How To Get Veins To Show On Your Arms | Men's Health Magazine Australia

How To Get Veins To Show On Your Arms

Welcome to the gun show - by Alex Pierotti

For most, visible veins are a true sign of muscle. A high carb and sodium diet might pack on the size quick, but that might be seen as cheating. So make your arms pop with these 4 tips.

1. Lower Body Fat Percentage

If you’re looking to get veins showing on your bicep, a good place to start is lowering your body fat percentage. Studies from the John Hopkins University show that low body fat can improve blood flow, allowing more oxygen to be delivered to the veins, blowing them up like a balloon. This will help uncover them from beneath your layer of skin. 

Looking to burn body fat quick? Try these exercises

2. Reduce Sodium Intake

When you have a high sodium diet, your body retains more water. And while some gym-goers will use this tactic during festival season to expand their muscles, it certainly won’t help with vascularity. The Australian recommended intake for sodium is only 460-920mg. To put that into perspective, a packet of plain potato chips contains between 170 and 185mg oer 28grams…yeah that’s a lot. Because water is stored between the muscle and skin, not holding excess water will help bring veins to the surface. 

3. Increase Muscle Size

Like the theme of the rest of this piece, reducing the space between your muscle and skin is crucial to having rivers flow down your forearms. Exercising will decrease body fat, helping you on your way but increasing muscle size will make that process even quicker. It’s a win-win, you’ll have more defined arms while getting enviable veins on your biceps. If you’re after a temporary fix that will give you a good preview of what you’re up for, resistance training can increase blood flow to your muscles exposing your veins. 

4. Drink More Water

While sodium increases water retention, drinking more water actually does the opposite. If you get through enough to H20 to help you visit the bathroom regularly, you’ll flush out any excess water while retaining important minerals to help with muscle functionality. Restricting your water intake to reduce the amount under your skin works but is extremely dangerous. Think Hugh Jackman in Les Misérables.

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