The Muscle Pump Misconception

The Muscle Pump Misconception


Ok, firstly let's make one thing clear. Do muscle pumps have anything to do with building muscle? Certainly not!

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If you don't know what I'm talking about when I say "muscle pump", I'm referring to the feeling you experience during a weight lifting workout when your muscles burn and feel tighter, and they appear larger and more "ripped" than usual.
This pump is normal and occurs simply because of more blood in the muscle tissue. Let's not deny it, these pumps feel great! You feel and look ripped. But a lot of lifters in the gym are lying to themselves by thinking that their muscle pumps have something to do with their muscle gains.
This couldn't be further from the truth. A muscle pump is just that, a pump. Nothing more. Whether you get a pump or not during a workout, and whether it's a large pump or a small one, it has no effect on the muscle building process.
You'd be surprised as to how many people actually rate their workouts on how much of a pump they get. Some even try to get the best pump by using lighter weights and more repetitions, and sure, it does give them an awesome pump. But will it help you build muscle? Nope. Think about it this way, does training with light weights and high reps increase muscle mass effectively? No, definitely not.
Your muscles actually grow if you use heavy weights and lower repetitions, and you steadily increase the weight or the amount of reps each week. It doesn't matter if you get a pump or not, as long as you train to muscular failure on all sets.
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Thats absolute bullshit! If the blood didnt pump/engorge the muscle then the muscle fibers wouldnt stretch and tare, and the stretching and taring of the muscle fibers/fascia are what helps build muscle. You cant have one without the other. Im no scientist but it doesnt sound feasible to me at all.

Presser said:

Thats absolute bullshit! If the blood didnt pump/engorge the muscle then the muscle fibers wouldnt stretch and tare, and the stretching and taring of the muscle fibers/fascia are what helps build muscle. You cant have one without the other. Im no scientist but it doesnt sound feasible to me at all.

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I was thinking the same thing on this.. But I thought I was missing something..

I don't think you're the one missing something bro, I think the author is

Well, I don't think the author is saying that pumps are unimportant, but that you shouldn't use the pump as the sole gauge of how good your workout is.

Well, no I don't think you should either, I mean fuck I can get a pump brushing my teeth and I know that doesn't correlate to a good workout. Maybe that's common sense to some of us and he's going for a lesser experienced crowd

I think Ox is kind of right. It seems to me like it's the whole a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square theory. A pump, by itself, does not necessarily facilitate muscle growth and should not be the aim of a workout. You can have a pump without muscle growth, but you can't have muscle growth without a pump.

Heck, on d-bol I get jaw pumps from chewing my food sometimes, lol.

crg914 said:

I think Ox is kind of right. It seems to me like it's the whole a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square theory. A pump, by itself, does not necessarily facilitate muscle growth and should not be the aim of a workout. You can have a pump without muscle growth, but you can't have muscle growth without a pump.

Heck, on d-bol I get jaw pumps from chewing my food sometimes, lol.

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wow, now that lost me bro lol