Who could ever forget that famous line from Pumping Iron where Arnold said that getting a good pump was better than sex?
We all laughed, although some of us harder than others, because deep down we agreed with what he said. But after all these years, the question still remains- is a good pump a defining component of a productive muscle building workout. Is it really that important?
Some people emphatically state that getting a good pump is necessary if you want to build muscle. There are no studies that show this to be true, but real world evidence shows that there is something to getting a good pump. First of all, the ability to easily obtain a good pump is a sign that your body is in an anabolic state and ready to train. It shows us that the body and the cells are well hydrated and ready to grow.
Some days, you go to the gym and can’t get a pump no matter what you do. Those are days that you probably shouldn’t even be training. Your body is telling you something, and that something is that you are not in an anabolic state, probably not fully recovered, and you are not ready to train. In other words you will probably not be building muscle or gaining strength on that day.
As far as the pump having an anabolic effect, this is debatable, but most bodybuilders swear that there is something to it. When you get a good pump, you are delivering tons of nutrient-rich blood to the muscles that will greatly increase amino-acid uptake. Theoretically, this should result in a greater anabolic effect. There are also those that swear that a good pump can have a fascial stretching effect.
In the past many (myself included) have stated the following facts- the kind of training that stimulates a good pump causes sarcoplasmic and mitochondrial hypertrophy. This is the kind of hypertrophy which is lost very quickly when you stop training. It is completely different from myofibrillar hypertrophy, which comes from heavy training and lasts much longer.
In recent years science has proven that much of the above paragraph may not necessarily be true and that there may be no way to train for separate types of hypertrophy. Either way I though it was worth mentioning.
So, while it isn’t proven by science, there is probably something to gain from getting a good pump. Having said that, I definitely wouldn’t make it the focus of your workout. Chasing the pump and disregarding all of the principles of effective training is one of the biggest mistakes you can make and will do nothing to help you build lean muscle.
You can get a great pump from doing 50 pushups but everyone knows that’s not going to build muscle. Just mindlessly pursuing a pump will get you nowhere and may even cause losses in size and strength. However, after you have done the bulk of your workout you can always finish with a backoff set, a rest/pause set or even an occasional drop set to maximize your pump and thus maximize your body’s muscle building potential.
For example, on your chest workout you could do a couple heavy sets on the military press for 5-6 reps and then finish with one higher rep set of 8-10 on dips to get a great pump. If you do this you hit a variety of muscle fibers and target both types of hypertrophy. That way you get the best of both worlds.
Another option is to keep your reps in the 5-8 range throughout your workout but cut your rest periods down a bit. Louie Simmons always talks about the importance of conditioning and a fast paced workout so this is an idea worth considering.
Remember, it isn’t necessary and should never be the focus of your workouts (heavy training should) but getting a good pump tells you that you’re ready to build muscle and can even maximize your potential to do so.
Please leave your comments below.
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27. Mar, 2011
at 5:59 pm #
Good article.
Off the topic, have you ever done an article on training for taller lifters? I would definatly would be interested in purchasing a program dedicated for taller people. I’m 6’2, not towering by any means but I have really long arms and legs and I suck at the bench and squat due to the leverage disadvantages and the long range of motion. I’m thinking a mix of full range and partials maybe the answer.
22. Sep, 2011
at 9:31 am #
@Matt: I know your comment is old – but – you definitely do not want to mix full range and partials, that’s not the answer. The answer is starting off light and adding 5 lbs each time and working your way up. You don’t suck at the bench because your arms are long, that has 0 to do with it. You’re almost definitely lifting too heavy. If you can’t finish your sets, it’s too heavy. If you can, you have nothing to complain about. A good place to start on the bench for many people is about 70 lbs. Add 5 each workout. I bench twice one week, one the next, twice the week after, one the week after that, etc. So at the end of one month, if you did this, you would be benching 100 lbs. The next month, 130 lbs, and then the next, 160 lbs. Maybe you can start off higher, or maybe you should start even lower than 70, but I hope this helps.
22. Sep, 2011
at 10:00 am #
@Matt:
Hey Matt, Just wanted to jump in and tell you that at 6’7″ I was a nationally ranked in both olympic lifting and powerlifting in the 80′s. From my experience is that the only difference is that 20 pounds of muscle on my frame is far less than 20 pounds on someone who is under 6 foot. So basically its just more muscle you have to gain to compete with the shorter lifter.
Also Brian Shaw the strongman is 6 8 and well over 400 pounds.
28. Mar, 2011
at 6:59 am #
Bodybuilders are meatheads! haha
Great post brother! I believe there is a way to train “for the pump” but still hit multiple fibers while targeting hypertrophy at it’s best.
Love the examples.
Wait isn’t today supposed to be my “chest day”?
Keep it comin’ homie!
29. Mar, 2011
at 4:52 am #
Hi Jay, hearing you talk about high reps and pumps reminds me of something I read in Jim Wendler’s 5/3/1 manual – he recommends 100 total reps of bodyweight dips as an assistance exercise for the bench press. Would that qualify as merely training for the pump, or would it still improve triceps strength?
I was also interested to read Tyler English’s comments about training for both forms of hypertrophy. No doubt he’s talking about the 8-12 rep range!
07. Sep, 2011
at 3:00 am #
I find that training heavy in your prescribed rep range, that it is very rare that I don’t get a pump. It might just be me, but I can’t train with this method without getting a pump.