Tricks and supplements for extreme vascularity

Train the right way to enhance your veins and take vascularity supplements along the way.

You are not a bodybuilder unless you have those tube-like veins running throughout your body. To get and maintain them, you should not only structure your training in a certain way, but also provide your veins with the right nutrients through vascularity supplements.

But why do some of your gym partners seem to have naturally prominent veins, while you remain flat despite working tirelessly to achieve the same look?

Genetics undoubtedly play a role, but it is too late to go back and do a better job of choosing your mother and father. This is, of course, sarcasm intended to tell you that there are precise ways to improve the appearance of your veins in the short term, using vascularity supplements combined with a few tricks known by all vascular beasts.

1- Stay as lean as possible

Beyond genetics, the most important factor in veins that stand out beneath the skin is how lean you are.

Since body fat is commonly stored just beneath the skin, it is literally what stands between you and your “veiny self.”

If you are a man, you need to keep your body fat in the single digits, while women probably need less than 20% body fat, although both sexes can see a prominent biceps vein at slightly higher percentages.

To make the veins that seem to burst through the skin visible, start by eliminating excess body fat.

If body fat is a concern, start by calculating how many calories you need to maintain your weight, then subtract 300 to 500 calories per day to create a significant deficit.

Over the next 10 to 12 weeks, try to lose 250 to 500 grams per week by gradually—but not dramatically—reducing your calorie intake; however, you should also shake up your workouts with new variations such as HIIT, power training, calisthenics, or CrossTraining.

You should definitely maintain a steady pace, because if the goal is vascularity, you’ll want to lose as little muscle mass as possible and, from this perspective, one of the vascularity supplements should be BCAAs (which, in addition to stimulating muscle gains, keep catabolism at bay).

2- Build muscle

Bigger muscles require more blood, plain and simple. By training and eating with an emphasis on building muscle, your body will adapt by expanding its network of blood vessels to supply the newly built muscle mass.

Based on the experience of our high-performance athletes and other professional coaches, it’s probably best to alternate between dedicated phases of mass building and fat loss in your pursuit of becoming leaner and more muscular.

Although we can’t discuss specific vascularity supplements here that would also help you gain extreme muscle mass, there’s no doubt that consuming quality carbohydrates alongside protein shakes is essential.

READ PROTEINS + CARBS

3- Try to always pump

What you know as a “pump” is actually just the term coined to describe cellular swelling and metabolite accumulation, both of which are known to promote muscle growth [1].

By constantly pumping, through a combination of high-intensity lifting techniques and short rest periods, you drive a significant amount of blood into your muscles. This bodes well for looking sharp.

You can also use the blood flow restriction (BFR) method with arm wraps, which can help you focus vascularity on a specific part of the body. It involves partially restricting the veins of a working muscle, ultimately resulting in a buildup of blood because the veins cannot carry it back to the heart.

This massive increase in blood flow generally leads to the biggest pump of your life.

In any case, alongside taking vascularity supplements, you can work the veins of a particular muscle group, such as the biceps, triceps, or quadriceps.

It’s a no-brainer to finish your training day for that muscle group with a solid pump workout… do it by performing biceps or triceps curls, leg extensions, etc., with 4 sets of 30, 15, 15, and finally 15 reps using BFF, resting 30 seconds between sets, for example…

4- Don't skip cardio

There are many reasons to skip cardio, but one reason not to is that it can help promote more prominent veins.

To begin with, cardio helps create a greater calorie deficit (assuming you are not eating more to compensate), which helps reduce body fat. The leaner you are, the more vascular you appear.

In addition, consistent aerobic exercise increases capillary density, or the number of capillaries (tiny blood vessels) that reach the muscles [2].

Cardio can even promote the formation of new capillaries.

By making cardio (from moderate intensity to HIIT or HIT) a staple of your workout routine, you effectively promote greater blood flow to your muscles.

Over time, more veins will streak the surface and become visible when they are adequately filled with blood. Also remember to hydrate properly and drink infusions such as green or white tea more frequently.

Take supplements for vascularity

One of the main reasons blood flow increases during exercise is related to the production and action of nitric oxide (NO).

NO is a powerful vasodilator, meaning that it relaxes blood vessels to increase blood flow efficiency; therefore, improving its production and ultimately your muscle pump is essential.

If you look closely at the label of your pre-workout, you will identify many ingredients, from agmatine to glycerol and ornithine that will serve this purpose alongside other recognized NO boosters.

In this article, we will discuss the properties of some supplements for vascularity such as:

• Citrulline
• Nitrates
• Creatine
• Thermogenics

Supplements for vascularity: citrulline

A few years ago, L-arginine was considered the king of supplements for the “pump” you want to achieve because it is a known precursor to NO.

However, it has declined in popularity because citrulline has been shown to increase arginine levels more than arginine itself (without the digestive discomfort).

• When to take citrulline: 30–60 minutes before training.
• Dosage: 6-8 grams of citrulline malate.
• Consideration: take a single dose per day.

Supplements for vascularity: nitrates

The two most common nitrate dietary supplements are beetroot-based products and pomegranate extract juice.

Both have been shown to have a positive impact on blood flow when taken before training due to their ability to act as vasodilators [5-7].

• When to take nitrates: 30 minutes before training
• Dosage: any of the supplements for vascularity containing 1000 mg of pomegranate extract, combined with beetroot juice throughout the day.
• Consideration: first load for one week, then take a dose before training.

Supplements for vascularity: creatine

Creatine acts as an osmolyte, which means that as it accumulates inside the muscle cell, it also draws in fluid.

Creatine supplementation can improve cell swelling, helping any muscle pump tear through your shirt or enhance visible veins.

• When to take creatine: 30 minutes before training
• Dosage: you can take 3 g per day.
• Considerations: on training days, you can combine the morning dose with the pre-workout dose, and on rest days, take the second dose in the afternoon.

Supplements for vascularity: thermogenics

A thermogenic increases heat production in the body. As a result, more blood flow is pushed to the surface of the skin, which helps cool the body.

In short, to enjoy spectacular pumps, you should also take supplements for vascularity such as caffeine, green tea, capsaicin (the component in peppers responsible for their spiciness), or ginger—ingredients that you can generally find in any pre-workout.

Finally, we invite you to watch a video made by MASmusculo, which discusses the perfect ingredients in a pre-workout.