The Pump

[themamasan]

I know after you work out you get a "pump" in your muscles. What pisses me off is that my "pump" makes me look like I have another 30lbs of solid upper body muscle. It will last about 45 minutes and then I shrink down to my regular size. Everyone I have worked out with in the last 5-6 years has commented on how different I look post workout vs. my normal state. I am wondering if some people actually do get a lot bigger than others during a workout, and what the causes are?

And for reference I am an ectomorph and have a hard time gaining muscle, but a very easy time of losing it.

 

[JayBee]

how much water do you drink? if you get up to 5 or 6 litres a day, id imagine youd get a lot bigger really quick. just makes me think you dont have all the water you could have in your muscles.

one of my good friends is massive, and he claims that hes that way because of how much water he drinks. of course in highschool he was eating something like 8 thousand calories a day.

 

[Squaggleboggin]

I'm basically unaware of how much bigger I get since I lift alone. Of course I see my family and friends afterwards and sometimes during the workout, but no one's commented on anything like that before. It's the result of a few different things. Your muscles are getting a lot more blood for one thing, and that makes your veins bulge out to carry it all quickly, and your muscles are also absorbing and excreting certain chemicals and hormones as you're working out. Lactic acid is one, and it usually stays in the muscle for at least 30 minutes after a workout. I could be wrong about all this though, so let's wait until someone more experienced and knowledgeable comes along, shall we?

 

[themamasan]

how much water do you drink? if you get up to 5 or 6 litres a day, id imagine youd get a lot bigger really quick. just makes me think you dont have all the water you could have in your muscles.

one of my good friends is massive, and he claims that hes that way because of how much water he drinks. of course in highschool he was eating something like 8 thousand calories a day.

I feel like a drink a lot of water, but never measured it per say. At work I am constantly drinking it from a glass. I would say at least 5 litres a day, especially since I am taking creatine at the moment.

 

[* Legion *]

i know what you mean about that awesome pump, on nights that i bartend, its great to go in after a good upper-body workout and bust out of my sleeves, might be enough to make a person a littel vain.

i'm one of those dudes in the gym who carries a gallon of water around the gym, and whatever i do not finish during my workout, i polish off on the drive home. NEVER underestimate the importance of H2O.