Arm pump again......

[KXTodd]

I've got a weird arm pump thing going on, the last few times I've gone out riding my arms pump up pretty fast. I have to take a break about every ten minutes or so, after about 5 or 6 breaks like this it seems like they pump up and stay there and I feel like I can ride forever ??????? Anyone else experience this? It's not like it goes away it's just they pump up so much it doesn't hurt anymore? Does that make sense? I've never even really had arm pump before until the last couple of months so maybe I'm riding a little harder or my suspension is getting worse:think

 

[YoTRacer158]

the only thing ive experienced that is similar to what youre talking about is when i start riding again after a long break due to injury or whatever...i'll pump up really bad every 5 or 10 mins for an hour or so, and then after that i'll be fine for the rest of the day. not really sure why it happens though

 

[chopair]

Probable Arm Pump explanation

Arm Pump is caused by the metabolites of the anerobic work performed by the foreams. Anerobic excersise "burns" glycogen (stored carbs) in the muscle. The "exhaust is mostly lactic and pyruvic acid. This is all part of the Krebs cycle if you are interested in greater detail.

A possible explanation for de-pumping experience that you are experiencing is that you have burned all the glycogen available in you forearms. Therefore, there is no fuel left to produce the metabolites that cause arm pump. In this case, the only mechanism left to produce grip strength is aerobic. This process burns oxygen supplied by the muscles blood supply. It is not capable of producing the same maximum stregth but has the advantage of being continuously availabe.

As a pedal powered cyclist, I was part of as research study at the UCI Human Performance Lab. that studied this effect on racing cyclists.

 

[skmcbride]

Arm Pump is caused by the metabolites of the anerobic work performed by the foreams. Anerobic excersise "burns" glycogen (stored carbs) in the muscle. The "exhaust is mostly lactic and pyruvic acid. This is all part of the Krebs cycle if you are interested in greater detail.

No offense intended, but this is not entirely correct. The process your referring to is glycolysis or glycogenolysis. Glycolysis can either be aerobic or anaerobic depending on energy demand. One byproduct of glycolysis is pyruvate which inturn can either be further utilized for energy production via the Krebs cycle or converted to lactate. This is over simplified as lactate can have many fates as well as included in energy production. Yes, lactate is your friend , check out the ingredients in Cytomax. There is some direct lactate production as well. The Krebs cycle is an aerobic (oxygen dependent) pathway. It is the first place that fat and protein (after conversion) can be metabolized for energy for muscle. Glucose is the only anaerobic substrate, not including the immediate sources of ATP and creatine phosphate. Don't want to make this a science class but the fatigue, arm pump, leg pump, cramping, whatever, could be a combination of many factors and vary from individual to individual. What we can say is that it is the inability to meet an energy demand requirement for sustaining a given level of intensity.

A possible explanation for de-pumping experience that you are experiencing is that you have burned all the glycogen available in you forearms. Therefore, there is no fuel left to produce the metabolites that cause arm pump. In this case, the only mechanism left to produce grip strength is aerobic. This process burns oxygen supplied by the muscles blood supply. It is not capable of producing the same maximum stregth but has the advantage of being continuously availabe.

Getting warm here but not the whole story. Glucose and glyogen are plentiful
when you get early arm pump, otherwise how would you continue to ride after short recovery since glucose is the main driver for aerobic metabolism as well. I don't know what study you were in but I can recall a cycle study that looked at leg fatique comparing the same work but at 2 different rpm's and loads. One at 100 rpm low resistance and one at 50 rpm high resistance.
The low rpm/high load group fatigued first! Although, in theory, the energy demand was the same as work rate or power was equal. The answered is thought to be in where the energy needs to come from to meet the demand. Higher loads or intensity usually require type II muscle fiber (fast twitch) to generate the necessary force. The energy supply for this white meat is largely through immediate ATP sources and glycogen stores (for glycolysis) which can depleted from those specific muscle fibers eventhough there is an abundance in adjacent cells. This could be, and this is pure speculation, one source of early onset arm pump. It would explain the relatively quick recovery with rest as glycogen can easily be mobilized and lactate shuttled. Subsequent bouts may reproduce the same pump or subtle adjustments in your riding (likely not even aware) will reduce the force needed and allow recruitment and utilization of a variety of fiber types and thus a variety of energy sources. It has long been known that high intensity
bouts of exercise are tolerated better with a warm-up and a gradual increasing load requirement. What do most of us do on our motorcycles? We get to the track and ride all out from the get go so our bodies are in a relative state of shock (some of us may do one parade lap) and after 3 or 4 laps we are cooked and can barely hold the bars. :scream: I know when I start an enduro, I am tight, you can't warm up on the bike and I usually get some arm pump in the first tight section especially if it is early, but later in the race I don't even think of it, partially because my legs and back hurt so bad!

Some food for thought for early onset arm pump:

Presumption that you are adequately hydrated and ate your wheaties.

1) Try warming up first, get a light squeeze ball and do some light reps (real light) about 20-30 mins before riding (in your truck on the way to the track)

2) Go out slow, try riding 15-20 mins well below the threshold for arm pump than try to add on speed from there.

3) Relax, as anxiety or nerves could will result in excessive grip force production. May sound hoky, but some deep breathing exercises or progressive relaxation techniques may help.

4) Bike set-up, this would go for all varieties of fatigue. Don't let your bike ride you. Suspension, bar position, stabilizers, anti-vibration and grip size to name a few could all impact grip force requirements.

5) Riding style: aggressive with weight forward equals more legs and less arms.

6) Ride more, supplement with resistance training for forearms, arms and legs. Weak legs equals fatigued arms.

Late onset fatigue look at endurance training , energy replacement, rehydration etc...

Out of curiousity, it would be interesting to see the effect of creatine supplementation on early onset arm pump. If indeed it was a drop in energy source from type II fibers it may delay its arrival, albeit for a short period.

I can't talk about arm pump anymore, since I am getting it from typing about it so much. As a group can we move on ;)

Good luck to all, Keith