Train Like an Athlete by ATHLEAN-X (Video Podcast)

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Vascularity is the term used to describe the amount of visible veins that show through the skin. This is common to bodybuilders, athletes and anyone with low enough body fat levels to be able to see them. In this video, I’m going to show you how to eat for more vascularity and I’m going to dish up the truth about how to do it in the process. No shortcuts or gimmicks tolerated here. Just plain old science and a “say it like it is” approach to make sure you can get more veins safely if this is what you’re after.

To start, I am going to require that you immediately recognize that there is one thing that must be locked in if you want to get more visible veins and that is your nutrition. I don’t care how you are training or what supplement you are taking. You will not be able to see your veins unless you are at a low enough body fat to make it possible.

The rough benchmark number we use is 10 percent body fat. At this level, everyone will be able to see at least some vascularity when looking in the mirror. It may appear to be more visible on one person than another at the same body fat level which can be due to temporary hydration levels, skin thickness, etc. The bottom line though is, getting down to this level is a great goal and starting point for anyone looking to be able to see more veins popping out of their muscles.

Every single percent that you drop your body fat from here can have noticeable and significant increases in the amount of vascularity that you can see. For example, if you were to get to 8 percent body fat you will likely be able to see veins in your chest and shoulders and not just your forearms. Get even lower and you will be seeing veins in your abs. How low you want to go is up to your individual goals however it is advisable that you do not drop any lower than 5% body fat at absolute max if you want to remain healthy at the same time.

The strategy for getting to these lower body fat levels are always going to revolve around nutrition first. Things like supplementation and cardio, etc are all adjuncts that rely on the presence of a sound nutrition plan before you can even start talking seriously about them. The eating strategy has to be able to put you in a slight hypocaloric state. I say slight because while getting veins to show by being in severely depleted hypocaloric state is possible, it certainly isn’t healthy.

Your goal should be to be very slightly hypocaloric, in the range of just a couple hundred calories a day. You should have a long term time goal as well. Getting ripped and vascular the right way should never be about short term gains and crash diets to get you there. You should know by now that this channel is not about shortcuts but science. Getting you to your goals, whatever they may be, the right way and the safe way is always the priority here as it not sacrificing your performance in the gym or on the field in the process.

Once your nutrition is in place you can look towards increasing the intake of foods that either contain more niacin or some plant based nitrates. Both of these will have the end effect of either increasing peripheral blood flow or the vasodilation of the vessels perfusing your muscles. The same can be accomplished with supplementation. Ingredients like agmatine, citrulline malate and arginine are all popular and common supplement ingredients for helping you to increase the pump and vascularity.

That said, all of this is extraneous unless you are committed to improving your nutrition first and foremost. For a complete meal plan that lays out exactly how I and the many other ripped, high performing athletes on team