FAST & FIT
Banishing braking induced pain is as easy as boosting grip strength; here’s how
Whether it is clips versus flats or analogue versus e-bike, there seems to be a lot of division in mountain biking. And while most of it is clearly manufactured, one thing we can all agree on is that arm-pump is a pain.
But what exactly is arm-pump? If the doctors who perform carpal tunnel release surgery are to be believed, it’s caused by constricted blood flow in your forearm which leads to a build-up of metabolites in the surrounding muscles with an associated loss in grip strength.
And while we’re not promoting surgery to deal with arm-pump here, the mechanism appears to be sound as it is not that dissimilar to getting a crazy muscle pump from a high-rep set of exercises performed in the gym. That said, carpal tunnel release surgery doesn’t always eliminate arm-pump.
Less invasive approaches to tackle armpump include: wrist stretches, hydration strategies, supplementation and massage, all with very little evidence to back up their efficacy. So what do most riders do when they get arm-pump? We simply pull over to the side of the trail and shake it out before continuing our ride.
Now if you’re racing, that’s not a good strategy for dealing with arm-pump, even if it is better than crashing in the next corner because you simply can’t hold on, or don’t have the strength to pull the brakes hard enough. And even if you’re not up against the clock, who wants to stop halfway down an amazing trail and interrupt the flow of the ride and the dynamics of the group, just to shake their arms out?
So what to do instead? Now you may have heard some trainers and pro riders say you should not do any grip or forearm strength training, as having more muscle on your arms actually makes arm-pump worse. Well, that’s just complete nonsense and here’s why.
If you have a very high level of grip strength, the effort required to hold on to the handlebar and control the bike will be a much lower percentage of your maximum grip strength, and as such it will be less fatiguing. Less fatigue means less arm-pump, plain and simple. So while time spent on the road bike or indoor trainer is great for overall fitness, it will do nothing for conditioning your hands or forearm muscles for the demands of mountain biking. Much in the same way that swimming won’t strengthen your fee
