If you’ve recently had a sports-related injury, BFR cuffs are a fantastic way to stay in shape without overloading the injured part of your body. And if you’re a personal trainer, having a set of these is like adding a tool to your business you can use across several clients. While the app will suggest a pressure for your training, you can adjust the amount or restriction with a simple tap of a button.

The most high-profile user of SAGA cuffs is the Hollywood stuntman, Bobby Holland Hanton. And he was the stunt-double who played Batman in the major fight scenes of The Dark Knight Rises. This sort of training has been a staple in sports medicine for recuperating athletes as studies show it’s an excellent training intensity technique to allow for continued muscle growth at much lighter weights than you’d normally use. The SAGA app is super simple and intuitive, which I’m grateful for—there’s enough to focus on in your workout without the need to fiddle around with your phone. They’ve been particularly helpful as I’ve gotten further along in the strength and hypertrophy program I’m currently working on. So you want some outfits that look as good lounging on the couch as they do on the city street? These are the best athleisure brands that'll take you there.Running, basketball, weightlifting...we're not saying you need a boost, but if you want one, compression shorts are a good bet. These are our favorites. So if it’s leg day, maybe you start with squats for the foundation. When you head over to the quad-extension machine, add on your BFR cuffs, lighten-up the weight, and aim for 15-30 reps. The app features a timer, too, so you can make sure you’re not leaving your muscles occluded for too long. According to the research, the upper limit of how long you should leave your muscles occluded is around 20 minutes. You’re only able to pair two cuffs at a time, which makes sense because you shouldn’t be occluding four body parts at once for safety reasons. In plain English? Basically, if you’ve torn a chest muscle, you’d normally be out of commission. You run the risk of reinjuring the muscle if you hit the gym and start doing bicep curls with your normal 30-pound weights.

My recommended pressure is 140mmHg on my arms, and that’s plenty to get a wild pump at very light weight. SAGA offers two sizes of cuffs: the medium, which will fit on your arms, and the large, which is designed for legs. When I’m working with the cuffs, I typically aim my first set at 30 reps, and then shoot for three more sets at 15 reps each. But each set gets harder and harder as the BFR cuffs restrict the outflow of lactic acid, too. That burning feeling you get at the end of a set just stays with you. Over the last eight weeks, I’ve added an inch and a half of muscle to each of my thighs. Now, that’s not necessarily from occlusion training with SAGA, but I do feel that the lightened load on my accessory work has allowed me to push myself harder on the main compound lifts. My cuffs all paired within ten seconds. The first time I tried them on, I needed to do a calibration, which took a little while. I got mixed up because I tried to pair my leg cuffs and my arm cuffs at the same time.The SAGA App is super simple and straightforward. Just punch in some basic info about yourself to get started.