Nothing hits like a good pump. Your shirt drapes over your chest after a few high-rep sets of pec flyes. Your shoulders, engorged with blood, stretch wider than usual and accentuate your V-taper. Leaving the gym with a glute pump at the end of a leg workout? Forget about it.
Fans of bodybuilding history will know that seven-time Mr. Olympia Arnold Schwarzenegger had some choice words to describe the pump as well. But it begs the question: Does training for the pump itself actually build muscle, or is it all smoke and mirrors? Well, kind of. Here’s what the science and experts have to say on the subject.
Editor’s Note: The content on BarBend is meant to be informative in nature, but it should not be taken as medical advice. When starting a new training regimen and/or diet, it is always a good idea to consult with a trusted medical professional. We are not a medical resource. The opinions and articles on this site are not intended for use as diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. They are not substitutes for consulting a qualified medical professional.
What Is the Pump?
Every bodybuilder worth their salt knows what a good pump feels like. But you may not know exactly what’s happening within your body to create the pump in the first place. According to a study by Schoenfeld et al. published in 2014, the “muscle pump” is a form of cellular swelling:
“During intense muscular contractions, the veins taking blood out of working muscles are compressed, whereas arteries continue to deliver blood into the working muscles … This causes blood plasma to seep into the interstitial spaces, which triggers a flow of plasma back into the muscle.” (1)
In plain English, a pump occurs when you force your muscles to perform lots of work in a short period of time. Blood flows into the muscle faster than it is carried out, causing some acute swelling.
[Read More: Different Types of Strength Training (+ How to Get Started)]
If you’ve ever done an arm workout with plenty of supersets — or even hammered out some HIIT workouts on an assault bike — you know how it feels to catch a pump. Your muscles feel swollen and inflated.
Bodybuilders worship the pump because it temporarily makes their physiques appear larger and fuller than they would at rest. Behind the curtains of bodybuilding competitions, you’ll find athletes blasting through sets of low-intensity curls and presses to enhance their physiques before stepping out on stage.
Does Training for the Pump Build Muscle?
A good pump can be almost too alluring. When you walk out of the gym with whatever muscle or muscles you hit that day so pumped that it feels like your skin might tear, it’s easy to think that you had a productive, successful muscle-building workout.
[Read More: How to Gain Muscle — A Guide to Eating for Mass]
But in order to know for sure whether or not your pumped-up arms are actually getting bigger, you need to understand how muscle hypertrophy works in the first place, plus what the leading science and industry experts have to say.
3 Factors That Influence Hypertrophy
On the surface, muscle growth is pretty straightforward. You lift weights, you eat some extra calories, you rest up, and you grow. But under the hood, the mechanisms of muscular hypertrophy are more complex. There are three primary factors relating to your workouts that affect how much muscle you build: (2)
- Metabolic Stress
- Mechanical Tension
- Muscle Damage
It’s not fully understood exactly how these factors interact. The kind of training you do to get a good pump going, though, will primarily influence hypertrophy because of the metabolic stress it creates.
However, it’s worth noting that in recent years, contemporary research has leaned further into the merits of mechanical tension specifically, deriding the idea that all three factors are of equal importance.
[Read More: How to Train for Maximum Chest Hypertrophy]
This popular May 2023 paper (3) strongly argued that training close to muscular failure, which creates high amounts of mechanical tension, is overall more effective than lower-effort exercise such as training for the pump. You definitely don’t need to give up chasing the pump if you want to add muscle, but don’t skimp out on your heavy, high-intensity sets along the way.
Opinions From the Experts
While the pump owes a lot of its popularity to golden-era bodybuilders like Schwarzenegger, pump training remains a surprisingly hot topic among modern industry experts. In a Dec. 16, 2023 YouTube video, content creator Jeff Nippard sat down with sport science PhD Dr. Mike Israetel to debate common fitness advice, including the merits of training for the pump.
[Read More: How to Bulk: The Ultimate Guide to Gaining Size]
“Pumps are fun, they make training more enjoyable, and they probably have some relevance to hypertrophy,” said Nippard who regarded the pump as “properly-rated” in terms of relevance.
On the other hand, Israetel went to bat for pump training a bit more directly, stating that “in the evidence-based space, pumps are probably a little underrated.” He mentioned that even if the pump isn’t directly causing muscle growth, a good pump is an indicator that:
- You are effectively stimulating the target muscle with good form.
- You are utilizing an appropriate amount of training volume.
What About Blood Flow Restriction?
If you want to take pump training to the max, you may consider doing a bit of blood flow restriction (BFR) work from time to time. The idea behind BFR is simple; apply a cinch or tourniquet to the insertion point of your arm or leg. This partially blocks off the veins that return blood to the heart, but the deeper arteries that deliver blood to your muscles remain unaffected. Pump can flow in, but not out.
[Read More: How to Build Muscle and Strength With Calisthenics Training]
While the scientific data behind regular “pump training” may not be compelling, BFR has a lot more going for it academically:
- One study concluded that “BFR training leads to pronounced acute changes in muscle size, an index of muscle cell swelling … which may be an important factor for hypertrophy.” (4)
- However, findings are mixed. Another paper noted “significant correlations” between BFR and strength development, but no strong correlation for muscle growth. (5)
- One 2013 study made an extremely compelling observation. The authors state that “BFR can stimulate muscle hypertrophy to the same degree as high-intensity training…” (6)
BFR certainly has some compelling evidence behind it. But experts like Greg Nuckols advise caution with regard to making BFR pump training the entirety of your workout routine. “In my experience, BFR works best when added in for a few weeks at a time,” Nuckols says. After all, you may catch the best pump of your life but you’ll miss out on the skill-building aspect of strength training.
How To Get a Pump
While the jury may be out on whether the pump is useful for muscle growth, it’s undeniably useful for feeling great at the end of your workout. No matter what muscle you’re trying to pump up, the process is basically the same:
[Read More: Everything You Need to Know About How to Maintain Muscle]
Step 1 — Carb Up & Hydrate
A good pump depends on more than blood flow. To facilitate high-volume pump training, you should be well hydrated and, ideally, carbed up. Eat 50-60 grams of carbohydrate the day before a pump-focused workout, and drink 24-32 ounces of water the day of.
Step 2 — Pick Simple Movements
Pump training involves training around failure. You may not regard it as dangerous because you’re using light weights, but safety should still be your priority. Go for isolation movements when pumping up, and don’t be afraid to work exclusively on machines or cables that provide more stability in general.
Step 3 — Do Lots of (Easy) Volume
To get a pump, perform multiple high-repetition sets with limited rest periods. For example, you can perform 3-5 sets of 15-20 repetitions with 45 seconds rest between sets. Adjust the weight you use accordingly; the sets should be difficult, but not so much that you feel tempted to compromise your form.
Your Takeaways
- The “muscle pump” is an acute condition of cellular swelling which occurs as a result of performing lots of low-intensity muscular contractions in a brief period of time.
- Pumps make your muscles feel larger and fuller, and the swelling can even inhibit range of motion.
- In bodybuilding culture, the pump is almost worshiped as a landmark of a job well done in the gym.
- Research is mixed leaning negative on the idea that the pump itself builds muscle.
- Some studies acknowledge that intracellular swelling and metabolic stress are important, but not more so than other factors like mechanical tension.
- Blood flow restriction is an extreme version of pump training with some compelling evidence.
[Read More: The Best Full-Body Bodybuilding Workout for Beginner to Advanced Lifters]
Getting a pump is a good indicator that you know how to train the muscle in question properly, and can add enjoyment and fulfillment to your workouts, but it shouldn’t be your only goal in the weight room.
References
- Schoenfeld, Brad & Contreras, Bret. (2014). The Muscle Pump: Potential Mechanisms and Applications for Enhancing Hypertrophic Adaptations. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 36. 21-25. 10.1097/SSC.0000000000000021.
- Schoenfeld B. J. (2010). The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 24(10), 2857–2872.
- Robinson, Zac & Pelland, Joshua & Remmert, Jacob & Refalo, Martin & Jukic, Ivan & Steele, James & Zourdos, Michael. (2023). Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions. 10.51224/SRXIV.295.
- Yasuda, T., Loenneke, J. P., Thiebaud, R. S., & Abe, T. (2012). Effects of blood flow restricted low-intensity concentric or eccentric training on muscle size and strength. PloS one, 7(12), e52843.
- Loenneke, J.P., Wilson, J.M., Marín, P.J. et al. Low intensity blood flow restriction training: a meta-analysis. Eur J Appl Physiol 112, 1849–1859 (2012).
- Lowery, Ryan & Joy, Jordan & Loenneke, Jeremy & De Souza, Eduardo & Machado, Marco & Dudeck, Joshua & Wilson, Jacob. (2013). Practical blood flow restriction training increases muscle hypertrophy during a periodized resistance training programme. Clinical physiology and functional imaging. 34. 10.1111/cpf.12099.
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