By Michael, on August 5th, 2012 
It is exciting to ride a dirt bike, but the arm pumps that almost every rider experiences are anything but exciting. The weakening grip, the numbness of your hands and the cramps in your fingers are all symptoms of arm pump. Ultimately, the ailment gets so bad that the arms become completely worthless.
Whether you ride a dirt bike just for fun or are a competitive rider, apart from equipping yourself with necessities like motocross gear and others, you must know how to prevent arm pump. Given below are 5 ways in which you can prevent an arm pump from attacking your limbs -
1. Do Warm Up
– Before you begin your ride, it is essential that you warm up. Your warm up should include jumping jacks, pushups, jogging around or running in the same place or any physical activity that keeps the blood circulating. Do a lot of cardio vascular activities. If you are a regular biker, then you would have noticed other riders do warm up. This will slow down the fatigue that leads to arm pump.
2. Do Cardio
– After your warm ups, do cardio. When your cardio vascular system is in good condition, your body will be able to provide more oxygen to the muscles. More oxygen to the muscles means lesser arm fatigue and no arm pump.
3. Do Not Grip The Handlebars tightly
– Riders who ride irregularly grip the handlebars tightly. This leads to arm pump. So, ride as much as you can as more seat-time will improve your riding and give you a relaxed by firm grip.
4. Drink Water
– Keep yourself hydrated by drinking water or any other drink that can provide your body with energy. Dehydration causes muscles to cramp and leads to arm pump.
5. Reduce Stress From Your Hands
– An experienced rider knows that he can grip the bike with not only his hands but can use his legs for this purpose too. This will reduce the stress from your hands and give the arm muscles time to relax. As a result, they get more oxygen and production of lactic acid reduces.
When blood circulation to the arms is restricted, the muscles become swollen. This restricts blood flow out of your hands and forearms. When blood is trapped in your hands and no fresh blood that is rich in oxygen is able to reach the arms’ muscles, lactic acid builds up. This cause muscle burn and as a result you are unable to use your arms. Following the above tips will help prevent arm pump.
