Pump It Up

by michael j. rayburn
(charlotte ,n.c.)

push up bars warm up,then 5-10 sets dips

next do seated alternate dumbbell presses

5 sets heavy low reps. follow up with abs leg lifts and scissors stretch. this.is my push routine. i rest 1-2 days and do a pull routine as follows: db rows 5x5,

db curls 5x5, pull ups and chin ups 5-10 x max. follow up with hangig kneeups for abs. stretch. walk and run for 30-60 min.

What is Muscle Pump

The muscle pump is both physical and psychological in action to people that train with weight or those that build muscle by bodyweight exercises.


Physically speaking

In the physical sense, when you are doing weightlifting, what is essentially happening to your muscles is that the connection and structures of the muscles are being destroyed and broken down. This occurs faster when you are carrying weight that are larger in capacity that that which you have been carrying before and this is what is best for muscle growth.


As the muscles become broken down, there is a flow of fresh blood carrying the nutrients into the damaged area so as to build a newer and stronger muscle mass, while on the other hand there is a flow of waste and used blood that flows from the muscles to carry away the wastes occurring from the breaking down of the muscles as a result of the exercise.

This movement of the blood into the muscle tissues and the broken down muscle mass collectively give the muscles a bulky and tight feel and this is what is known as the muscle pump.


When the muscle pump is fully formed, it becomes difficult to move the hands or bend the hands accurately to any great degree and performing such actions like combing your hair can be a difficult or outright impossible as the bulging muscles prevent the arm from bending.


Psychologically speaking

On the other hand, many people that have had the muscle pump at one point or another have been known to talk about the feeling that they have when they have such a pump. They almost always talk about feeling good, which in other terms can be known as a high.


This is because during weight training, hormones are released with a variety of functions and it is the hormones that are released into the bloodstream that give people the ability to have a good feeling and light disposition.


Generally speaking

The muscle pump is a general reaction to strenuous exercise and sometimes it can be a bit annoying and painful if it persists for long. One of the ways to manage it is to go for aerobic exercises as these will warm the body, and cause blood to flow more without building up in the muscles, carrying oxygen into the muscles and taking away the waste from it.