Why Muscle Pumps Have Nothing To do With Muscle Gains
Why Muscle Pumps Have Nothing To do With Muscle Gains
Your back is firmly planted on the bench as you wrap your chalked hands around the cold, steel bar. Your training partner helps you un-rack the weight as you power the bar up and down, squeezing your chest and triceps on each grueling rep. You complete your 6 repetitions, re-rack the bar and stand up. Your chest feels tight and engorged with blood. You take a look in the mirror, thrilled with how full and vascular your pecs appear. You feel strong, powerful, healthy and motivated to blast through the rest of your workout with your newly achieved “pump”.
Let’s face it, a pump feels incredible. For those of you who aren’t quite sure what I’m talking about, a pump is the feeling that you get as blood becomes trapped inside your muscle tissue as a result of resistance training. The muscles will swell up and increase in size, vascularity and tightness.
There is certainly nothing wrong with achieving a pump in the gym, and it is simply a natural result of intense weight training. However, contrary to what the majority of weightlifters may think, a pump is in no way indicative of a successful workout. Anyone who uses the intensity of their pump as a gauge for the effectiveness of their workout is making a costly error.
On countless occasions I've heard lifters raving about the massive pumps they get in the gym as they share methods for achieving the best pump possible. "Dude, this will give you a crazy pump!" If you have already been working out for a decent amount of time then you know exactly what I'm talking about. While a pump does feel extremely satisfying, just remember that it means very little in terms of muscle stimulation and growth.
A pump is simply the result of extra blood within the muscle tissue. Think of it this way: if I took a pair of 10 pound dumbbells and performed 300 reps of a bench press movement, I would achieve an incredible pump. If muscle pumps meant muscle growth, then super light weight, ultra high rep programs would be the most effective way to grow. Any serious lifter with half a brain knows that this simply is not the case.
Do you want to know how to truly gauge the success of a workout? Here it is…
Take your workout records (in terms of weight and reps) from the previous week and compare it to the current week. Did you improve? Were you able to either increase the resistance slightly on each exercise, or perform an extra rep or two? If so, you had a successful workout, regardless of how much blood you were able to pump into your muscle tissue.
Building muscle mass and strength is all about training with 100% intensity on every given set and then striving to improve from week to week. If you are able to consistently achieve this, your muscle size and strength will increase faster than you ever thought possible, with or without a pump.
pumping of muscle
pumping of muscle
Ever notice how you look your biggest and buffest during and immediately after your workout? Of course you do! You sneak a peak at yourself in the gym mirrors any chance you get.When you're pumping iron, your blood vessels are pumping blood. As you work out, your muscles contract and apply pressure to these vessels. Think about gently squeezing a straw as liquid flows through it. This means your body is working harder to push blood and oxygen through these temporarily tightened "straws."Towards the end of your workout, as your blood pressure slowly returns to normal, the vessels expand back to their normal size, and the backed-up blood and oxygen come flooding back through. This rapid flooding is what gives your muscle that extra "pop" and temporary pump — keyword being temporary.
But, let's say you have a hot date or a day at the beach planned for later. How do you make that pump last as long as possible?
According to a recent study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, you should do high reps with low weights during your workout. A practical application of this finding if you don't have time for a full workout is to do a quick push-up routine before you hit the shower.
Do as many push-ups as you can until your form starts to break down, then rest for 1 minute, and repeat. Try for 3-5 solid minutes, and you'll be pumped and ready to go!
Of course, a few hours later, she'll get to watch as your muscles shrivel up and shrink away, but we're going for first impressions here, right?
Why Your Muscle Pumps Don't Build Muscle
Why Your Muscle Pumps Don't Build Muscle
Which is better, the pump or the feeling of totally exhausting your muscles to the point of failure when it is nearly impossible to pick up a pencil? Good question because I can promise that one is asked a lot. People love the feeling of being pumped and the blood flowing thru their muscles. In fact, Arnold has quite a few 'interesting' quotes on this subject.
But really, what is better? The muscle pump or the taxed feeling?
Let's get down to brass tacks...
A pump does not build muscle. But overloading and giving your body a reason to grow does.
By the way...
There is some evidence to suggest that pumping the muscle full of blood will help get more nutrients to the area and therefore, help to build muscle. That is a weak argument that a pump builds muscle but nonetheless, I have run across that bit of debate.
While you might leave the gym feeling weak but not pumped, that certainly doesn't mean you are not making some serious progress. And in fact, some programs I've tried, I leave the gym feeling completely weak but I'm not pumped at all and I even have the feeling I could do more work but that's not part of the program.
My strong hunch is...
That you love the pumps! I mean honestly who doesn't? I know I do and that's why I found a little way to get the best of both worlds. Sort of like having my cake and eating it to.
It's called super setting. It's not a new concept at all. In fact it's an old bodybuilding method but is foundational and can give you a great pump but at the same time, leaves you feeling weak and not wanting more.
Really think about...
A pump is just the blood flowing to the area. You can get a good pump without working all that hard. Giving your body no reason to grow. But you can get a great pump.
Overloading your muscles doesn't have to give you a pump either. If you engage in training that has you lift heavy weights but only in the 4-6 rep range, you may not feel a pump at all. But you will be weaker and you will get stronger. Yet you'll lose the feeling of pumps entirely because lifting heavy and resting simply doesn't give your body a chance to get all that blood to the area like a typical pump will do.
Needless to say...
Many just get frustrated and go between trying to get the best pumps and actually working hard.
What they don't know is that super setting is the ultimate way to work your muscle to a state of exhausting (increasing the intensity) and yet get that massive pump you've been looking to get.
Sample Pump Routine:
Incline Smith Bench Press (12 reps; slow, controlled reps, 70-75% of max)
IMMEDIATELY followed by
Incline Dumbbell Flyes (12 reps; 70-75% of max)
Keep in mind, this is just a sample but you are using weights that are challenging, in a higher rep range and following it up with another exercise that works the same area.
All this means is that you are going to bump up the intensity (forcing your body to grow) AND push blood to the area to get a great pump.
You can even experiment with rest intervals so that it's even more intense and the area you are focusing on is totally pumped.
Please understand that a pump itself does not build muscle. Overloading it, challenging it and giving it a reason to grow does.
You can use various techniques to bump up the intensity of any exercise, making it challenging without stacking on super heavy weights and having long rest periods. You'll not only get stronger and build muscle but you will get that pump feeling back.
Don't think that one or the other is better or worse, it's just different. But you can use techniques as I've shown above to build muscle and get them pumped up as well.
Certainly there are other ways in which to raise the intensity of an exercise and make it more difficult and still get the pumped feeling. Supersets were but one example. Drop sets are another variation that not only can overload the muscle and force it to grow thru intensity and progressive overload but you'll get a fantastic pump from that method as well. There's several other techniques you can use that I will detail in another article.
Make sure you go to http://www.musclepumpworld.blogspot.com and learn more about super setting and the various training programs you can use to get a super pump and overload your muscles and force them to grow. You can have your cake and eat it too in the Beginner's Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding.
Weight Gain Tips
Weight Gain Tips
Although obesity is a very common problem all over the world, its counterpart, being underweight is a much underestimated condition and just as problematic. Just as with being overweight, there are a number of difference factors that play a role in the development of the condition ranging from social to economic problems to simple genetic conditions or the mental approach of an individual to the amount of food she or he consumes. Before getting into the details of the various causes and complications that arise out of being underweight, it is important to be able to first identify and properly categorize an individual as being underweight. The classification works in tandem with the body mass index, so it is important to be able to understand how the BMI table works. Also known as the Quetelet sheet, the BMI is primarily a measure of the ideal body weight in relation to the individual’s height. Simply put, the BMI lets you know what the ideal weight would be for a certain height. The calculation results in a figure of which anything below 18.5 is considered to be underweight for the tested individual’s height.
One of the most common causes of being underweight is malnutrition as a result of poverty. This is the primary reason that malnutrition is most prominent in underdeveloped countries all over the world, mainly afflicting those that live below the poverty line. Moreover, studies have shown that the effects of malnutrition are usually amplified by a number of other normally easily treatable diseases that could possibly lead to death when ignored. Being underweight could also easily be the result of simple genetics where the individual is another in a long line of a bloodline where most members retain a rather slim figure no matter what they eat. The individuals mental approach towards food consumption could also play a vital role in malnutrition as psychological conditions such as bulimia and anorexia are self imposed restrictions of food intake that deprive the body of the required nutrients, vitamins and minerals that it requires to perform optimally. Some athletes are known to over train to an excessive degree – this causes the body to burn large amounts of fat in order to create energy – leading to very low body weight.
Because of the fact that the condition is relatively common, there are a number of weight gain tips that can help you achieve a healthier body mass index. For instance, counting your calories will help significantly and while it is important to avoid fast and junk foods, increasing your intake of normal everyday home cooked meals and start weighing yourself on a regular basis. Eating properly is the first step of proper and healthy weight gain – the main course of action will focus on consuming more calories than you burn. Another one of the most important weight gain tips is to make sure that you start weight training so as to ensure that any additional weight put on is muscle. This adds a significant amount of definition to your body otherwise all the extra food you eat will only convert itself into fat within your body and not muscle. It is also very important to increase your intake of good fats – meaning that when following weight gain tips, it is important to avoid eating foods that do not help in any way such as cakes, candy and chips. High protein and low fat dishes such as tuna fish, chicken breast, lean meats and other fruits and vegetables are highly recommended. One of the most important aspects of weight gain diets as well as weight gain tips for women and generic healthy weight gain tips is to make sure that you get your fair share of rest in order to allow your body to function properly.
Although obesity is a very common problem all over the world, its counterpart, being underweight is a much underestimated condition and just as problematic. Just as with being overweight, there are a number of difference factors that play a role in the development of the condition ranging from social to economic problems to simple genetic conditions or the mental approach of an individual to the amount of food she or he consumes. Before getting into the details of the various causes and complications that arise out of being underweight, it is important to be able to first identify and properly categorize an individual as being underweight. The classification works in tandem with the body mass index, so it is important to be able to understand how the BMI table works. Also known as the Quetelet sheet, the BMI is primarily a measure of the ideal body weight in relation to the individual’s height. Simply put, the BMI lets you know what the ideal weight would be for a certain height. The calculation results in a figure of which anything below 18.5 is considered to be underweight for the tested individual’s height.
One of the most common causes of being underweight is malnutrition as a result of poverty. This is the primary reason that malnutrition is most prominent in underdeveloped countries all over the world, mainly afflicting those that live below the poverty line. Moreover, studies have shown that the effects of malnutrition are usually amplified by a number of other normally easily treatable diseases that could possibly lead to death when ignored. Being underweight could also easily be the result of simple genetics where the individual is another in a long line of a bloodline where most members retain a rather slim figure no matter what they eat. The individuals mental approach towards food consumption could also play a vital role in malnutrition as psychological conditions such as bulimia and anorexia are self imposed restrictions of food intake that deprive the body of the required nutrients, vitamins and minerals that it requires to perform optimally. Some athletes are known to over train to an excessive degree – this causes the body to burn large amounts of fat in order to create energy – leading to very low body weight.
Because of the fact that the condition is relatively common, there are a number of weight gain tips that can help you achieve a healthier body mass index. For instance, counting your calories will help significantly and while it is important to avoid fast and junk foods, increasing your intake of normal everyday home cooked meals and start weighing yourself on a regular basis. Eating properly is the first step of proper and healthy weight gain – the main course of action will focus on consuming more calories than you burn. Another one of the most important weight gain tips is to make sure that you start weight training so as to ensure that any additional weight put on is muscle. This adds a significant amount of definition to your body otherwise all the extra food you eat will only convert itself into fat within your body and not muscle. It is also very important to increase your intake of good fats – meaning that when following weight gain tips, it is important to avoid eating foods that do not help in any way such as cakes, candy and chips. High protein and low fat dishes such as tuna fish, chicken breast, lean meats and other fruits and vegetables are highly recommended. One of the most important aspects of weight gain diets as well as weight gain tips for women and generic healthy weight gain tips is to make sure that you get your fair share of rest in order to allow your body to function properly.
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