Does bodybuilding make veins stand out?

Many bodybuilders are looking to highlight their veins, but how to highlight the veins of the body? And how to have hand veins? In gyms, there are various theories about this, but unfortunately, most of the suggestions are not correct. In this article, we will tell the main reason why the vein is prominent in bodybuilding and we will introduce solutions to make the vein pop out.

What does the prominence of veins in bodybuilding mean?

Some bodybuilders have prominent and obvious veins due to doing a lot of training or reducing their body fat percentage. Bodybuilders and beauty enthusiasts, especially Hollywood models, often display arm muscles with large veins, and as a result, you may think that these prominent veins are a desirable and attractive feature of bodybuilding.

Highlighting the veins in the arm and forearm or other muscles of the body may be attractive or considered as one of the indicators of physical fitness; While in reality there is no such thing! Rather, the visibility of the veins is mostly due to the low level of subcutaneous fat, genetics or even the age of the person and in some cases a specific disease. If you are doing bodybuilding and your veins are still not clear, don’t worry! The two have nothing to do with each other and veiny arms are not a sign of a strong and fit body.

Factors influencing the finding of veins

Various factors can contribute to the prominence of veins, but you should note that not everything is in your hands (such as genetics) and you may not be able to highlight your arm and chest veins like Hollywood models. Some of the influencing factors in vein protrusion are as follows:

• Age
• Genetics
• Type of exercise
• Hormones
• Body fat percentage
• The amount of muscle mass
• Body hydration level

The role of genetics in hand veins

Some people naturally have translucent skin that makes their veins more visible, especially if they’ve been exercising. Others have naturally larger veins that become more apparent if they exercise regularly. The appearance of veins in many people depends on their genetics and is out of a person’s control.

Also, some breeds have thin and white skin and at the same time have prominent vessels that can be easily seen under the skin.

In addition, there is a possibility that in some people, due to weak and dilated blood vessels along with thinner skin with less elasticity, the veins are more visible. Or very prominent veins may indicate a genetic disease.

What causes varicose veins?

Prominence of veins in the body can be completely normal, but sometimes it is a sign of a disease or problem; For example, it may be caused by superficial blood clot, venous swelling or varicose veins.

If you are not a bodybuilder and your veins have recently become prominent and swollen for no apparent reason, it is better to consult a doctor. In the following, we state the most important reasons for veins to stand out.

1. Doing bodybuilding exercises

In fact, the prominence of veins on the arms and chest of athletes is more of a natural response of the body to professional sports. In this way, the muscle, It pushes the veins outward and having less fat under the skin will cause the vein to protrude. Especially prominent veins in the arm can be during or after bodybuilding and other strength training stand out

According to a study conducted in 2019 at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, strength training increases heart rate and dilates blood vessels. This will eventually cause the veins to become more prominent under the skin.

On the other hand, plasma also plays a role in highlighting the veins. Plasma flows into the muscles during exercise and causes the muscles to swell and tighten.

The tightening of the muscle pulls the venous tissue to the surface of the muscles and skin and makes it more visible; Of course, the function of the vessels remains largely unchanged. The effect of plasma in highlighting the veins remains only for 15 to 30 minutes.

2. Reduce sodium intake

Sodium causes water retention in the body. When the body retains water, your skin will look puffy and make the veins less visible. So stay away from fast food and processed foods. There is usually a lot of salt in prepared foods.

At the moment Maximum permissible amount of salt, daily is 2300 mg (one teaspoon). The American Academy of Medicine and the American Heart Institute recommend that people consume no more than 1,500 milligrams of salt per day.

3. Increased body temperature

When the body temperature rises, the blood moves closer to the surface of the skin and causes more veins to bulge. One of the fast ways to highlight the veins that bodybuilders do is to use a hair dryer!

Another solution is to increase the body temperature through foods such as hot peppers or cayenne pepper. Some supplements also bring you the same benefits.

4. Decrease body fat percentage

An important reason for finding muscle veins in athletes is their low body fat. If you can’t see any veins on your arms or shoulders, you have a high body fat percentage. Prominent veins require a low fat percentage.

The veins of professional bodybuilders are superficial and subcutaneous veins. The lower the fat layer between the skin and the veins, the more prominent the veins will be. Therefore, it is necessary to use the basic sports nutrition plan in addition to the exercises of the advanced bodybuilding program. For the vein to stand out, the body fat percentage of men and women should be as follows:

• Men: A body fat percentage of less than 10% for men can cause visible veins. The less body fat you have, the more prominent your veins will be.

• Women: For women, having a fat percentage of about 15% can be enough. To reach such a percentage of body fat, you must have a proper and healthy diet. This means that your diet should be rich in vegetables and quality protein sources without fat and avoid eating harmful foods.

How do the veins in our hands come out? (Methods to reduce body fat percentage)

How to have hand veins? Body fat can be reduced by losing excess body fat through diet and exercise. Now we introduce different ways to highlight the vein of the hand.

Exercise tips to get out the hand vein

Regular exercises are necessary to build muscle so that veins can be exposed. Below we will tell you how to highlight the veins of your body and hands through exercise.

Strength training

Strength training does not only mean bodybuilding with gym machines, but also includes working with stretchers and dumbbells or body weight. This type of exercise improves muscle volume and causes blood vessels to press on the outer surface of the skin. As a result, by performing certain movements, the vein will be highlighted.

In order to have a basic and proper muscle building, so that your veins are clearly defined, you must use a personal training program. In your training, try to always increase your training weight. Muscles need more pressure and concentration to grow.

Aerobic exercises

Doing aerobic exercise at home or at the gym is a great way to burn fat and get fit. For this reason, performing interval exercises such as cycling at maximum speed can be the best aerobic option and make the vein stand out.

Other effective exercises in vein highlighting

The type of exercise you do will definitely affect how prominent your veins are. In general, some exercises cause the blood pressure in the body to rise more and pump more blood through the vessels, thereby exposing your veins. Sports like:

• Bodybuilding
• Crossfit
• weightlifting
• chest press
• overhead movements (such as shoulder press or chest press)

Nutrition tips to highlight veins

As we said, to make the vein stand out, you need to reduce the amount of body fat. Reducing body fat also includes limited fat intake and even periods of cutting. Below are some nutrition related items to find veins.

Drink a lot of water!

Drinking enough water will hydrate the body and muscles. This reduces water retention in the body. Also, drinking a lot of water causes excess water to be removed from the body, and as a result, water retention in the body decreases.

Many bodybuilders avoid water consumption before competitions. Decreasing water consumption before competitions will make the vein stand out. Of course, this method is not recommended at all; Because it is very dangerous. If you want to use this method; You should be very careful about your health.

Reduce the consumption of carbohydrates!

Reducing the consumption of carbohydrates leads to the reduction of water retention in the body. In addition to this, low carbohydrate consumption will cause fat burning and, as a result, the vein will protrude.

The best supplement for visible veins

There are supplements that are specifically designed to increase blood flow and increase nitric oxide production. The companies producing these supplements claim that such supplements can help you achieve more muscle mass during exercise and make veins stand out.

Dietary nitrates, found in green leafy vegetables such as beets, spinach and arugula, are converted in the body to nitric oxide, a powerful vasodilator that dilates blood vessels and increases blood flow.

Adding nitrate-rich foods to the diet or taking nitrate supplements can increase vasodilation, improve oxygenation to the muscles, and achieve greater muscle tone during exercise. But we do not have any recommendations regarding supplements. If you plan to take supplements, be sure to consult your doctor or professional trainer.

final word

How to highlight the veins of the body? To make the hand and body veins stand out, you need to build muscle and reduce your body fat with the help of exercise and proper diet.

Every athlete’s body, according to the volume, separation, weight, ossification, heredity and environmental factors of the athlete, needs an advanced training program and separate nutrition. In this article, we discussed the various reasons for the prominent vein and introduced solutions for having a prominent vein.

References: healthline – outlookindia