," says Munatones. "Their goals are not only quite specific - to be able to train, recover and rehabilitate anywhere anytime, but also because KAATSU is gentle and gradual, a daily KAATSU regimen is easily sustainable and convenient to use for people of all ages." When occlusion and pain are not part of the equation, and KAATSU pressure is gently, temporarily, and gradually applied - as has always been the KAATSU Cycle protocol, then the body acts and responds differently than what Hemsworth experienced. The seminal long-term research that was performed over a 10-year period between 2004 and 2014 at the University of Tokyo Hospital under the guidance of cardiologists proved these outcomes."

In the image above, you can see the upper arm of a competitive collegiate soccer player (in his early 20's) with the KAATSU Air Bands on a constant KAATSU pressure of 300 SKU (approximately equal to 300 mmHg). This amount of pressure is not recommended for a vast majority of people, but even at these high and sustained pressures, the KAATSU Air Bands do not occlude any arterial blood flow - and the pressure only very slightly modified the venous blood flow back to the torso.*

This is how KAATSU is properly, safely and optimally used.

There are three major players in the market originally created by Dr. Yoshiaki Sato in Tokyo: the devices designed and manufactured by KAATSU Global, Inc. (e.g., KAATSU Nano, KAATSU Master 2.0, KAATSU Air Bands, KAATSU B1, KAATSU C3, KAATSU M3, KAATSU C4, and KAATSU B2), the Delfi Portable Tourniquet System for Blood Flow Restriction marketed by Johnny Owens, and B Strong as marketed by Dr. James Stray-Gundersen.

There is much confusion and misunderstandings in the marketplace about the difference in equipment and protocols for these three leading products and approaches.

The Delfi product identifies total occlusion pressure and then applies a specific percentage of that pressure during its applications. In contrast, the KAATSU products are not designed to even remotely approach occlusion pressure.

B Strong is occasionally used on all four limbs at once - something that KAATSU users would never do...because it is unnecessary, proven after 10 years of focused researched at the 22nd Century Project at the University of Tokyo Hospital by cardiologists and KAATSU inventor Dr. Sato.

This fact was identified by Professor Alyssa Weatherholt of the University of Southern Indiana, Professor William VanWye of Western Kentucky University, and Johnny Owens of Owens Recovery Science (the exclusive distributor of the Delfi Portable Tourniquet System for Blood Flow Restriction equipment).

They presented a study called Pressure Needed to Achieve Complete Arterial Occlusion: A Comparison of Two Devices Used for Blood Flow Restriction Training [see here].

The researchers concluded a wider cuff of the Delfi Portable Tourniquet System for Blood Flow Restriction is able to restrict arterial blood flow at significantly lower pressures compared to the narrow cuff [KAATSU Air Bands] using the KAATSU Master. The key finding of this study is as follows:

We were unable to achieve complete arterial occlusion in any participant with the KAATSU cuff.”

The KAATSU equipment was designed and is specifically manufactured to avoid arterial occlusion in the limbs. This fact is precisely why KAATSU was originally defined by Dr. Yoshiaki Sato, the KAATSU inventor, and leading Japanese cardiologists at the University of Tokyo Hospital as a Blood Flow Moderation (BFM) device.

While the vernacular nuance between BFM and BFR may be overlooked by many (venous flow modification versus arterial flow restriction), the modification of venous flow is critical to understanding the safety and goal of KAATSU as certified KAATSU Specialists understand.

"There is no part of the KAATSU protocols that includes as part of its protocols - or tries to achieve - arterial occlusion. This is why KAATSU is definitely not occlusion training, tourniquet training, O-training, or any kind of blood flow restriction modality," explains Steven Munatones. "This is why KAATSU equipment does not use cuffs or bands that are specifically designed to occlude or manufactured to restrict arterial flow. KAATSU Air Bands are not tourniquets or blood pressure cuffs. Rather, the stretchable bands are designed with flexible, elastic air bladders that inflate inwards towards the limb at very moderate pressures to minimally modify venous flow.

This pressure is gentle on the body and uniform because the limb is evenly and safely compressed by a bed of air. This principle and practical engineered solution leads to blood pooling in the limb - not arterial occlusion. This fact was independently determined by researchers and the leading Delfi proponent of BFR
.

Furthermore, the patented KAATSU Cycle allows normal arterial and venous flow every 20 seconds which means it is safe, effective and gentle for people of all ages (including up to 104 years - see here).

In summary:

1. The purpose of KAATSU equipment and its protocols is a reduction in venous flow via blood flow moderation, a term first coined in the 1990s by Dr. Sato and Doctors Nakajima and Morita, cardiologists at the University of Tokyo Hospital.

2. The pneumatically controlled KAATSU Air Bands is designed to achieve a reduction in venous flow is a very different approach from BFR and its widely-promoted use of blood pressure cuffs that are specifically designed to achieve limb occlusion.

3. When the KAATSU equipment is used, its users agree to follow the specific protocols as defined by its inventor, Dr. Sato. Specifically, KAATSU protocols and equipment are designed not to occlude.

4. The stretchable, pneumatically controlled KAATSU Air Bands are not (blood pressure) cuffs. A cuff is a term that refers to devices specifically engineered for limb occlusion.

5. KAATSU Specialists understand the importance of users to know both their Base SKU pressure and their Optimal SKU pressure while using in the KAATSU Cycle and KAATSU Training modes. To refer to KAATSU pressure without reference to both Base SKU and Optimal SKU pressures is misleading.

There is another paper written by Jeremy P. Loenneke, Christopher Fahs, Lindy Rossow, Robert Thiebaud, Kevin T. Mattocks, Takashi Abe, and Michael G. Bemben (Blood flow restriction pressure recommendations: a tale of two cuffs) that addresses this subject from another perspective.

Copyright © 2014 - 2021 by KAATSU Global

Saturday, November 6, 2021

John Doolittle And Reden Dionisio On The Brave And Faithful Podcast



Reden Dionisio, President & CEO of Fortis Et Fidelis®, interviewed KAATSU Global Chief Revenue Officer John Doolittle on the BRAVE AND FAITHFUL PODCAST.

Dionisio explains the foundation of his podcast, “To the brave and faithful, nothing is impossible. We have insightful conversations with our brave and faithful military veterans and service members.

Fortis is the Latin word for strong, brave. Fidelis is the Latin word for faithful, loyal. To learn more, visit here.

The podcast with Navy SEAL Captain Doolittle is here on Apple and here on Amazon for the Fortis Et Fidelis® channel.

Copyright © 2014 - 2021 by KAATSU Global

Monday, November 1, 2021

KAATSU Strong for Amputee Marine Justin Sponaugle


For who? brain injury survivors, paraplegics, quadriplegics, amputees, car accident victims
For what? recovery, strength building, functional movement

Justin Sponaugle is a US Marine whose lower left arm was recently amputated.

Operation Healing Forces granted him a new KAATSU C3 and Sponaugle is putting it to good and immediate use.

John Doolittle, a retired Navy SEAL captain and CRO for KAATSU Global explains, "The mission of Operation Healing Forces (OHF) is to help active-duty and recent veteran wounded, ill and injured Special Operations Forces and their families with mental, physical and emotional healing. Its goal is to help them return to the fight or transition successfully into civilian life."

Sponaugle is one of those individuals with a specific need.

Sponaugle said after his initial use of KAATSU, "After only two KAATSU Cycles (about 12 minutes of pressure on and pressure off on the KAATSU C3 unit), the bone doesn't hurt as much and I can definitely move it with a whole lot less pain.

KAATSU improves the circulation on my amputated arm which results in better sensor contact inside my prosthetic - which enables me to move my prosthetic much more efficiently.

At night, before bed, my neuropathic pain is significantly reduced after the KAATSU Cycles.

I have better circulation, better control, and it feels good. This is absolutely amazing and impressive. KAATSU Strong
."

Copyright © 2014 - 2021 by KAATSU Global