UFC PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE TO USE NEXT GEN BFR CUFFS FROM SAGA FITNESS TO HELP ACCELERATE ATHLETE RECOVERY AND ENHANCE TRAINING
[Brisbane, Australia, June 02 2021] - Australian fitness-technology company SAGA Fitness has announced an exciting new partnership with the UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI) the state-of-the-art, mixed martial arts training, research, and sports performance innovation leader, to provide next generation blood flow restriction (BFR) cuffs to its athletes.
The world’s first wireless, intelligent blood flow restriction cuffs, SAGA’s BFR Cuffs are a compact, easy-to-use device that will help the UFC Performance Institute support an athlete’s performance and rehabilitation.
Led by Vice President of Performance, Dr. Duncan French, the UFC PI reviewed a range of BFR devices to find the most suitable product for their needs, eventually arriving at SAGA’s BFR Cuffs as their preferred portable BFR device.
‘Our vision at the UFC Performance Institute is to further optimize an athlete’s performance by utilizing the best science and technology available,’ said Dr. French. ‘Science has proven the effectiveness of BFR for improving performance, yet traditional BFR devices have often been inaccessible or inaccurate. SAGA Fitness have solved this problem and revolutionized BFR by introducing a simple, portable device that allows the user to self-manage occlusion calibration and pressure, all via an easy-to-use mobile app. SAGA’s innovation has given us the ability to not only use the cuffs to treat and train athletes at our Las Vegas and Shanghai facilities, but thanks to the tech’s simplicity, we can also distribute them to athletes for remote use worldwide.’
Blood flow restriction is a highly researched training method that has historically been used to support rehabilitation and enhance the adaptive response to strength training. The most well-known benefit of BFR training is its ability to increase or maintain physical strength while performing only low-intensity exercise. This makes BFR training highly beneficial during post-surgical and early-rehabilitation phases, when athletes are unable to perform traditional high load strength training and typically experience a loss of muscle mass and strength.
Numerous research studies also show that BFR training offers significant benefits for maintaining strength and improving both aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, making the BFR Cuffs a versatile tool that can be utilized throughout the UFC PI’s full program of training and rehabilitation.
The UFC Performance Institute is dedicated to understanding and improving the health, wellbeing and performance of MMA athletes, and their leadership in this field is unparalleled,’ said Erin Kearney, General Manager of SAGA Fitness.
‘We’re extremely honored to support their vision and help keep athletes healthy and performing at their best. We’re also excited to watch the various ways our technology will be implemented for performance and rehabilitation. The portable, wireless nature of the BFR Cuffs really makes it a versatile training tool for the MMA athlete.’
Both the Las Vegas and Shanghai UFC PI locations will be equipped with the BFR Cuffs for fighters and staff to use, while some devices will also be sent to athletes in remote locations.
SAGA Fitness launched in January 2021, and is based in Brisbane, Australia. Their mission is to drive people to train smarter, work harder and expand their potential. The BFR Cuffs are SAGA’s flagship product.
About UFC Performance Institute
UFC opened the first UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas in 2017 as the world’s first Mixed Martial Arts multi-disciplinary research, innovation, and training center. In 2019, UFC opened the 93,000 square-foot Shanghai Performance Institute, a facility approximately three times the size of the original Las Vegas location. Both operations are equipped with a full-time staff of experts in the fields of strength and conditioning, nutrition, and physical therapy, with a focus on providing athletes with world-class performance optimization training. Hundreds of UFC athletes have utilized the facilities and their services, as well as dozens of elite athletes from other major sports, including the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and Olympics, among others.
About SAGA Fitness
SAGA Fitness’ mission is to drive people to train smarter, work harder and continue to expand their potential. To do this, they create smart technologies, scientifically engineered to enhance performance, and positively impact people’s lives. SAGA Fitness was founded in December 2020 by VALD. VALD is a global leader in human measurement technologies that provide powerful and objective data to elite sports teams, defense departments and allied health organizations. As more technologies continue to proliferate the market and people’s demand for data increases, VALD saw an emerging opportunity for scientifically engineered technologies, that were tested and proven to improve human performance. As such VALD took a decisive step and create SAGA Fitness, disrupting the smart technology movement and making world-class tools accessible for all, not just elite athletes.