armpump

[teamtnt#308]

i know everybody gets armpump...but are there any really really really good exercises that ppl do that show good results? thanz for the help

 

[joereitman]

Tie a weight to a broomhandle or dowel rod and twist away. Did these when I was a kid and raced.

 

[teamtnt#308]

did it work good?

 

[joereitman]

Work great. Roll-ups are what they are called. The steel spring hand squeezers from Wal-Mart, etc are good too. Also squeezing rubber balls.

But the best thing is to ride with your weight on your feet, knees squeezing the seat, in attack position, hands relaxed instead of death grip.

 

[tx246]

use the search function. look in the top right hand of the page. go and type arm pump and you will get all the armpump info you can handle.

 

[SpectraSVT]

Tyenol the night before you ride/race thins the blood. Thinner blood less pumpage.

 

[mxer842]

thinner blood means more bleeding when, and you will, crash.

 

[Hurricane]

I wonder if push-ups would help... I bet I could whoop ya all in a push-up contest :)
Last month I did 98 p-u's in a row... (beat that)

LOL...

~Mark~

 

[mxer842]

push-ups work pecs and triceps i think(depending on how you do them), that has nothing do to with forearms.

 

[SULLY]

My Son used to suffer from Armpump quite bad, and sometimes had to really slow down, or nearly pull out of races as a result. But it just seemed to go away over the last 2 years or so (from age 13 to 15). I have not paid it much thought assuming he was just growing stronger, but this does not compute because adults suffer with the pb.
I don't know if it is relevant but the decrease in pump was around the same time he took up drumming, he has a kit at home and plays alot (pardon?)....I wonder if anyone else has found a link with drumming and reduced pump?

It may be a similar excersise may also help, say maybe even if you didnt have a drum kit then just bang some sticks on a log or something!...sure to drive the family mad but may be worth a try.

 

[teamtnt#308]

lol..its funny that u bring up drumming SULLY...im a percussionist and have been for 6 years and am currently the drummer for my high school jazz band..this is the 2nd year in a row that we are goin' to the Iowa Jazz Championships in Des Moines this year...we placed first last year and hope to do it again...i really dont think drumming has any correlation w/ armpump...

 

[bclapham]

fitness and ridng more worked best for me. i use glutamine as a supplement in my race day drinks and that seem to help, but purely anecdotal and i have nothing to bacck that up.

 

[blgrassick]

Lots of riding is the best cure for armpump although it is hard to find time to ride for most of us. Take it easy in pratice and let yours arms and body warm up first before going flat out. Also the more traing you do, espically cardio training will reduce it. Stay away from heavy weights on your arms with low reps. If you do weight train use light weights 3 - 5 sets of 20 - 30 reps. I race motocross in the intermediate open class and will get arm if I don't warm up properly. One of the most important things leading up to the race and on race day is to drink lots of water. If you are hydrated you will have a better chance of minimizing it.

 

[NWMyers#5]

I do what was posted early in this thread called roll-ups. I use a piece of 1 1/2" PVC pipe that is about 18 inches long. Drill a hole through only one side and tie in a rope that will reach the floor when you are sitting in a chair with your arms out in front of you. I use a light weight probably about 1.5 pounds. It's actually some gravel in a Walmart bag (ghetto ) so don't know exact weight. I will use this device while sitting in front of the TV or when I'm bored. The trick is make sure and keep your elbows straight you feel the burn alot faster because it works the forearms more. Even with that light weight after about 3 or 4 minutes of rolling you can feel the burn baby! It seems to help with arm pump. Another thing I do is stretch my forearms real well by pulling backwards on my fingers before riding.

 

[Whttrshyoda]

I stretch before I ride. Like NWmyers said, extend your arm and point your fingers up, use the other hand to pull back on all 5 fingers. Not hard just until you can feel the stretch. Do the same with pointing your fingers down. I do these and a few other stretches at work every morning, its suppose to reduce fatigue and fight carpal tunnel.

 

[SpectraSVT]

maybe you guys have an answer for this...I don't get armpump in the traditional way that most people describe it: Muscles in forearms and hands pumping up from squeezing too tight. I get finger cramps. They ache really bad after hard riding. And it doesn't go away. Some days if I just try and push through it my fingers will ache for days and sometimes weeks. Its only my fingers...not my hands or forearms. Any ideas?

 

[va_yzrider]

I tried something new the other day that seemed to help. I took a couple of Potassium supplement pills a few hours before riding and they really seemed to help. I think it helps reduce the amount of lactic acid that your muscles produce. I also take a couple of aspirin to thin my blood a little bit and it seems to help a little, although I take the aspirin is for a different reason.

 

[blgrassick]

Buy the Gary Semics "Eliminating Arm Pump" video, it's only $19.95, this will be the best information you can get.

 

[Ronson]

Stay away frm any exercise that pumps up your forearm, like curls and exercises that use a pulling movement.Do pushing exercises like Bench press and military press. If you have acess to a gym they have a great upper body aerobic machine that you can use for about 20 min (length of a moto) that works great!i like to rub a sportys cream on my forearm about 10 min before a moto that warms up the muscles and ride loose.

 

[SpectraSVT]

Why do forearm exercises cause armpump? Wouldn't these add strength and endurance when you actually do go and ride?

 

[Shig]

It seems counter-intuitive that forearm exercises would cause arm pump. Could this be an urban legend like Sasquatch? Where's the science?

The best way that I've found to reduce arm pump is to make a conscious effort to ride more efficiently. Relax your grip in the air, stay seated on smooth sections, seat-bounce whenever you can, and stay as low and balanced as possible to reduce the need for a death grip. Bike set-up is important too. A comfortable lever position and setting the fork rebound correctly to reduce headshake are biggies.

 

[Ronson]

Forearm exercises teach your arms to pump up. Have you ever done a few sets of curls or wrist curls. When you are finished your forearms are hard and pumped, just what you don't want when you ride.I once had the bright idea to train my forearms 2 weeks before a MX. I used a hand exerciser you squeeze and did wrist curls. When I went to ride and my arms pumped up like a balloon the 1st lap. I had the rare opportunity back in the 80s to talk to Jeff Ward about training exercises for the arms. Hes the one that told me to concentrate on pushing exercises like bench press, military press, and tricep pushdown and to stay away from exercises where your forearms are pumped after you finish a set.

 

[SpectraSVT]

Ok, that don't make any sense. Thats like saying dont do any leg curls cause you might get cramps standing in the attack position. I understand that heavy lifting doesn't help much with decreasing muscle fatigue but focusing on exercises that provide endurance to weak areas is a good thing. My buddies forearms and hands are very strong and rarely suffers from arm pump. The few times I actually did forearm exercises I was able to stay out on the track twice as long. All muscles pump up during workouts, but its not a bad thing or no one would ever weight train for cardio type sports.

 

[Shig]

The most basic principle of fitness is that a muscle needs to be overloaded to gain strength. Surely, doing almost anything with your forearms must be better than doing nothing at all. It sounds like Ronson's experience could be a classic example of over training. If you are riding alot and you do forearm exercises two or three days a week, then your forearms are probably overworked. You would have the same experience with fatique in your legs if you did alot of squats and leg exercises while riding frequently.

Jeff Ward was known for riding five days a week and running at least two tanks of gas through his bike each time he practiced. Clearly, he did not need any extra forearm conditioning. Riding that much, you need every spare moment you can get for recovery. Its logical that any supplemental forearm training would have over trained Wardy as well.

What about the guy who drives accross three states to ride once a week or less? Surely, there must be something besides riding that he can do to increase his forearm strength and endurance.

 

[Ronson]

I guess what works for one might not work for another. I tried wrist curls and I got arm pump . I just talked to a rider that uses wrist curls ( high reps, low weight) and they work great for him.Experiment to find the right workout for you.