Nick Bare

You have so much blood moving into the muscle, your arms, your back, your lats, they feel so full.

Well, the carbs that are stored as glycogen play a huge role in that.

When I was dieting down for the two bodybuilding competitions I've done in the past, when my calories have gotten lower, when my fats have gotten lower, I've gone into workouts feeling extremely depleted, not being able to get a pump, muscles feeling stringy and just not strong and firm.

That's not a great feeling, but it's a great workout when you feel filled out performance wise and pump wise.

What is the pump?

If you're unfamiliar with the pump, the pump is that when you go into the gym and you start training, typically not strength focused workouts, but hypertrophy focused workouts.

Like I said, these bodybuilding style workouts, higher reps, higher volume,

moderate intensity.

Blood moves into the muscles that are being trained.

They look full.

They feel full.

A pump is one of the best feelings in the world.

I love running.

I love endurance training.

I am a bodybuilder at heart.

Gym rat.

I love the pump.

And a better pump can mean more muscle.

And a better pump can be facilitated through proper nutrition, carbohydrate intake, glycogen stores, hydration, water, pre-workout supplements.

And although the pump is not the only driver of hypertrophy or muscle building, the pump or cellular swelling can stimulate muscle growth by activating protein synthesis or