|
When Ben Franklin flew his kite, oh, how they laughed. When
the Wright brothers claimed that man could fly, oh, how they
laughed. And now, when science reveals to you that “the
pump should be avoided for size and strength increases, oh,
how you may laugh.
Misconceptions concerning muscle pump are perfect examples
of why we need education in bodybuilding today. As bodybuilders
we attempt to multiply and divide before we learn to add and
subtract! Instead of first learning muscle structure and function
and adhering to the basic fundamentals of weight training
and proper eating habits, we opt for short cuts. We blindly
follow in the footsteps of successful and genetically gifted
bodybuilders. Face it, if you’re still a Volkswagen,
do you really need Mario Andretti’s pit crew to tune
you up? It’s high time we all learned to add and subtract.
Let’s take a look at the pump.
To begin with, a brief, but necessary, lesson in muscle physiology
is in order. Your muscles are comprised of millions and millions
of tiny cylindrical fibers with identical intercellular components.
Each fiber travels the entire length of the muscle group from
its origin to its insertion. The two intercellular components
that you need to be most familiar with in discussing the pump
are the myofibrils and the mitochondria.
The mitochondria are actually the contractile components that
experience the hypertrophic growth that’s responsible
for most increases in muscle size and strength. The mitochondria
are located randomly along the entire length of each myofibril,
and they produce the ATP energy that the myofibrils need to
perform work. During contraction the muscle tissue cell membrane
is impermeable. Oxygen and nutrients cannot get in, and lactic
acid and cellular wastes cannot get out. Since oxygen is not
present during prolonged contraction, intercellular lactic
acid accumulates more rapidly.
Now let’s look at the fibers’ surroundings. The
cell membrane is wrapped in a fatty connective tissue layer
called the endomysium. Individual fibers occur in bundles
called motor units. Visualize looking into an open container
of straws. This is what a cross-section of a motor unit looks
like. The empty spaces in between the straws, or fibers, are
known as interstitial spaces. There are countless nutrient-rich
arterial capillaries, as well as nutrient-poor veinular capillaries,
located in these interstitial spaces. The arterial capillaries
are made of epithelial tissue, which has tiny microscopic
holes to allow for the mediation and/or diffusion of oxygen
and nutrients from the bloodstream into the interstitial spaces.
Once they get there, oxygen and nutrients are available to
the individual fibers. The veinular capillaries, conversely,
pick up excreted cellular wastes and lactic acid from the
interstitial spaces. It’s crucial for you to completely
understand all of this information if you are going to grasp
the concept of the pump.
Now we’re ready to talk turkey. When you take a set
to absolute, positive failure, regardless of the weight used
or the repetitions performed, the muscle will eventually fail
for one of two reasons: either myofibril or mitochondrial
failure.
Myofibril failure typically occurs during heavy, low-rep training.
This training causes myofibril damage that results in hypertrophic
protein synthesis and optimum tissue growth, which
is obviously desired in size and strength training. You do
not experience that “burning sensation” while
performing this type of training, nor should you.
On the other hand, mitochondrial failure typically
occurs during light, long-term sustained contraction. The
weight is not sufficient to cause myofibril damage and consequential
growth. The muscle simply runs out of energy and retains excessive
amounts of lactic acid. Lactic acid inhibits the contractility
of muscle tissue fibers! This lactic acid buildup
is indicated by the intense burning sensation and the contractile
failure of a fiber in a high-rep set. Thus, you should avoid
high-rep training when training specifically for size and
strength. It should also be noted that the fibers
with the greatest potential for growth store very little energy.
Therefore, short, high-intensity training is more effective
for size and strength increases.
As for the pump, during the contractile shortening of muscle
fibers there is an increase in their circumference. This pinches
off the capillaries in the interstitial spaces, stopping blood
flow until the relaxation phase. After a prolonged set relaxation
opens these capillaries, relieving the back pressure of blood
in them, which results in an immediate perfusion of blood
into the interstitial spaces.
This occurrence is similar to the effect of pinching off a
garden hose and then suddenly opening it. The tremendous amount
of fluid suddenly released into the interstitial spaces exerts
enough osmotic pressure against the fibers’ cell walls
to inhibit lactic acid removal, even during the relaxation
phase. Since veinular capillaries can only remove this fluid
at a specific rate, the interstitial spaces remain engorged
for prolonged periods, thus causing the “pumped”
sensation. This obviously results in a short-term increase
in muscle size, which is extremely gratifying but very deceiving.
Also, because of the pump, lactic acid is still present in
the fiber when you start your next set. You will get fewer
reps in this next set because you are starting out with a
lactic acid handicap.
So all things considered, when training for optimum
size and strength, you should avoid that “burning sensation”
and “the pump” like the plague. Apply
the following principles to your size and strength training:
1) Train with maximum intensity in low-rep ranges. This will
cause sufficient structural damage to result in muscle tissue
growth.
2) Perform fewer total sets. The tissues with the greatest
potential for growth store very little energy.
3) Rest longer between sets. Provide muscles with ample time
to excrete lactic acid and wastes that would otherwise reduce
the number of reps you can perform in following sets.
4) Train each bodypart less frequently. Allow for maximum
recovery and reduce the likelihood of injuries commonly associated
with heavy training.
Always remember that in order to increase in size and strength,
you must take in plenty of calories, including complete proteins,
and you should eat every three to four hours. After applying
the above addition and subtraction, you may not even want
to go on to multiplication and division. At least not for
a while anyway.
Related Articles
Benefits of Strength
Training
Does Soreness Equal
Growth?
Muscle Recovery
in Bodybuilding
| Popular Products! |
ProLab
Glutamine
Pure Glutamine Powder contains the 'conditionally essential'.. |
|
BSN
CellMass
BSN new breed of Esterified creatine has arrived! A creatine..
|
|
Dymatize
Xpand
Xperience xtreme pumps with Xpand, the all new
nitric oxide.. |
|
