As bodybuilders, you probably find yourselves constantly chasing “the pump” as it is known, as it is what helps to give your muscles a fuller, more powerful look. Sadly muscle pumps don’t last very long, but once you have them, boy do you know it. Besides which, they also help to enhance your motivational levels because when you see yourself in the mirror with a muscular pump, you will look bigger, fuller, and more powerful than ever before, which will only spur you on and encourage you to train even harder. Muscle pumps are caused by blood rushing into the muscles and surrounding muscle tissue, causing them to almost swell up and expand. Whilst muscle pumps don’t last very long, one thing that does, is vascularity, and the good news is that, for anybody looking to increase vascularity, you can easily do so with a little help from people in the know.
Vascuality is basically when your veins and blood vessels expand slightly, and show through your skin. For some people that may sound disgusting, but for bodybuilders and bodybuilding judges, vascularity is absolutely essential, as it helps serve as an indication of just how lean and ripped a person actually is. For anybody trying to increase vascularity and muscle pumps, take a look at these handy tips which will help you to do both.
1. Get Your Body Fat As Low As Possible
This is especially relevant when it comes to vascularity as the lower the body fat percentages, the more vascular a person will look. Between the muscles and your skin is a thin layer, which is home to your veins and is where they are located. You want them to become visible, so you need to ensure that there is no fat located on the way to prevent them from showing through. You want this layer free from fat, so you will have to get your body fat percentages as low as you possibly can. For that reason, do plenty of cardio, watch your calorie consumption, and make sure you eat and drink fresh, healthy, and natural foods. Ideally to really become vascular, you will want your body fat percentages to be at 10% or below, so you will have your work cut out for you.
2. Be Patient
Ok, a bit of a curve ball here as we know you don’t have a time machine on hand, but what you do have, is patience. You see, the older you become, the more vascular you will get, which is down to the fact that the skin becomes thinner as we grow older, because it loses collagen. The thinner the skin, the more noticeable the vein hiding under there will become.
3. Train With Higher Reps
Another tip for people trying to increase vascularity and muscle pumps simultaneously, is to train with higher reps and train with much more volume in mind. You see, the more reps you perform, the more blood will be pumped through the veins and forced into the muscles. The blood, making its way through the veins will cause them to expand and become fuller, and the blood making its way into the muscles will cause them to expand and give you greater muscle pumps. For example: when training biceps, instead of curling the 40lb dumbbells for 8 – 10 reps per arm, try curling the 30lb dumbbells, for 20 – 25 reps per arm instead. To begin with it, will feel easy, but once you hit 15 or so reps, you will really feel the burn and will feel a fantastic muscle pump once you finish.
4. Run The Rack To Increase Vascularity
Another very effective training method you can incorporate to really boost vascularity and muscle pumps is to ‘run the rack’ as it is called, which is basically where you will begin either with the lightest weight you can handle, or the heaviest weight you can handle, perform a certain amount of reps, and then immediately move on to the next weight up, or down, and do exactly the same until you reach the end. Whether you start light, or heavy, you will have an insane muscle pump once you’ve finished, and your veins will be like hose pipes.
5. Boost Nitric Oxide Levels
Nitric Oxide works as a vasodilator which causes the blood vessels to expand, allowing more blood to pass through them. As they become bigger and fuller of more blood, obviously you will increase vascularity because they are bigger and fuller. They will also be transporting more blood, which means more blood will enter the muscles, leading to more effective muscle pumps as well. There are a number of foods rich in Nitric Oxide, including: Beetroot, and Spinach, so you may wish to consume more of those. On top of that, there are natural Nitric Oxide supplements you can purchase, which greatly increase Nitric Oxide levels, so you may wish to invest in one of those.
6. Drink Plenty Of Water
This is more of a tip for muscle pumps than vascularity, but even so, it is very important for a number of other reasons as well. When exercising, you will lose vital electrolytes and fluids through your sweat, even if you don’t feel as if you’re sweating. You therefore need to replace these fluids as quickly as possible. Just stop for a moment, and think about dehydrated fruits. If you’ve ever seen dehydrated fruit pieces, you’ll know that they look dried up, wrinkled, and shrilled. On the complete opposite, however, if the fruit is hydrated and full of water, it will look and feel firmer, full, and hard. If you imagine your muscles in the same way, you suddenly get a better understanding of why water is so important.
More water means an increase in blood volume, which means you have more liquid to fill up your veins and muscles, thus making them look and feel bigger and fuller. Don’t think you can get away with downing a huge bottle of water when exercising, however, as that will make you feel ill, it will bloat you, will cause stomach cramps, and will make you very uncomfortable. Instead, drink plenty of water before you train, and continue to sip on water throughout your workout.
