Good Pump Day, Bad Pump Day
Posted on Sunday 17th January 2010
The reason for each uncertain, but the existence of each certain.
Regular pumpers will know what I mean. Some days you seem to get through the class with comparative ease, and other days you struggle to make it to the end. This despite lifting exactly the same weight and doing the same tracks. So, with an identical workout the perception of difficulty should be no different.
I’ve considered a number of potential variables like studio temperature, fans being on or off, and time of day, but could find no set pattern. Then I thought about physiological causes such as degree of hydration, time since last meal, what eaten for last meal, amount of sleep the night before, and so on. Again, nothing flagged consistently enough to give an indication as to what I can do to optimise my performance every class.
The consideration hasn’t been completely in vain as I’ve elicited a couple of factors that have a negative impact, namely being dehydrated and night shifts. The two probably go together as being busy at work and being in a dry air-conditioned environment contribute to lack of fluid. The dry and hot South Australian climate doesn’t help either, so now I try to make sure I drink plenty at work. But then it doesn’t seem to matter how well hydrated I am, just so long as I’m not dry.
So, this effectively means classes will always be a lottery. We’re never going to know in advance whether it’s going to be a “good” one or a “bad” one. Which is annoying in a way, as if we did know, then there would be the potential to adjust weight accordingly so to avoid the risk of injury on “bad” days and maximise results on “good” days. I guess in lieu of a reliable marker we just have to go in and work as “good day” every time.
On the plus side, there is that psychological boost from still managing to do “good” day weights even on “bad” days.
Very true Ric you get through it however there has to be alot take into account as you’ve said you get your bad and good days
I usually know whether it’s a “good” or a “bad” day after the warmup track. Although, one particular warmup, BP 72 to be exact, doesn’t tell me how good my legs feel…
The good pump day normally is a result of heavy cardio exercise before the pump class. The cardio exercise really wake me up and I am able to carry the extra kilo
. Those bad pump day can strike you anytime… 
I find good day = Spot beneath the air-conditioning + hearty breakfast / dinner ~1 hour before, + good meal the evening before.
I used to poke fun at people who became possessive of their position in the studio until I noticed just how much it helped to have that little gust now and then through the class. We have a small and piss-poor aircon vent that you can only feel in an area about 1m³ – so that’s my spot, and I’m going to burn my brand onto the floor there.