Jordan Sabourin, PhD

Head S&C Coach | PhD, Exercise Physiology BFR Training • Sports Performance • Creator of The BFR Blueprint (NSCA-Approved)

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

At 20% of 1RM, your muscle should barely know it's working.

With BFR, it thinks it's about to die.

Partial venous restriction forces fast-twitch fiber recruitment at rehab-level loads. That doesn't happen with traditional training.

That's the whole point.

#BFR #Performance

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

@GoldGrizzFan @OaklandMBB @NBASummerLeague There I am

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

BFR is most useful as a load management tool.
It lets practitioners preserve strength, muscle, and neural stimulus when heavier loading is limited by tissue tolerance, schedule density, or rehab status.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

That is the role BFR plays in the Field Guide and BFR Blueprint: plug‑in options for reduced‑load phases so athletes return to heavy training from a higher floor, not start over.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

BFR is a bridge when injuries or surgeries force reduced loading.

Low‑load BFR can maintain more strength and neural drive than standard light work, while keeping joint and tissue stress lower.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

BFR is more than a hypertrophy tool.

Fatiguing slow‑twitch fibers at 20–40% 1RM forces earlier recruitment of high‑threshold motor units.

That is “neural maintenance with load constraints” in early rehab and dense in‑season blocks.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

Most BFR sessions I’ve seen don’t start with the calendar. They start with “this athlete is sore or fatigued.”

Start with the schedule first. Then decide if BFR actually helps, or just adds more stress.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

Link to the BFR Field Guide is here for anyone who wants the full breakdown: https://t.co/CmaosiUmQ8

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

When I first started using BFR, what I wanted most didn’t exist. Not another paper or course, but something that answered: “How do I use this with my athletes, safely, today?” That’s what I built the BFR Field Guide to do.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

BFR gets treated like it is only a rehab tool.
The rehab data is strong, but that view leaves a lot on the table for healthy athletes.
I use it for in‑season strength, tendon, or joint management phases, and tight travel windows where time and load are limited.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

When you first started using BFR, what confused you the most?

Was it cuff pressure, fitting it into an existing plan, getting buy-in, choosing athletes, or making sense of the research?

If you have never used BFR but are curious, what has kept you from trying it?

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

BFR is not appropriate for every athlete or every situation. I avoid it with cardiovascular issues, DVT history, poor skin at the cuff, acute illness, no post‑op clearance, or an anxious athlete. I walk through my full screening framework in the Field Guide.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

The BFR Field Guide is the pressure and LOP framework I use with post‑op and in‑season athletes. It is written for performance coaches, PTs and ATs who want a clearer system for BFR.
https://t.co/CmaosiUmQ8

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

Most BFR sessions I see still use fixed cuff pressure. Same number, every athlete, every session. That is guesswork. Working at a percentage of individual LOP makes BFR something you can trust. Coaches, PTs and ATs who want my pressure framework can find it in the Field Guide.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

For context: I’m writing this for performance coaches, PTs, ATs and sport scientists working with post‑op or immobilized athletes who can’t load heavy yet but still need to keep muscle and strength.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

Immobilized limbs don't just atrophy from disuse.

MuRF-1, a ubiquitin ligase upregulated during immobilization, actively accelerates muscle protein breakdown at the cellular level.

Passive BFR (occlusion only, no exercise) may blunt that response.

No movement required.

#BFR

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

This is the resource I wish I had when I started using BFR with post‑op and in‑season athletes. The Field Guide is specifically for performance coaches, PTs, ATs and sport scientists who want a practical, plug‑and‑play BFR framework for athletes.

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

At 20% of 1RM, your muscle should barely know it's working.

With BFR, it thinks it's about to die.

Partial venous restriction forces fast-twitch fiber recruitment at rehab-level loads. That doesn't happen with traditional training.

That's the whole point.

#BFR #Performance

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

The BFR Field Guide — the decision framework for using this in real sessions: https://t.co/CmaosiUmQ8

[Jordan Sabourin, PhD @Jsabs44]

Don't forget to check out the CBP Conference tomorrow and Sunday.