The "Pump"

[pumpchaser]

I was asked this question in another survey but wanted to know what you all think.

Who here believes that the 'pump' contributes toward hypertrophy and that the extent and 'feel' of the pump is an indication of workout effectiveness.

I believe this to be true.

[Ursus]

this is from wat i overheard lol its prob wrong and wen i can ill post the correct version

i believe there are 2 types of muscle growth. one is myscular and the other is cappilary i think. pump pump pump leads to more growth v quiclyly as oit is capillary or summat gropwth.

when all i do is go 4 pump i got v big v quickly

[trulytoned]

this is from wat i overheard lol its prob wrong and wen i can ill post the correct version

i believe there are 2 types of muscle growth. one is myscular and the other is cappilary i think. pump pump pump leads to more growth v quiclyly as oit is capillary or summat gropwth.

when all i do is go 4 pump i got v big v quickly

how about spell checking if you cant type....
i believe the pump is a big part of the workout

[WOOO]

I was asked this question in another survey but wanted to know what you all think.

Who here believes that the 'pump' contributes toward hypertrophy and that the extent and 'feel' of the pump is an indication of workout effectiveness.

I believe this to be true.

this sounds suspiciously


like a survey


in a Muscletech ad....



anyone who says "hypertrophy" instead of muscle growth ...




is just asking for trouble...

[adadrian]

the pump is just like cumming

[Always Sore]

the pump is just like cumming

yea by yourself...

[blondmusclhunk]

Sometimes I get a great pump in 2 sets of an excercise.  If I stopped whenever I got a pump I dont think that I would have the size I do now.  A pump is great and I tend to hold the pump through my workout no matter when I get it, but i seriously the pump has anything to do with muscle growth.  Proper diet with emphasis on a lot of protein, correct supplement use, workouts, and rest causes growth. 

[pumpster]

I think the pump is important in the right context, for several reasons:

-Stimulates growth by triggering the secretion of various catalysts.
-Clearly indicates that the desired area's being stimulated.
-Psychologically important to training intensity for many.

However, a pump by itself is not sufficient; it matters how it happens. If a very light weight's used the result's fairly useless for size, but might develop capillaries related to slow-twitch endurance fiber. On the other hand, if a pump results from the use of at least moderate weight combined with intense training, IMO it's relevant to size and other attributes.

Conversely, low reps and heavy weights does not create much of a pump, and IMO it does not have the same muscle building benefit either, IMO.

It's subjective, there's no definitive answer yet. However, based on anecdotal experience it appears to me that it's part of the growth equation.

[blondmusclhunk]

I agree the pump does play a role somewhere.  I know the psychological effect of feeling a good pump really helps your motivation!!!

[BallzDeep69]

Chasing the pump is def. useless as far as solid muscle gains are concerned.  You want thick, dense long lasting muscle  you gotta lift heavy and strive to lift more weight, something very difficult to do if you gauge your workouts by the pump you get.  Sure getting a pump after you've already lifted heavy is fine, and might actually help with recovery etc, but it's not sure sign you're gonna grow.  In the Army I used to get the craziest pumps ever just from doing endless sets of high-speed push ups, and did it lead to an addition of hard, dense muscle?  No it led to a pump that made me feel full and tighter for a few days, but nothing worth the while.  That's basically the way volume training is. 

[Ursus]

i aint being arrogant but iu have ridiculously dense muscle. i trian heavy first then for the pump. i def think it works.

[lilwoday09smb]

ive heard and read in diff mags that working out past the pump is useless, although i do it myself

[pumpster]

In the Army I used to get the craziest pumps ever just from doing endless sets of high-speed push ups, and did it lead to an addition of hard, dense muscle?  No it led to a pump that made me feel full and tighter for a few days, but nothing worth the while.

Lots of guys get fairly big doing just pushups; the pump was part of that. To get bigger, it's just a matter of increasing resistance above that from standard pushups.

[BallzDeep69]

i aint being arrogant but iu have ridiculously dense muscle. i trian heavy first then for the pump. i def think it works.

See what I mean?

You'll never get that hard dense muscle dieted or not if you only train with 10-15 reps from the start.  It's simply not enough resistance to cause anything other than sarcoplasmic hypertrophy, which is basically a temporary increase in glycogen storage.  This is why you look sorta "Big" from doing endless push-ups, but nothing solid. 

The only guys I ever knew who were big from doing push ups were the genetics freaks (Mesomorphic Black guys) who got big from heavy weight training beforehand, so the push ups were basically maintaining what they had.  No one without prior muscle size from lifting weights ever got "big" from push ups alone, that's for sure! 

[pumpchaser]

I also believe the pump does contribute to growth but only when used in the right context.
i.e Using a light weight with very high reps can cause a pump but would not be effective for muscle growth.
The pump can however be a valuable tool to determine when a workout is effective.
Ever notice that once you obtain a maximum pump the quality or hardness of you muscular contractions start to diminish and if you continue on with more sets your pump actually starts to diminish as well.
I have posted the reasoning before but will again as I believe this is an important note.

As a pump diminishes with subsequent sets, this is a sign that the muscle (fibers) are losing
force output, i.e., unable to contract hard enough to sustain its current blood volume.
The more muscle fibers activated, the more the muscle is working, and the harder
it works, the greater the muscle pump. As fewer muscle fibers work, because of fatigue
within the muscle, the pump will diminish accordingly or sustain at best.
For this reason I believe that once maximum pump is reached there would be no reason to continue on with further sets.

[Ursus]

basically the pump is a good feeling but does not necessarily signify growth.

to get the best of both worlds on the bench pres for example pause for 1 sec at the bottom. stimulates far more muscle and gives a savage pump lol