This question to Bill Roberts or anyone that has a scientific answer to it. I would like to know why wine makes you vascular. I have some ideas but I really would like to know the scientific answer to this one. My theroy is that since you carb depleted so long for a show and then the sugar from the wine spike the insluin level up and that creates the effect of vasculartiy. If this was the case wouldn’t grape jucie work the same way? Or does alchohol also have some involvement in this process.Anyone have any thoughts of this???
I only know this works when dieting for a show how about all the time???
Alcohol is a vasodilator. Because the veins to the portions of the body other than the abdomen widen, it gives the appearance of being more vascular. That’s what my take on it has always been. I certainly don’t think increasing alcohol intake at any time other than immediately before a show would be a good idea.
Nothing makes u more vascular before a show.If u aren’t already vascular coming up or on the day of the show bad luck.That’s why u diet for 15 weeks,there is no last minute trick.
That’s why alcohol & water don’t mix. I’d never go drinking near a body of water because of that. I teacher at my old school told us a story about when he was in high school & was at a party at a lake. This one drunk guy went out in a dinghy & flipped over & was screaming for help then all of a sudden the screaming stopped (it was dark out). I don’t know whether that’s true or not, he could have just been trying to scare us, but it’s believable.
I do drink a li’l bit of Skyy Vodka before I go onstage. It may “warm” me up a bit, but it helps me to relax more than anything. And I don’t believe in “last minute” solutions for a contest - you should be ready at least one week out - period.
Its primarily used for its diueretic affect prior to getting on stage. It allso increases your blood volume, which gives the appearance of fullness in your veins.
Alcohol makes you feel warmer, by vasodilating the periperal vessels thus making the arms and legs feel warmer as you have a lot of temperature receptors out there. But if you stay in cold water while drinking alcohol, it can help lead to hypothermia. Aside from being mentally out of it while you are drunk or buzzed, you will feel warm because the blood is flowing through the extremeties. This blood flow to the extremeties gives you are larger area to dissipate heat, thus you cannot maintain core body temperature. Normal people who have not been drinking, shut off blood flow to the periphery and keep the core warm. This is obviously more important than keeping your hands warm. Basically, if you’re out on a boat and get stranded in the ocean, the person who has not been drinking stands a better chance of survival. Of course assuming that these people are of the same body size, weight and composition, because those factors play a huge role in temperature regulation under cold stress.
Jason N. I see that you have some insite on this. Can you alborate a little more on why if you are depleted how would alchohol make you more vascular then?
Know I have been doing bodybuildings shows for a while and I have come in first in my class I take at least the top 3 place in my weight class. I have use this process by drink a cup of glasses of wine and I do become more vasculor then if I don’t I would like to know the reason why… And I also know a lot of top pro and natrual bodybuilders do this also…
But I would like to to the chemical effect of Alchohol when you diet.
fitone: I know you asked Jason to elaborate on this more for you, but I’ll add something besides telling you to really read what he had said previous to your post. If you do, I think that might help you understand your question. This is what I believe about vascularity: either you’re lean enough to show it at the time of a contest or you’re not.
Alcohol can only enhance what is there. If you’re competing at 8% and standing next to a guy who’s competing at 4% - both same height and within the same weight weight class, just one is leaner than the other - the 4% guy is going to experience the edge in terms of alcohol effect. I’m saying it in this way, since you say you have competed and I believe (if I’m correct) that you want this information in terms of how it could “help in bodybuilding competitions” - right? Jason is relaying the information in terms of physiology - and that’s VERY important (duh!), but for cosmetic purposes in a bodybuilding competition is where I thought your question was concerned with. You’re question is centered more on the cosmetic effect of alcohol as applied to a bodybuilding competition (for increased vascularization - and maybe enhanced tightness). Correct?
First off, you need to reread your question because grammatically I can’t figure out what you are really asking. If you are in contest shape, you are going to be really lean. Your veins tend to often run very superficial so you can see them under your skin and above your muscles. If you drink red wine (I say wine because I don’t drink and I don’t really know the chemical that is responsible for the physiologic phenomenon, but red wine is what everybody seems to use)and it causes your veins to vasodilate (become larger tubes), the veins will look bigger and possibly make you look leaner. It is just a visual trick. If you have a clearer question, I’ll try to answer.
My question was both a cosmetic and a phyisolgical answer. I know wine enhance the vascularity but why. Is it because the sugar content of wine makes the vains thicker? Or is it because the alchohol content has an effect also. Thats what I was trying to get at…