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I thought id share what i did to alleviate my arm pump in hopes of it helping someone else.
Back at the end of 2015 i had started walking and eventually running everyday to try to get in better shape. I noticed after a month or so i was able to ride pretty much as long as i wanted before my hands cramped up.
The 2016 season i did absolutely no daily walking/running and was only able to ride 1 or 2 laps before having wicked arm pump. I know cardio is one of the main things to get rid of arm pump, but this post isnt about that.
Im an engineer and spend most of my day sitting at a desk(working 10-12 hour days). So to get to the point.. i found out that my calf muscle had gotten weaker from not exercising like i used to. so what happens is my legs get tired, and then cant hold good form and start putting weight on my hands and holding on tighter. All causes of arm pump. I know a lot of people have desk jobs or jobs where they dont get to walk around much. So what ive found is if you can strengthen your legs by walking/running/ or cycling standing up, you can rely on your legs more while riding and keep the weight off your arms.
Im sure all of this is basic to some people but ive been trying to fix arm pump for so long and nothing worked until i found this out.
Also, if youre already pumped up, you can have someone press their thumbs into your forearms and it makes the pump go away.
Back at the end of 2015 i had started walking and eventually running everyday to try to get in better shape. I noticed after a month or so i was able to ride pretty much as long as i wanted before my hands cramped up.
The 2016 season i did absolutely no daily walking/running and was only able to ride 1 or 2 laps before having wicked arm pump. I know cardio is one of the main things to get rid of arm pump, but this post isnt about that.
Im an engineer and spend most of my day sitting at a desk(working 10-12 hour days). So to get to the point.. i found out that my calf muscle had gotten weaker from not exercising like i used to. so what happens is my legs get tired, and then cant hold good form and start putting weight on my hands and holding on tighter. All causes of arm pump. I know a lot of people have desk jobs or jobs where they dont get to walk around much. So what ive found is if you can strengthen your legs by walking/running/ or cycling standing up, you can rely on your legs more while riding and keep the weight off your arms.
Im sure all of this is basic to some people but ive been trying to fix arm pump for so long and nothing worked until i found this out.
Also, if youre already pumped up, you can have someone press their thumbs into your forearms and it makes the pump go away.
I have this death grip on everything I ride, cars, MTB, ATV, Harley...I always get this death grip and have to remind myself to ease up the hands, but in MX, by that time its too late.
This is not as easy as it sounds..at my slow speed I can ride around for a decent while without arm pump, but if i try to go fast, I get arm fatigue pretty quickly. If I am in cardio shape at the time, I can go a little longer.
The Shop
Do not forget to switch arms
1. Before entering every turn, try and take a deep breath
2. Pick specific breathing points on the track and DO NOT miss them
3. Take deep breathes over every jump while relaxing your hands on the bars. (straighten them out and reapply grip)
4. Griping with your legs is just what it says. When accelerating, squeeze with your legs into the bike. This puts less force on the arms/hands. Turning, push your outside leg in the bike in the knee area as well as weighting the peg. Inside leg raise high, and pressuring the inside shroud.
These little things will help you relax, along with riding consistently, this will in turn allow you to push and prevail.
#3 is a problem as I dont get a lot of air!
Ensure your desk is set up well so that your arm/wrist position is neutral. Use the mouse and type as little as possible and getting good forearm/hand rest can help a lot.
I speak from experience as I started 2016 with arm pump/weak grip as a result of overuse in the week.
Pit Row
aaaand that everyday is arms day.
my favorite weapon of choice is a stair stepper I don't know what it is but they really just kick my ass
I also noticed that not being over weight anymore helps me a ton!
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