How to Prevent Arm Pump
What is arm pump?
Arm pump occurs from a combination of holding tight onto the handlebar and braking for an extended period of time, usually during a sustained downhill. This leads to a reduction in blood flow and oxygen to the arm muscles, causing ischemic pain. It has also been found to significantly elevate heart rate.
In short, arm pump sucks!
When I was still new to mountain biking, I would always hear about arm pump but did not quite understand it as I had never experienced it, even during a full day of downhilling at Whistler Bike Park (aka riding my brakes all day!).
After giving it some thought, I realized that it was my yoga practice which saved me from arm pump.
Proper bike set up and technique also help prevent arm pump, but here I will only focus on stretching and strengthening exercises taken from my yoga practice.
Watch the video by clicking here or scroll down for written instructions.
Wrist Stretches
Come into table top position (“on all fours”). Grip the fingers into the mat (or ground), as if you wanted to claw down your mat. From here, gently lean forward and back, keeping your fingers super active. Your fingers are your brakes to prevent from falling forward. As you build more strength and flexibly, you may notice the heel of your hand is lifting off the ground.
Magic Hands: Hands Open and Close Quick
Find a comfortable seated or standing position. Extend the arms out in front or overhead. Start by making fists then flick your fingers open then close your hand back into a fist. Repeat the movement sequence as fast as you can for at least 20 times or until forfeit. It’s harder than it looks, but… you’re doing magic!
Hand Push Ups
Come into a table top position. Your weight should be evenly distributed on your hands and knees (no leaning back to unweight the hands). Deep core engaged.
Lift the heel of your hands off the ground, then lower back down slowly. You should feel your forearm muscles activating. If it seems easy, it means you are most likely unweighting the hands and just hinging at the knuckles.
Repeat 20 times or until forfeit.
Scapulae (shoulder blades) Push Ups
Come into a table top position. Your weight should be evenly distributed on your hands and knees. Deep core engaged. Drop the chest down, bring the shoulders blades together. Then push the chest back up through the shoulders, like cat position, separating the shoulder blades from each other (protraction). Repeat 10-20 times or until forfeit.
When this becomes second nature, do it from a plank (push-up) position.
Core
A strong deep core (your transverse abdominis, or TA) will help protect your low back, but also allow your hands to be light on the handlebar. It’s your core holding you up on the bike, not your hands on the bar.
Boat Pose
Boat Pose
Squeeze your legs together, engage your glutes. Make sure your low back doesn’t slouch. Long neck and proud chest. Think of dragging your femur bones into your hip points (isometric movement again) to fire up your TA. Hold 30 seconds, 3 times.
Forearm Plank
Forearm plank
Arms are shoulder-width apart, elbows stacked under your shoulders. Strong legs and glutes, inner thighs engaged (imagine you are squeezing a pillow in between your legs), back of the heart pushed to the sky. Isometrically* drag your elbows to your knees and knees to your elbows, you’ll feel your TA engage. Hold 30 seconds to one minute, 3 times.
*Your elbows and knees are not actually moving, only your muscle tension is increasing.
Arm Balances
Put it all together! Wrist, shoulder and core mobility + strength.
