The late, great Joe Weider was always ahead of the curve. Take his flushing principle. OK, it wasn’t aptly named, and its directives—which we’ll discuss shortly—are far from cutting edge. But the concept of increasing your muscle pump to increase muscle gains remains distinctly modern. There is today a whole industry of nutritional supplements and training programs focused on blood volumization. When Joe Weider was first publishing articles about flushing several decades ago, the contention that the pump could aid growth and wasn’t merely a temporary ego boost was frequently scoffed at. But, as always, the father of modern bodybuilding was leading a revolution in workout science. This month we salute one of the most enduring tenets of that revolution. Get ready to pump up the volume.
The basic
prescription of FLUSHING ROUTINE now seems quaint. Work each body part with multiple exercises before moving on to another body part in order to maximize your pump. Of course, this is now the standard method of training. In fact, many bodybuilders employ a split that only stresses one body part per workout. But before the 1960s, bodybuilders typically trained every body part in every workout. And for a couple decades after that, diverse workout splits combined routines for different body parts, such as alternating a chest exercise with a back exercise. Flushing, as the original principle described it, was a way of focusing one’s attention and energy on one area at a time in order to boost the blood flow to that area.
That was then, this is now. There are many ways to boost your muscle pump, and most of them are spelled out in other Weider Principles. Supersets, giant sets, descending sets, and burns are a few of the blood volumization techniques we’ve discussed in previous months of H.U.G.E.® Increasing your reps and/or decreasing your rest periods is another way of inflating your muscles with a blood infusion. Mr. Olympia Phil Heath follows a low-rest protocol on the final exercise for a body part as part of the FST-7 training system. Experiment with different methods and be aware of how rep schemes, rest periods, and pre-workout nutrition affect your pumps.
ADVANTAGES
Here are the pluses of using flushing.
INCREASED GROWTH ADVANTAGES: It doesn’t get much better than this. An elevated muscle pump increases the blood flow to muscles, which, in turn, rushes in the oxygen, hormones, and nutrients you need to repair muscles and fuel growth.
WORKOUT RESCUE: Let’s say you’re having a bad workout. Your energy is low, and you’re falling short of your usual strength levels. You can still reap significant benefits by ending the routine with a late flurry of pump-inducing sets.
DISADVANTAGES
There are two potential pitfalls to maximizing your muscle pump.
MISPLACED FOCUS: For optimum muscle growth, most of your sets should be in the 8- to 12-rep range and focused on progressive strength gains. If your only emphasis is on blood volumization, you’ll avoid the ideal sets and rest. For this reason, it’s generally best to focus on higher reps, shorter rests, and other pumping techniques only near the end of your routine.
POOR BAROMETER: Though pumps are valuable, how much your muscles inflate is an inadequate way of measuring workout success. Focus instead on strength gains and overall exertion.
FRESH TAKE
Over the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on supplements that increase the body’s production of nitric oxide (NO). Nitric oxide allows blood vessels to widen and, in turn, allows moreblood to flow to the working muscles and increase the pump. For this benefit, take an NO supplement 30 minutes before each workout. Additionally, drink a protein shake with fast-digesting carbs, whey isolate, and creatine immediately after your workout when the increased blood flow created by your muscle pump will rush the nutrients in your shake to the muscles you just worked, aiding recovery and growth.
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