The best way to get a good pump at home in just 15–20 minutes is by doing a quick bodyweight workout. For this workout you will do:
- 3 sets of 25–40 push-ups.
- 3 sets of 25 tricep dips.
- 2–3 sets of 10–15 pull-ups.
- 3 sets of 15–25 towel curls.
- 3 sets of 25 pike push-ups.
These exercises are designed to get a quick pump for the major muscle groups of your upper body: the chest, triceps, back, biceps, and shoulders. Break up the workout with 60–90 seconds of rest. Then, for the next 2–3 hours, you’ll be pumped and looking your best.
How Can You Get Pumped Fast?
A workout designed to get you pumped quickly involves a lot of reps and only a few sets. 2–3 sets of 25–40 reps is ideal for most exercises when you’re looking for an instant pump. However, it’s important to note that this number of sets and reps is not ideal for building muscle mass or strength long-term. A pump workout is designed to get you looking good when you walk out the door, nothing else. It doesn’t take the place of a standard workout.
How Long Do Your Muscles Stay Pumped?
In most cases, a pump lasts for about 2 hours after a workout. After that, the blood flow to your muscles will lessen. 3 hours after your workout, the effects of a muscular pump will have completely vanished. So, if you want to arrive at a party or a date with a pump, work out right before you shower and leave your home.
5 At-Home Exercises Guaranteed to Give You a Pump
If you’re looking for a pump, this workout will do the trick. Not only will you get a pump that shows your muscles at their peak, but you’ll also experience a confidence-boosting rush of endorphins. All this can be accomplished in 15–20 minutes. Here’s how:
Push-Ups
The first key to an upper body pump is push-ups. The push-up movement will mostly focus on the pectorals, pumping up your chest muscles, but you’ll also work your triceps, shoulders, and back as secondary muscles. If you’ve only got time for one pump workout, make it push-ups.
- Assume push-up position with your hands 4–6 inches wider than shoulder-width.
- Place your hands so the heels of your hands are in line with the bottom of your sternum at the bottom of the push-up.
- Lower yourself until your chest touches the floor.
- Push up until your arms are fully extended.
- Focus on bringing your elbows inward as you push up. This helps target the chest.
- Perform 3 sets of 25–40 push-ups.
- Rest 90 seconds between sets.
By performing push-ups through the entire range of motion, you’ll experience the most stretching and muscle contraction in the pectorals. Combine this with the high number of reps and you’ll have an incredible chest pump by the time you finish your third set.
Tricep Dip
Now that your arms are warmed up from push-ups, it’s time to really target them. Use a chair, stool, or low table to perform tricep dips. Here’s how.
- Face away from the chair or other surface used for dips.
- Place the heels of your hands on the chair with your arms straight.
- Stretch your legs out straight in front of you with your heels on the ground.
- Bend your arms until the elbow is bent to 90 degrees.
- Lower your body and bend at the hips as you bend your arms.
- Straighten your arms, bringing your body up and straightening your hips.
- Do 3 sets of 25 reps.
- Rest for 90 seconds between sets.
This simple exercise will contribute to an excellent arm pump. The time under tension caused by such a high number of reps increases blood flow to the muscles quickly. This is what results in a pump.
Pull-Ups
This may be the trickiest exercise to perform at-home. If you don’t have a pull-up bar or area to do pull-ups, feel free to skip this exercise. However, take the opportunity if you can. We recommend wide-grip pull-ups to pump up your back and biceps. For these:
- Grip your pull-up bar overhand with arms 4–6 inches wider than shoulder width.
- Extend your legs and cross them at the ankles.
- Use correct form to perform no-swing pull-ups.
- Perform 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps.
- Rest for 90 seconds between sets.
Whenever possible, don’t skip pull-ups during a pump workout. The pull-up movement is essential for providing a pump for your lats. This will give you a wider back, making your pump more impressive overall.
Towel Curls
No pump workout would be complete without bicep curls. The best thing is, you can do curls without weights. All you need is a dish towel or washcloth. Alternatively, you can use a resistance band, but this isn’t necessary. Here’s how to do towel curls.
- Hold your hands down and in front of you with palms facing up, in curl position.
- Grip a towel or resistance band and stretch it tight between your hands. Your arms should be shoulder-width apart.
- Curl upwards, as you would during a barbell curl. Except, instead of focusing on upward movement, try as hard as you can to pull your hands away from one another while gripping the stretched towel.
- Perform each rep slowly during both the upward and downward movement.
- Do 3 sets of 15–25 reps.
- Rest for 90 seconds between sets.
This no-weight variation of the curl is great for increasing time under tension for the biceps. It may not do much for muscle growth in the long run, but you’ll get a quick muscle pump.
Pike Push-Ups
What pump is complete without targeting the shoulders? It’s time to bring it home with this exercise that will target your front delts, making your shoulders look their best. For this one:
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
- Hinge at the hips and place your palms on the ground.
- The balls of your feet should be on the ground. Your body should be bent into a ‘V’.
- Keep your back and knees straight.
- Bend your arms slowly until the crown of your head touches the ground.
- Straighten your arms, pushing your body back up to the ‘V’ position.
- Do 2–3 sets of 25 reps.
- Rest for 90 seconds between sets.
By shifting the push-up from a horizontal movement to a vertical movement, the bulk of the work is done by the shoulders, not the chest. This contributes to a great shoulder pump. If pike push-ups aren’t much of a challenge, you can try wallstand or handstand push-ups instead.
How Can You Pump Your Muscles At Home?
In order to get your muscles pumped quickly when you’re not in the gym, perform a series of bodyweight exercises. By performing push-ups for your chest, tricep dips and towel curls for your arms, pull-ups for your back, and pike-push-ups for your shoulders, you’ll get an incredible upper-body pump. Because these are bodyweight exercises, it’s best to do 3 sets of 25–40 reps for the fastest pump.
