point your toes inwards to the bike when accelerating / going over rough sections. this will naturally get ur legs to grip the bike lock you in, reduce atleast 70% of your pump
Keeping your head over the handlebars will eliminate arm pump. This will avoid pulling the arms and will create optimal body position and balance. It also allows you to be very aggressive because it weights the front end and ride more efficiently as it will reduce the effort so you ride faster and longer.
I've ridden woods/mx for about 7 years and arm pump will follow you everywhere, here's what i'll say about it. if you're a weekend warrior and you go from the couch to riding every other week you're going to struggle with arm pump and it won't go away. You need to condition your body properly for the sport and keep regular riding time up. I know this can be hard for some people but it's the truth, second, water intake. After doing a few 3 day ride days and much more frequent riding i will say that the hardest thing to keep up is drinking enough water. Think about it....your body NEEDS at least 2Ls of water a day if not more depending on your weight just to fuction. Now get out on the track and throw a 240lbs bike around for some 30 min motos. You're body is constantly losing water. I find it hard to make sure im, properly hydrated. Make sure to stay on top of your hydration as well as your diet. Eating Mcdonalds at 11:00pm and only drinking two bottles of water along with some monster energy drink 5 minutes before your moto is a great way to have your body working like shit as well as suffering arm pump. my 2c
It’s also important to remember to breath normally and not keep your breath. Use more legs/lower body, correct riding positions etc. Good warm-up and stretching your fore arms will help. Drink enough water and so on... Or if you are in very bad physical condition you probably don’t get any arm pump because you aren’t able to ride long enough to get it before you have to rest for other reasons. Been there done that =).
Another coaches challenge: each if you picks a new person to race for you against the other coaches picks and u have to teach them how to ride for like a couple days
In short: Run around (jogging) without gear on, because that is so heavy that you immediately start breath heavily. Then get your cloth and gear on, and do some exercises that worm you up, but don‘t pump blood in your arm muscles. (Try our what works for you.) Important in my opinion, if you not riding a lot, do one lap. Pull in, give your body and arms a break. Then do two laps, give your body and armes a break. And then you can start doing motos or what you want. (The more challenging the track conditions are, the more important this breaks are in my opinion, because beginners get tight, if they are scared, and then you have immdiately arm-pump.)
I'm a strength and conditioning coach at Millsaps Training Facility, and I have a theory on arm pump... I believe the fascia surrounding the forearm muscles actually will change size based on activity level, hydration, temperature, etc. Everyone is so afraid to feel any kind of pump, because they believe it will lead to more pump. However, I think that pumping up on purpose will lead to decreased arm pump. It can be explained by the story you hear from most professional AND amateur racers. "I always pump up first practice, but then I'm good for the first moto". I have a theory that if you pump yourself up on purpose before a moto, and I mean REALLY pump up, your forearm muscles expand causing the fascia to expand, but since the fascia has a different physical make-up than the muscle, it doesn't return to it's normal size as fast as the muscles. This results in less pump for the rest of the day. If you disagree with my theory, let me know! I love discussing this stuff. - Jacob
I use that technique every time I got to the track! Only thing is, it takes about an hour to subside after a good pump for me. Sometimes it’s hard to be patient if your limited on practice time. MTF huh... I assume you know Brad Smith?
I used to get insanely bad arm pump when I first started but within a month I got more comfortable and used to riding and I do not get it anymore. With the nutrition note I did fix up my diet and noticed a notable difference in my bodies performance on AND OFF the bike
The holding on too tight deal, I experienced this learning how to drive a car many many years ago. Death grip on the steering wheel for 5-10m and hands and forearms get completely numb.
I think I used to get arm pump more riding a 2 stroke, maybe because the power was not as smooth. I admit I sometimes ride with death grip on the bars, trying to stop that, relax for a second whenever in the air, and I try to use my legs more. I also noticed the more frequently I rode the less it bothered me. I used to pop an aspirin before a race to thin my blood and help it flow in forearms. If an injury happens it could make bleeding worse. I just went riding for the first time this year due to COVID quarantine and doing no exercise. I wish I had taken the aspirin before as after 15 minutes of warm up and learning the track I started to pick up the pace and had a heart attack. I am 54. I knew what is was pulled off the track rode straight to my truck and popped two aspirin (should have chewed them not swallowed) I went to the hospital operated on 3 hours later. I feel good now. I hope I can ride again later this summer. FYI Cheeseburgers affect more than arm pump.
Body position is key but I noticed that I get sensibly worse arm pump if I jump on the bike and pin it right away. If I take 5/10min to warm up on the parking lot doing figure of eight, balance and wheelies I usually have much less arm pump for the session. Another thing that helped me a lot is rock climbing, preferably routes rather than bouldering but either will teach you how to manage your forearm effort and how to relax-grip.
I'm 17 and yesterday I went to the track for the first time and I did 3 laps pretty easily, I just stopped because I was really thirsty and I almost fell
Okay dude we have to talk about the alkaline thing. Your body is regulated by a process called acid/base homeostasis. This is quite a complex network of systems that maintain your pH and you cannot alter it with diet, in fact you cannot alter the pH in your body significantly without making yourself very ill, the margins are low for a healthy system. So while it's great to recommend a healthy balanced diet for any sportsman or really anyone, be careful, really careful of fad health and nutrition advice because it only serves to convolute the path to optimal fitness even though most who espouse it generally mean well.
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6544001/ - rosco homie this is one research article of thousands that are available to the public. Respectfully, he's not promoting coconut water, some dumb supplements from GNC or flogging kombucha bud. agreed that the margins are low when you're going this deep into the matrix but your assertion that "you cannot alter the ph in your body without making yourself very ill" is just not accurate if you know what you're doing or have someone helping who does. even if the margins are thin - lots of races are won and lost by thin margins. if we're making generalizations im gonna say that at least half the peeps that do motocross are probs drinking a case of brewskies once a week at parties, maybe they commute on a highway to work twice daily and who knows what drugs other people are on traveling in the opposite direction at 80miles/hour etc, anyway the point is: if you're talking risk i'd challenge you to think about it in terms of relative risk to almost every other risk mx riders already accept. alright not to sheriff, but respectfully disagree and i suspect old mate in the video might feel the same way or he wouldn't have dropped that hint. As a disclaimer though: Not getting professional advice from an actually qualified dietician is not ideal kids. smooches x
@@mitchellestens3866 Thank you. Great to get replies backed with solid data. It seems i am a little behind the curve on this topic. I have been in strong opposition of pseudoscience on social media for about a decade now so excuse me, the alkaline fads started long before the evidence was in and i guess i've just not had reason to follow up on the subject. I appreciate the update.
I have only had arm pump a few times my first time was when I first got my dirt bike and started sending jumps an my first time at a local track and my first race. I don't really get it anymore but if I do I'll use these tips!
Anything for riders like me who have lots of scar tissue in my joints? When I go riding my arms get inflamed and start throbbing like a toothache. Doesn't feel anything like the muscle pump from when I was a young adult.
Edward Mahn i would just reccomend trying some supplements. I have lots of scar tissue in my chest. Also, even since I was a little kid I’ve had a calcium deficiency where my body does not absorb and process calcium as well. This causes me to get really achy too and I’m only 18. Maybe try taking calcium, collagen, or other vitamins that help strengthen and lubricate your bones and tendons.
Top 4 tips to do to prevent arm pump. 1. Hold on with you butt and not your hands as much as possible. Seriously learn to use your seat and have it push you around instead of holding on this is seriously the most important tip. 2. Stay hydrated and eat things containing potassium. Make sure to have plenty of electrolytes or even drink a bottled water about 29 mins before a moto with some salt thrown in there. 3. Ride like your in a race when you practice. Do mini motos. 4. Don't ride a two stroke.
It's too situational for me to explain everything, but generally if the rider making the pass intentionally rams the other rider with the intent to make them crash (Mike alessi did this famously) or if they push them off the track by not accelerating out of the turn then AMA may have a problem with it. It's not always because again it is very situational but that's some general rules.
Thanks for the good advice.. And I will start eating more good nutritious food, such as vegetables and fruits...👌👌 (after eating my cheeseburger and sirloin steak, of course...😁😁😁)
that's a symptom. Someone else said it's where your forearms swell with blood and you can't feel your hands, he's partly right. In my case your whole forearms will burn very badly from the blood build up and muscle fatigue as well and as a result, they tend to not move well, hence why you get stuck on the throttle and can't let go. If you've ever done a workout and your muscles start to burn, that's the start of it, blood rushes to the region to supply oxygen.
I used to get arm pump fast and every ride. Now I rarely get it unless it's a long session of hard fast riding. I never get it when trail riding neither. My hands and fingers are what kill me now especially when trail riding. Track riding I don't really notice either of them tbh.
personally i have near perfect technique and i still struggle with arm pump pretty bad... i can usually handle it until after the moto but when i get off the bike its unbelievable pain.
I am suffering every session from it doing the stretching eat healthy 20 to 30 minutes arm strong still pump rode 30 to 40 years never an issue then out of the blue arm pump. Sucks so bad 1 lap pumped up takes 2 sessions 6 to 7 laps each fighting through before it eases up.
Is there anything that you can do to help your form or over all riding when u can’t ride because of an injury? Please respond I am trying to be a better rider but I just broke an arm in a crash
i don't get arm pump and i race being 13. but my left arm hurts just from using my clutch so much not from arm pump bc of trying to hold on to the bike.
I get finger pump, and my god is it annoying. 5 laps in and I have to pull off because my fingers are all locked up but my body is fine and still ready to go. Definitely gonna have to give some of these tips a try.
@@harrybottmtb8947 honestly I know this isn’t the answer your probably looking for but it seems to be a mental thing. What I mean is when I go out and ride in the woods I usually tire out endurance wise before I suffer arm or in this case finger pump. But when I go to the track and introduce other riders I must tense up big time and lock up causing arm pump but it seems I target gripping with my hands a lot harder which is why my fingers are all F’ed up after a couple laps. So my solution is just get more experience riding on a track if that’s were you suffer. Experience and seat time goes a long way. Another thing that would help is working out specifically leg, lower back, and core workouts. that way you can hang onto the bike and pilot it with your lower half and use your arms for steering and controlling your power with the throttle and clutch and not for hanging on. Just a couple things I’ve learned over the year’s… hope it helps let me know how it goes!
The Mx Factory I’m 6 foot 3 inches and don’t get arm pump but get hand cramps terribly. Can’t ride after a few hard laps and have to pry my fingers off the bike. I put bar risers on and they did not help. Any other suggestions?
@@huntfishnridetv If you've not been riding long you might just need to build up the fitness for it. What helped me was using a bench press bar and laying my arms on the end of the bench and doing fully extended wrist curls where you unroll your finger while holding the bench press bar and then curl them up and then bend the wrist up. When I was in high school and riding a ton, I could do 4 or 5 sets of 40 no problem. Now that I'm older and off the bike for a while, I found I struggled to do 25, 20, 20.
Yeah just like he said in the video go to patreon and pay for it. Lol 123,000 sounds 100,000 views this channel makes good money. But pay for info that you can get from a lot more channels. I love this channel but Johnny hopper explains it all for free.
Let's ask Alex Honnold about 'arm pump' and what he eats and how he trains to reduce and overcome it. i think if we follow his lead then if he can free climb The Nose we can dominate the whoops
great videos, lot of incredible useful information. I'm a enduro rider starting to do some motocross. I got a question that maybe someone can help me with. I have tubliss (tubeless tire system) in my enduro bike. Is this system also popular for motocross bikes ? thanks and keep up the excellent work.
Are you saying beer n hotdogs and candy bars are my arm pump source. Hmmm. Maybe it's time to rethink what I eat. I get arm numbness just typing this comment.
Yes me too ! I barely get arm pump but my hands kill me so bad I can only get in 1 to 2 laps before I have to rest my hands, and every bump hurts my hands
Man i am 15 and ive benn super energetic since small i cood be in mike bike practicing or racing with friends the whole day but i often dont sleep well like know its 3 :53 In Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 and my bike dream is to get somebody to coach me when bike riding and some day actually l participate in a race that its not between 4 of my friends but their is no coaches no races like that and not much dirtbikes everybody like quads or fourtracks
My wrist constantly cramps up even with an easy pull clutch lever although the lever did help, any tips? Btw I ride a 98 CR250 so pulling in the clutch less is not an option (don’t engine break on a 2 stroke)
Hey, I’m looking for my first bike. I’m 6’8 and weigh 200lbs. This will be my first bike so I am looking for something towards the lower priced side that won’t be a major deal if I wreck it but is also good for a beginner. Also one I can ride on trails and in the mountains. Any suggestions?
This was all good advice, but I notice no one ever mentions training and conditioning, on and off the trail. I am a 64 year old carnivore and former climber. Climbing and jiu jitsu sure helped my grip strength and endurance. So will any bodyweight calisthenics or weight training. Just saying; this is an athletic sport, and if we don’t treat ourselves like athletes, we won’t be able to keep sending it throughout our seventies. Someday you young guys might be 64 (or 74) and want to keep riding.
Yeah! Someone talking about nutrition! It flys under the radar in America. And deserves to be talked about,,,, most? Otherwise, eat those doughnuts, pizza, cokes, chips etc. And let us know how that’s workin out for ya.
Salt/electrolyte pills and bars raisers. I've struggled with these and people always tell me to squeeze with my knees. I say, "yeah, Ok" while thinking that's cute a 5'10" guy is telling me to squeeze with knees. 🤣 it's not that simple at my height. I might get Steg Pegz.
Well I (the editor) am 6’ 4”. I have struggled with this, but it just takes practice squeezing the bike. Don’t make height and excuse, it’s just a challenge we have to overcome.
@@TheMxFactory it's not an excuse as much as it is reality. It's taken me a while to get to where I don't get them unless I'm riding challenging single track - then I do. My point is, telling a guy to squeeze with his knees while it's physically impossible to squeeze with their knees isn't the end all, be all. Haha. I've learned to adapt and eliminate about 80% of my arm pumps. Thanks for the video, mate.
I just got diagnosed with tennis elbow and carpal tunnel in my left forearm (I'm left handed); now my right arm is showing similar symptoms. Can't ride & it sucks, short season in pac nw. I need your secrets asap.
For me, it was the horrid feel of the aer forks. Recently switched to the older closed cartridge and immediately put in 2 35min motos on a rough track, I would not have been able to do that with the aer forks
I don’t get arm pump my hands and fingers just go numb. Anyone else???? Maybe 10 minutes in my fingers will start going numb and it’s usually my middle finger and thumb.
Mostly love your videos but not a fan of the nutrition advice. Saying cut out Red meat.. steaks are great for you in a lot of ways. Protein. Essential amino acids. Etc.