Is Achieving A Muscle Pump or Burn During Weight Lifting Workouts Necessary For Muscle Growth?

Many bodybuilders who wish to build substantial levels of muscle mass aim to produce a muscle burn or pump during their weight lifting workout sessions, with the feeling that such a sensation is indicative of muscle fatigue and breakdown, therefore enhancing the chances for muscle growth. Bodybuilders will even specifically search for the muscle burn or pump by modifying certain weight lifting workout methods in order to encourage such a feeling, and often tell other bodybuilders how their workout session was extremely effective or describe a certain weight training exercise as feeling superior specifically due to the muscle burn or pump that is part of each set.

But, is there a serious drawback to this bodybuilding concept? Certainly, any weight lifter is well aware of the muscle pump and burn fascination, as bodybuilders often refer to this concept, but how specifically is the muscle burn or pump achieved, and are the techniques that generate such a sensation actually beneficial towards muscle growth?

The muscle pump and burn are a function of high rep ranges, where a bodybuilder uses lower weight in order to fail using a much higher number of repetitions, which results in muscle fatiguing in a much different way than with higher weight and lower reps. Because a muscle is able to sustain effort longer during a weight training set when using higher reps, there is a muscle pump and burn that surfaces during the latter segment of a high rep range, as the muscle begins to reach failure, but by virtue of utilizing lower weight in order to sustain the muscle pump and burn rep range, muscle building is impacted adversely, and although the workout session may actually seem more effective due to the muscle pump and burn, the class of fatigue, which is focused upon endurance, is not the most effective for those who wish to produce the largest amount of muscle mass.

When using a lower rep range and higher weight, the workout set will usually not experience anywhere near the level of muscle burn or pump as compared with lower weight, higher rep workout sessions, but because the weight used is greater when reps are lower, the muscle receives a more substantial level of overload and shock, resulting in superior overall bodybuilding results in most muscle groups. Therefore, although the muscle pump and burn is much less noticeable in heavier weight training sessions, since muscle growth is superior, there is no legitimate reason for a bodybuilder to aim for a muscle burn or pump during workout sessions that has building muscle mass as its primary focus.

Higher rep and lower weight workout sessions are helpful for muscle recovery, overtraining prevention, and joint recuperation, but are far less effective at building muscle mass in most areas as compared with heavier weight training workout sessions that do not offer any significant muscle burn or pump. There are also certain exercises that result in a greater sense of muscle burn or pump, especially those that stretch the muscle significantly, but they also as just described, in that the muscle pump and burn will increase greatly with higher reps and lower weight, but, the most important point to remember is that the largest level of muscle gain will not occur by aiming for a muscle pump or burn, but rather through organizing weight training workout sessions to function within a lower rep range where greater weight can be utilized to produce a much higher workload level.

If you enjoy a muscle burn or pump, then you can always implement one set at the end of every weight training workout exercise that is composed of higher reps and less weight (a burn out set), as this will not reduce muscle building assuming that all prior workout sets are constructed using heavier weight and a lower rep range, which is helpful for maximum muscle growth. The goal is not to feel as if a muscle has gained size during the actual weight training workout session, but rather to produce weekly measurable muscle building, so do not make the mistake of believing a muscle burn or pump during a workout will translate into any extra sustainable muscle gain unless you have structured your weight training session with heavier, lower rep workouts for maximum muscle overload.

Francesco Castano authors MuscleNOW.com, a diet and weight training program teaching the exact techniques for muscle gain without bodybuilding supplements or drugs. He also owns FatVanish.com, teaching exactly how to burn fat without supplements.