How do you Deal With Arm Pump?

You've probably felt some arm pump by this point in the season, and we want to know how you deal with it.

By Matt Miller
July 24, 2022

12 comments

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One of the many creek crossings on the Mountaintown descent. Photo: Doug Urquhart

Tis the season for hand-numbing, Popeye-arm-inducing forearm pump. If you’re in a mountainous state, then your prized downhills are mostly dry by this time of the year. Unless you only trained lower arms at the gym this season, you’ve probably felt some arm pump by now, and we want to know how you deal with it.

Let us know what your best strategy is to deal with arm pump on long descents.

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12 Comments

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thebadpixel Delaware // 2022
Jul 24, 2022

Do a lot of trail work and you'll have arms of steel from swinging a mcleod or a hedger. Pushing a wheelbarrow full of rocks is probably the best full-body workout there is. Don't even get me started about moving twenty foot beams into place on a bridge engineered to hold two horses in a place where heavy equipment can't reach. Do a bit of that, and arm pump will be a thing of the past, and your trails will look marvelous in the process.

2 reply

Zoso 2016
Jul 24, 2022

Last time I had arm pump was with cantilever brakes. I get pumped quickly on a steep rock climb, but biking? nah.

mongwolf Mongolia // 2011
Jul 25, 2022

Like others, I do not get arm pump. Sometimes I do get a little hand cramping early in a long technical descent. I usually just stretch out my hands a bit by pulling on my fingers, and I'm good to go.

enduroexpert78 Virginia // 2019
Jul 25, 2022

Likewise. I rarely have arm pump fatigue with a suspension fork. Now, a rigid fork...I've certainly experienced the effect.

0 reply

duncanmc42 New Zealand // 2021
Jul 25, 2022

How amazing that you ask this one when an hour ago I was talking to my wife about this topic! I been noticing over the last few weeks that my rides are getting easier: more control, less arm-pump, faster, better line management, etc.

Reason for the training: regular bicep, tricep, abs and shoulder work with cheap, 5kg dumbells to build up chest and arm bulk for the specific purpose of training for better recovery from a forthcoming heart operation. I'm 72 and live a very active, outdoors life and plan to keep it that way for as long as I can while I've still got something. I think one of the keys to it is easily managed weights, lots of repetition.

And by the way @thebadpixel, my middle name is McLeod so I guess I'm set :)

1 reply

ABhardtail Illinois // 2019
Jul 24, 2022

I'd be interested to know what the Singletracks editors recommend for arm pump.

Sunspot Colorado // 2019
Jul 24, 2022

My Hope 4 pot brakes don't offer this phenomenon...
Any of the higher quality stoppers will prevent the pump syndrome but it requires a one finger brake from the start.

If you have to grab a fist full of lever, your brakes are either in need of service or not sized for the application.

Claudio Isasi Texas // 2022
Jul 26, 2022

Cushcore (and low psi) and Fasstflex or Spank Vibrocore. 4 pot brakes it’s a given.

Varaxis New York // 2010
Jul 25, 2022

I find that Cushcore up front acts like vibrocore. I find this effect alone is worth it, even if it doesn't do that well as a bottom out bumper to save a rim.

fullbore1276 New York // 2021
Jul 25, 2022

I use to get armpump racing hare scrambles and enduros, but mountain biking doesn't seem to effect me. Riding looser on the bike helps.

GarudaBlend Texas // 2022
Jul 30, 2022

Sound simplistic, but learning to relax my death-grip was a big improvement, and building strength and targeted flexibility did the rest. I think riding pump tracks taught me a lot about when I really needed to have a strong grip and when I could relax.

Mark Obsniuk 2018
Sep 18, 2022

What is an arm pump? I don't ride a lot of trails, but when I do, I never get an arm pump. Tenquille lake trail, Lord of the Squirrels, and Meadow of the grizzly are all massive elevation drop trails. I run my levers as close to the bar as I can. One finger braking leads to no problems.

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