Ever wished you could watch your muscles ‘grow’ before your eyes? With a muscle pump, you most certainly can. Regardless of their ultimate objective, the majority of exercise enthusiasts spend at least some time “chasing the pump.” You feel powerful and successful as a result of that immediate muscular gain.
But what precisely happens when you have a muscular pump? How can your muscles expand so much in a single hour, but the following morning, they are back to normal? In this straightforward overview of muscle pumps, I provide answers to these and other queries.
What Is A Muscle Pump?
An aggressive strength training session results in the pump, which aims to increase muscle size greatly. A muscular pump happens when blood and water build up in your muscles during the action. The main triggers responsible for this are:
- Your working muscles start to accumulate lactic acid, which draws water into them.
- Because your functioning muscles require more oxygen and nutrients to power them, your heart pumps more blood to them.
- Your muscle cells swell as a result of this fluid influx, giving the appearance that your muscles are bigger than usual. It may seem as though your muscles are “filled” when you receive a muscle pump.
How Long Does A Muscle Pump Last After A Workout?
After working out, you experience a pump that lasts for around two to three hours. The blood then moves back to your internal organs, which require it more when you’re resting. But occasionally, you could discover that your muscles continue to feel bloated for more than three hours after your workout.
Additionally, how much water you drink at regular times will determine this. After working out, it’s possible that your muscles will continue to feel fuller for several hours or even days.
The increased blood flow from the pump is not the cause of this, though. Glycogen is the primary contributor to long-lasting muscular edoema. Your persistent swollen condition can be brought on by muscle cell inflammation also.
Why Do I Lose Pump Very Quickly?
It’s called “transient” hypertrophy for a reason, and muscle pumps are really just fitness slang for the phenomenon known as transient hypertrophy. Muscle pumps go away almost as quickly as they appear because, once you’re done working out, your body has no reason to keep all that blood and lactic acid in your non-working muscles.
Your diet and training habits are most likely the cause of your pump’s short lifespan. It’s important first to understand that starving yourself or consistently undereating will not result in a healthy pump.
To fuel the pump, you need nutrients. Blood doesn’t go to any particular muscle group during compound movements that rely on momentum. So, neither are CrossFit workouts good for getting a pump.
How Can You Make Your Muscle Pump Last Longer?
- Up the number of reps – With a low resistance level and a large number of repetitions, you can do types of strength training exercises from pull ups to chin ups to curls. The more repetitions you perform, the faster your heart will beat and the more blood will flow to your muscles, keeping them more intense for longer.
- Drink a protein shake after exercising.- After working out, drink a protein shake because it contains carbs and protein that will start your muscles’ recuperation process and reduce breakdown. Its nutrients will promote muscular growth and lengthen the pump.
- Take in complex carbs. – After exercising, consume a full supper that includes complex carbohydrates like pasta, brown rice, baked potatoes, yams, and other whole grains to keep your muscles pumping.
- Drink lots of water to stay hydrated – Drink a lot of water both during and after your workout because doing so will keep your muscles balanced and stimulated for longer.
- Remain relaxed – Maintain a low-stress level throughout the day because when stress levels rise, the hormone cortisol is released into the bloodstream, which reduces muscle pump.
- Make use of muscle–building supplements – If you take a pre-workout supplements like Finaflex Stimul8, Pro Supp’s Mr. Hyde, etc. you probably already take l-arginine or l-citrulline, two vasodilators. These amino acids improve exercise and blood flow. Studies show that taking an omega-3 supplement greatly enhances blood flow when exercising.
Pros And Cons Of Muscle Pumps
PROS —
- Cellular swelling increases protein synthesis and decreases protein breakdown within a cell, particularly in fast-twitch fibers. As a result, the conditions are ideal for muscle growth.
- In order to survive, the muscle cell adjusts by strengthening its structure in response to the additional pressure that the swollen muscle causes.
- The muscle’s stem cells are activated, which aids in the growth and repair of the fibers.
CONS —
- Pain isn’t the only side effect of a pump. It impairs your focus and interferes with your ability to grip, clutch, or control the throttle, which can cause a crash. And it can cause muscle damage that could need to be repaired by surgery.
Does the Pump Build Muscle?
Muscle growth is not primarily facilitated by getting a pump. Even without a pump, you can still gain muscle. There is a tonne of evidence to suggest that training with lighter weights and more repetitions, the kind of training that makes your muscles feel good and tight and “pumped,” is an efficient method to gain muscle.
While getting a muscle pump might not be necessary for growth, the type of training that results in a pump does offer a strong stimulus for hypertrophy, perhaps through a different mechanism than heavy lifting.
Should Your Goal Be to Always Get Pumped?
If you want to put on muscle as quickly as possible, pump training shouldn’t be your main priority, but when combined with intense strength training, it can hasten the process. You can develop muscle without developing a pump, and it’s not even close to being the most significant goal. But that doesn’t mean it’s pointless.
Pump training can help you gain more muscle than you would with strength training alone, so it has a place in your workout regimen.
Conclusion
There is plenty of fascination and discussion over Pump muscle and how effective and appealing it is for the short run in the mirror. But, relying on short term muscle pump shouldn’t be your goal. It should be focusing on long lasting muscle gains.
