Vascularity in bodybuilding is controversial. The term refers to the
extent of superficial prominence of blood vessels, or veins, that are
just below the skin’s surface. Of course, you don’t have to be a
bodybuilder to show prominent vascularity. You can readily see a lot of
veins on many thin people. Conditioned bodybuilders and other athletes
show prominent vascularity for the same reason that thin people do: low
subcutaneous bodyfat, which is the fat that lies just under the skin.
Having an extensive amount of vascularity is not only desirable but
sought after by competitive bodybuilders. From a judging perspective, a
bodybuilder who displays it is said to be in contest condition—at least
as far as bodyfat is concerned. All those veins sticking out somehow
make the competitor seem more muscular. It’s certainly plausible when
you consider that contestants with excess bodyfat rarely show any degree
of vascularity.
Not having prominent veins doesn’t mean that you’re out of shape or
that you have too much bodyfat. The location of superficial blood
vessels is also a factor, one that depends on genetics. Some
bodybuilders can be “ripped” yet not display a lot of vascularity. Their
great conditioning is still apparent, however, because of their obvious
muscularity, which may include cross-striations in certain muscle
groups, such as the thighs and triceps, that would not appear if they
had too much bodyfat. In many bodybuilders the veins never show, and the
reason is simple: Their blood vessels lie deeper under the skin than
those of other competitors.
Although prized by many bodybuilders, vascularity is controversial
for a number of reasons. Many people believe that having extensive
vascularity points to anabolic drug use. The thinking is that drugs
selectively help reduce subcutaneous fat stores more than is possible
through exercise and diet. To a certain extent, that’s true. One has
only to compare a drug-free, or natural, bodybuilder to a self-professed
anabolic-drug user whose vascularity is much more evident. Again,
however, genetics enters the picture; many bodybuilders who’ve never
used any form of anabolic drugs can also show prominent vascularity with
low bodyfat if they have blood vessels located closer to the surface of
the skin. Drugs besides steroids that may affect vascularity, such as
thyroid hormone, growth hormone and clenbuterol, work by reducing
bodyfat, including the kind under the skin.
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Some bodybuilders have even contemplated using drugs that raise blood
pressure because they believe that it will bring the veins out. It
won’t, but it may bring on a heart attack or stroke. Other bodybuilders
sip wine shortly before going onstage at a contest, thinking that it
will rapidly dilate blood vessels and produce a more vascular
appearance. Alcohol does dilate blood vessels, but only small ones in
the skin that aren’t readily apparent. The good news is that the
dilation makes you feel warmer, even if not more vascular-looking. The
same holds true with downing some niacin, a B-complex vitamin known to
cause blood vessel dilation. Again, you’ll feel warm, and the increased
blood circulation produced by the niacin will make you look flushed, or
redder, and that may blend in with your tan, natural or otherwise. As
for making you appear more vascular under the posing lights, sorry, no
cigar—okay, one for you, former Governor Schwarzenegger.
Perhaps the most idiotic technique ever devised for producing greater
vascularity is to engage in blood doping by using drugs such as EPO
analogs that increase red blood cell concentration. That it doesn’t work
is evident when you view elite cyclists, many of whom engage in blood
doping. I don’t recall ever seeing a particularly vascular cyclist—do
you?
Vascularity is also controversial because of the way the public
outside bodybuilding reacts to it. Ever since I began training more than
four decades ago, I’ve heard people express disgust about “all those
veins sticking out” on bodybuilders. Rather than admire the fact that
those veins are “sticking out” because of low bodyfat, people express
revulsion, often commenting that they are ugly and don’t look natural.
Most people don’t have large muscles and prominent veins. Even comic
book superheros who have large muscles, such as Superman and Batman,
never show prominent vascularity. On the other hand, the superheros wear
costumes that may obscure it. In recent years the fake Batman costume
that actors have worn in movies has highlighted more vascularity and
abdominal definition, perhaps because of the influence of real-life
bodybuilders.
In the past, prominent vascularity was rare in bodybuilding
competition. While some muscles, such as the biceps, did show a vein or
two, you didn’t see the vascularity so abundant today—yet another reason
it’s associated with drug use. Vince Gironda, one of the greatest
bodybuilding competitors ever, once told me that he often lost to far
less muscular bodybuilders because of his then-rare high vascularity.
Most bodybuilders in the late ’40s and ’50s just didn’t show many veins.
It made a guy like Vince stand out—which at that time wasn’t good. “The
judges just didn’t know what to do with me, so they would place me
third or fourth to men who were far less muscular than me,” Vince said.
Another bodybuilder with the same problem was Bob Hinds. I recall viewing a photo of him on the cover of
Iron Man
around 1959, when he was at his physical peak. His vascularity was
astonishing, easily rivaling any of the current bodybuilding
competitors. Yet like Gironda, Hinds suffered the same discouraging fate
in competition. His highest placing in the Mr. America contest was
eighth in 1956, although he did place third in the voting for the
most-muscular award. He stopped competing not long after that.
While vascularity is now common in competitive bodybuilders,
particularly among the professional elite, there is a type of
vascularity that isn’t so pretty: the tortured, twisted, bloated veins
you often see on competitors. You don’t have to be a doctor to recognize
such monstrosities as varicose veins. Even those who admire high normal
vascularity are often taken aback when they see a bodybuilder whose
extensive varicose veins look like a highway map to nowhere. They’re
just painful to view. The question is, What causes varicose veins like
that in bodybuilders?
Veins are the blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart. To
prevent a backflow of the blood from the effects of gravity, they have
small leaflet valves. The muscles work like auxiliary pumps, helping the
veins distribute blood back to the heart. Varicose veins are the result
of a failure of the one-way leaflet valves. When that happens, the
blood flows backward into the veins, raising the internal blood pressure
on their thin walls and eventually enlarging the veins. It usually
affects the superficial veins lying closer to the skin surface.
So varicose veins obviously have a negative appearance, but they can
also be painful, particularly if you’re standing or walking. They can
itch, and scratching the itch can cause skin ulcers, compounding the
problem. Varicose veins in the legs feel achy and heavy, especially
after exercise. They can also cause leg cramps and are related to
restless leg syndrome, which can interfere with sleep and upset your
metabolism and recovery. Varicose veins are more common in women and
often appear during pregnancy, which points to an underlying hormonal
component. Those whose work requires prolonged standing often develop
extensive varicose veins in their legs. My stepfather, Jack, always had a
severe case of varicose veins in his legs because of his work, which
forced him to stand on his feet for hours every day.
While women are more likely to have varicose veins than men, men
aren’t immune to the condition, as bodybuilders prove. Recent studies
have shown that hormone imbalances do indeed play a role. Estrogen may
explain why women have more varicose veins than men. Older men,
particularly those low in testosterone, experience a greater incidence
of varicose veins, as do those who have a genetic condition called
Klinefelter’s syndrome, characterized by high estrogen and low
testosterone. Could estrogen be one of the causes of varicose veins?
Both androgen and estrogen receptors are found in veins. A recent
study examined hormonal receptors and various hormones in the large
saphenous vein in the legs of men who did and didn’t have varicose
veins.
1 Those who had varicose veins showed more estrogen
relative to free, or active, testosterone in their bodies, and their
androgen receptor activity was downgraded, likely due to a local
negative feedback caused by the greater concentration of estrogen. That
has implications for men whether or not they’re bodybuilders.
For nonbodybuilders, the major story is that having an imbalance of
estrogen to testosterone may set the stage for the appearance of
varicose veins. Whether that happens depends on other factors, such as
genetic predisposition, diet, exercise and amount of time spent standing
on your feet. For bodybuilders who use anabolic drugs, the point is
that some steroids can convert into estrogen through the actions of the
enzyme aromatase, which is found throughout the body, particularly in
fat tissue. When men age, they tend to lose muscle and gain fat, which
would predispose them to higher estrogen counts and, in due course,
varicose veins. Most bodybuilders who use anabolic steroids that can
convert into estrogen know the score and take aromatase blockers or
estrogen antagonists, such as Nolvadex.
Still, you have to wonder how many top bodybuilders who have a lot of
varicose veins got that way through an unfortunate combination of
excess estrogen and heredity. Perhaps even certain styles of training
are involved, although since the muscles assist the veins in returning
blood to the heart, reducing pressure on veins, exercise would be an
unlikely source of the problem. There’s not much a bodybuilder can do to
prevent varicose veins, other than being aware of the effect of
estrogen while doing everything you can to maintain normal testosterone.
Some studies show that nutrients that strengthen the vein walls, such
as vitamin C and bioflavonoids, offer some preventive effects, as do
herbs that contain natural silicon, such as horsetail.
The other option: Just live with it, or resort to medical solutions for the removal of varicose veins
1 Kendler, M., et al. (2010). Elevated sex steroid hormones in great saphenous veins in men.
J Vasc Surg. 51:639-646.
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