i want to see more vascularity to show. i am 5’8, 160 solid, 29 waist, 6%bodyfat with 6pak abs, however, when i workout my veins come up but after an hour they go back down. how do i keep that vascular look i see on bodybuilders?
i workout 4-5 times per week for an hour, and do cardio 3 times per week for 30-35 mins. what im i doing wrong or what should i be taking other than protein and supplements. some guys seen to be born with very prominent vascularity…how get i get that look?
Sounds to me like you want to look pumped even when you’re not . . . which basically just isn’t going to happen. Sorry!
However, I’ve tried two things that significantly increased vascularity for me when I was younger. First, I went for two weeks with a very limited water (=fluid) intake. Second, I supplemented with B vitamins (specifically niacin).
I don’t recommend the first option for any length of time, especially if you’re taking in a lot of protein. Your internal health is more important than any amount of vascularity you might achieve. But if you’re just looking to be vascular for a day or so out at the beach or something, it might help out. And people react very differently to niacin, so that might not help you out either. But give it a shot and see what happens.
Just a guess here but maybe doing training that will hit the vascualar system hard as opposed to the muscular. In other words 20 reps minimum. Try 50 or 100. Now before I get flamed to death…let me say this will probably deflate you pretty good aswell. Might drop your strength levels down to if you do it for too long. Also once you stop this type of training for a time your vascularity may go away if you get any from it at all. Just a guess on my part. Also not to be a dick but are you sure your 6% body fat? Personally I would be happy with 6% body fat. Heheh. With any luck someone else can provide a more enlighting answer. Ciao 
Mostly genetics. Supplements like vanadyl sulfate (use for a short term only-it’s toxic over time) and niacin can help, but they won’t give you the prolonged vascularity that you’re looking for.
i agree that if you want the veins, you should do endurance work. I would even stretch it to sets of 40+. This is what I did to add a few veins to my abs. I also highly recommend Chad Waterbury’s 100 reps program (I do it for the biceps), which is very effective in bringing out veins.
Seen this Question before. The conclusion that i came to and tryed out (and it seems to work well for me) Is 300mg ALA and 150mg Caffine before your workout. I have been doing this for about 3 weeks now, and have seen significant improvment in my Forarms, Biceps and shoulder…The other alternative is stick some Steriods in ya…that`ll help Cheers
Paul Govier
Studies do show that endurance training increases capillary density, but I doubt that will increase the kind of vascularity you’re after. Just look at the legs of marathon runners–not a vein to be seen, anywhere.
What you probably want to do are exercises that significantly increase blood pressure. And those tend to be the ones where you (strenuously) lift a lot of weight.
Niacin will certainly increase vascularity, but the effect is temporary, lasting for maybe a couple of hours.
A tbsp of glycerol/day has somewhat helped me while dieting down. It is an unrealistic goal to get Ronnie Coleman’s vascularity.
Mike, there is a great difference between the type of endurance training that marathoners do and the type that a regular joe weightlifter would do. Namely, a marathoner trains 1-2 hours nonstop at the lowest intensity possibly, utilizing solely the oxygen energy system. On the other hand, a person who does a set of 50 (I shouldn’t even call this endurance work) is utilizing about 30 percent oxygen system, 35 percent ATP system, and 35 percent lactic acid system. The systems I refer to are the body’s different energy systems, and their employment percentages vary with exercise duration and intensity. The advantage of doing sets of 50 is that both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems are used.(SIDE NOTE: the term “endurance training,” as defined by T-Mag, is a misnomer since when you’re doing sets of 15-25 (this is the range that T-Mag calls endurance), you’re still training predominantly fast-twitch fibers.) working with sets of 20-50 will absolutely yield greater vascularity, greater than that with sets of 1-12 reps. I do realize, though, that one can also achieve great vascularity with sets of 1-12, a rep scheme that I have also used for that end. In any case, It all depends on what’s right for the individual, etc.
I would suggest looking at Chad Waterbury’s 100 rep protocol in t-mag. I’ve found this to help my vascularity alot.
EDT
Like Paul, I noticed that taking in Alpha Lipoic Acid made all the veins in my forarms and calves pop out like mad. A coworker said that usually anything that helps clear blood glucose (insulin mimicker) will help out tremendously with vascularity. Vanady Sulfate can work, but as someone mentioned it can get toxic. Therefore, Alpha Lipoic Acid, having antioxidant capabilities and recharging other antioxidant qualities as well as being an insulin mimicker makes for a great choice in my opinion.
I’ve had great results w/ALA and vanadyl also. Does anyone know when vanadyl becomes toxic? I love this stuff.