The Pump. There’s simply no better feeling in the world. Training for the pump is synonymous with a successful workout thanks to bodybuilding legend Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Arnold often compared “THE PUMP” to intense sexual pleasure

What is the pump? Well, in a nutshell, it’s the physiological swelling of muscles with fluid, both blood and water, that comes from a rapid number of muscular contractions or time-under-tension (TUT) in a particular body part. Think bulging and swollen biceps after a couple sets of high rep bicep curls, rows, or pull-ups just before the point of muscular failure.

There’s a reason the pump is so coveted by hardcore fitness junkies all over the world- it truly makes you look your best. Seriously, a good pump can mean looking both 10-20 lbs more muscular AND 10-20 lbs leaner at the same time based on several variables including your body size, gender, age, fitness level, etc.

Now, here’s the thing about the pump. There’s only so much blood in your body to go around, so you need to be selective with where you want to push this blood if you want to look your best.

In addition, the legs in general and the quads in particular tend to not look their best when they are pumped up. Where a good pump makes your upper body look super jacked and vascular, it makes your thighs look puffy, swollen, and less defined.

From personal experience as someone who used to do some competitive bodybuilding, it’s common knowledge to not overly exercise your quads before stepping on stage for pre-judging to best prevent an excessive pooling of blood that can hide a lot of the striations and muscularity in that region.

And when it comes to sporting a nice beach bod, it’s all about the upper body and abs baby. Let’s just be honest about it- most guys NEVER show their thighs on the beach unless they’re sporting a speedo (which in and of itself should have it’s own dedicated article). Plus, I’ve never met a female who wants their thighs to look “puffy, swollen, and less defined” on a day they are rocking their favorite bikini, right?

Without further adieu, here is my personal pump training template that I use anytime I want to look my best if I’m about to hit the beach or if I am taking pictures or body shots. It incorporates a strategic six-exercise circuit that sends blood to all of the right muscles to make you look freakishly good when it counts the most. Plus, I have personally found the best pumps by performing max reps for time with 30-second work periods. I swear by this routine and it’s never let me down:

BJ’s Beach Body Pump Workouts

30-15 Six-Exercise Circuit: Alternate between 30 seconds of work and 15 seconds of reach for each exercise in the following 6-exercise circuit followed by a 90-second rest and transition. Perform up to 5 total rounds.

1- Chest Exercise
2- Back/Lats Exercise
3- Shoulders/Traps Exercise
4- Biceps/Forearms Exercise
5- Triceps Exercise
6- Abs Exercise

Let me first address the fact that I am still 100% in favor of total body workouts 99.9% of the time. Furthermore, it pains me a little bit to use the classic bodybuilding terminology of hitting certain body parts instead of focusing on movement patterns like knee-dominant, push, hip-dominant, pull, etc.

However, these pump workouts are simply a means to an end when it comes to rapidly improving your physique in a short period of time. And frankly, they are lots of fun to perform, particularly in front of a mirror with a nice tan, a little bit of body oil, and of course good lighting, ha!

Remember- training doesn’t always need to be so serious or so life and death. It’s important to have fun with it sometimes because the whole point of all of your hard work is to reap the rewards that come with taking care of your physical health- looking and feeling sexy!

Now, just like anything in life, nothing is too good to be true. The pump is a temporary phenomenon that only last about 15-30 minutes before you start to look less like the Hulk and more like Bruce Banner.

However, you can easily do a couple of brief pump sessions throughout the day to keep those muscles popping to the best of your ability. Furthermore, it’s critical to also stay hydrated before and during your pump workouts. Dehydration will certainly lead to less than desired pumps due to a general lack of fluid to fill the desired muscle groups. In addition, dehydrated muscles fatigue much faster and won’t allow you to work as hard as you need to maximize your pump.

And here’s a final nutrition tip to really take your look to the next level. Consume a 2:1 protein to carb drink following your pump workout to really make your muscles and veins pop, in a good way.

With all the blood pooling in your muscles, they are primed to store whatever nutrients you send their way. Plus, carbs are stored as sugar in your muscles (glycogen) following high-intensity interval training workouts to replace the sugar your body burnt during your workout. Lastly, for every gram of sugar in your muscles there will be an additional 3 grams of water which will help make your muscles look really full and healthy.

In general, you want about 15-25 g of protein and 25-50 g of carbohydrates for this. The protein helps slow the absorption of the carbohydrate to best manage blood sugar while promoting tissue repair. I recommend 1-2 cups of low-fat organic chocolate milk or fruit-flavored kefir to do the trick. You can also have 1-2 servings of fruit with a couple pieces of string cheese if all else fails.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the 4 killer beach body pump workouts featuring a 30-15 Six-Exercise Circuit powered by Workout Muse: one resistance band workout, one TRX suspension training workout, one dumbbell workout, and one equipment-free bodyweight workout. I have also provided instructional smartphone/video iPod compatible workout video downloads that show you exactly what to do.

Collectively, these 4 pump routines will best ensure that you can get your pump on at home or on the road when traveling or vacationing.

Crank it!

BJ Gaddour, CSCS, YFS2

Workout Muse Co-Creator and Fitness Director