OK, seriously guys. THE PUMPAGE. W T F

[theblackkeys]

So I've done a very little bit of reading, and I've found that getting a pump doesn't do a single thing for you in terms of increasing strength or muscle mass. So naturally I don't get it. A lot of people on here and in the gym talk about it like it's their main goal or some retarded [censored]. I can understand how someone would want to be a bodybuilder, despite not wanting it for myself.

I guess I just don't understand someone wanting it so bad when all it is is a temporary cosmetic effect (affect?). It goes away. Your muscles didn't grow because of it. You didn't get stronger because of it.

So, all you guys who rave about the pump, this is your chance to enlighten me. Does it keep you motivated or something?

[Jordan]

umm. i don't really consider it motivation or an important part of what i do, but it does feel good, and it is fun to flex in the mirror when nobody is watching.

[einbert]

*ahem*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzI-UQ-JsaQ (not a rickroll)

[oneeyejak]

There are lots of arguments between experts on both sides of the coin on this one. What most agree on is that acheiving a pump is beneficial in this way: If a person is training with heavy weight and low to moderate reps, and acheiving a pump, it is an indication that they are effectively targeting the muscle or muscle groups that they are training.

Anyone can get a pump by doing 40 reps of curls or any other exercise for that matter.. Obviously this is not the optimal strategy to pack on muscle or to increase muscle strength.

In my opinion, acheiving a pump with low to moderate reps and moderate sets, is a good indication that a person is no longer a beginner and has built enough muscle and achieved enough of a "mind/muscle connection" to striclty hit the muscles they are training.

[Grey]

Your mom achieved a pump.

[Northern]

From Arnold,

"The greatest feeling you can get in a gym, or the most satisfying feeling you can get in the gym is... The Pump. Let's say you train your biceps. Blood is rushing into your muscles and that's what we call The Pump. You muscles get a really tight feeling, like your skin is going to explode any minute, and it's really tight - it's like somebody blowing air into it, into your muscle. It just blows up, and it feels really different. It feels fantastic." "It's as satisfying to me as, uh, coming is, you know? As, ah, having sex with a woman and coming. And so can you believe how much I am in heaven? I am like, uh, getting the feeling of coming in a gym, I'm getting the feeling of coming at home, I'm getting the feeling of coming backstage when I pump up, when I pose in front of 5,000 people, I get the same feeling, so I am coming day and night. I mean, it's terrific. Right? So you know, I am in heaven."

[Efourdee]

nice hand.

[istewart]

All of the people I have seen IRL who ever discuss attaining a pump or "feeling it" are the people that a) will never deadlift and b) should just kill themselves.

[oneeyejak]

[ QUOTE ]
All of the people I have seen IRL who ever discuss attaining a pump or "feeling it" are the people that a) will never deadlift and b) should just kill themselves.

[/ QUOTE ]

I love deadlifts. By far my favorite exercise.

[theblackkeys]

[ QUOTE ]
There are lots of arguments between experts on both sides of the coin on this one. What most agree on is that acheiving a pump is beneficial in this way: If a person is training with heavy weight and low to moderate reps, and acheiving a pump, it is an indication that they are effectively targeting the muscle or muscle groups that they are training.

Anyone can get a pump by doing 40 reps of curls or any other exercise for that matter.. Obviously this is not the optimal strategy to pack on muscle or to increase muscle strength.

In my opinion, acheiving a pump with low to moderate reps and moderate sets, is a good indication that a person is no longer a beginner and has built enough muscle and achieved enough of a "mind/muscle connection" to striclty hit the muscles they are training.

[/ QUOTE ]
I don't agree that achieving a pump indicates whether you are making progress and hitting your muscles hard. If you can put some progress on paper, that is progress. That progress is either increased volume, weight, workload or muscle mass imo.

Also, can anyone here say they achieved a pump from squatting or deadlifting? Those are two of the most effective muscle and strength builders yet they don't seem like the type of exercises to get a pump from. Am I wrong here?