I raced my first race last weekend what a blast but I got the worst arm pump ever i had to fight every lap just to hold on. anyone have any advice on how to lessen the arm pump?

 

A steering dampener and stabilizer would be a good first purchase to reduce arm pump. And to go along with that i would do streches before the race or just riding in general

 

Get one of those foam or sand filled "squeeze" ***** and just do thousands of reps each day.... Do as many reps as you can handle switching back and forth between hands.

I tried this on advice from another rider and it really made a difference for me. I was able to hold on a lot longer than before. I literally carried this ball everywhere I went for a week and I noticed a difference right away when I was riding.

Of course, riding often and hard is also a decent fix for some people.

What is also good, is to tie a 5-pound weight to a 6-foot rope, and the other end to a barbell rod. Stand on some stairs so that the weight is hanging and with your wrists (as if twisting a twist throttle) roll the weight all the way to the top until it reaches the bar. Do this in both directions (with your fists pushing forward and with them pushing back) all the way up and back down for as many reps as you can stand.

 

Thats perfect off to big five for supplies thanks for the advice.