How to Get More Vascular

A lot of people want that “vascular” look, especially the classic bicep vein. It’s not just about having muscle. Visible veins add another layer that people associate with being lean, trained, and in shape.

I get asked all the time: “What’s your trick? What do you eat? How do you stay so vascular?” The truth is there isn’t one magic trick. There are a handful of major factors that influence vascularity, some you can control, and some you can’t.

Let’s break it down...

What “vascularity” really is:

Vascularity is simply how visible your veins are under the skin. Veins show more when:

• there’s less fat between the skin and the vein

• the vein is larger / more developed

• your body is warm, pumped, and pushing more blood to the muscles

1 - Genetics (you can’t change it, but you can work with it)

Some people are naturally “veinier.” They may have larger veins, more surface veins, or veins that sit closer to the skin, even if they aren’t super lean or don’t train consistently.

Genetics also affects where you store fat. Two people can have the same body fat percentage, but one stores more fat in the arms (less vascular) and the other stores more in the midsection (more vascular arms).

You can’t rewrite your genetics, but you can still improve what you’ve got.

2 - Body hair (simple visual hack)

If you’ve got thick arm hair, it can blur definition and make veins less noticeable. Trimming (or removing) body hair can make your arms look more:

• shredded

• striated

• vascular

Not required, but if you want a quick “more definition” upgrade for photos, vacations, or just personal preference, this is an easy one.

3 - Body fat percentage (the #1 driver of vascularity)

This is the big one!

No matter where you store fat, if your overall body fat is high enough, veins will be less visible, because there’s a layer sitting on top of everything.

As you get leaner, vascularity improves. Period.

Age and fat distribution (why this can change after 40 or even younger)

You’ll often see older men with very lean arms and legs but a bigger belly. That’s fat distribution shifting with age. Younger guys often carry more “surface fat” (that smoother look) even when they’re lean, so they may not look as vascular until later on in life, maybe one bennefit of geting older?

So if you’re 40+ and noticing more veins than you used to, that’s normal. But if you want that look on purpose, lowering body fat is still the most reliable lever you can pull.

4 - Muscle mass and training (build the “hardware”)

Training does a few things that help vascularity:

• builds muscle that can “push” veins closer to the surface visually

• increases your body’s blood vessel development over time

• creates a pump during workouts (more blood in the muscle)

More muscle + lower body fat = more vascularity. That’s the long-term formula.

5 - Warmth, blood flow, and blood pressure (the “temporary boost”)

Ever notice you look more vascular during a workout or right after?

That’s because when you’re warm and active:

• more blood is sent to the extremities

• blood pressure rises slightly

• veins become more noticeable

Cold environment = less vascularity. Warm environment + activity = more vascularity.

If you’ve ever noticed you look insanely vascular right after something that heats you up (training, sauna/tanning booth, hot shower), that’s why.

6 - Food and hydration (short-term manipulation)

You can “enhance” vascularity temporarily based on what you eat and how hydrated you are:

• Salt can raise blood pressure a bit and enhance vascularity

• Carbs increase glycogen in the muscle (with water), making muscles look fuller and veins pop more

• Dehydration can make skin look thinner temporarily (not something I recommend as a lifestyle strategy)

This is why fighters and bodybuilders often look ridiculously peeled on weigh-in day or photo day. But it’s not a healthy long-term approach.

For normal people living real life: use nutrition to support performance and leanness, not extreme dehydration tricks.

The real takeaway: There’s no shortcut

If you want more vascularity, focus on what you can control:

1. Lower your body fat (most important)

2. Train consistently (build muscle and blood flow)

3. Use the “temporary boosters” (pump + warmth) if you want to look your best for photos

The leaner you get, the more veins show. But it’s work. No pill. No secret exercise. No magic food.

Simple action plan for more vascularity (40+ friendly)

• Lift 3–4 days/week (progressively, safely)

• Walk daily (easy fat-loss accelerator that’s joint-friendly)

• Eat mostly whole foods and keep protein consistent

• Cut slowly if fat loss is the goal (don’t crash diet)

• For a photo or “pump” day: train arms/upper body, stay warm, and have a normal carb-based meal beforehand

If you want that bicep vein and the “trained” look, the formula is straightforward: get leaner, build muscle, and stay consistent. Nothing flashy, just results.

SHOT Show 2026 Las Vegas Replica Airguns Teaser

I just got back from SHOT Show 2026 in Las Vegas, and let me tell you, it was an action-packed trip! Over on our Replica Airguns Channel, we’ve just dropped a fast-paced highlight reel that captures the best moments of our week long stay.

The SHOT Show took place at the Venetian Convention Center, and you’ll see plenty of footage capturing the scale and energy of the event itself: busy show floors, massive booths, indoor and outdoor areas, and the overall atmosphere of one of the largest firearms and shooting-sports events in the world, with Airguns and related gear naturally woven throughout.

But it’s not just airguns, we’ve got slices of Vegas! You’ll catch us strolling Fremont Street, lounging poolside, and soaking up those iconic Vegas vibes between interviews. Whether you’re here for the Airguns or the atmosphere, this video’s got it all, music, cuts, the show floor, and a taste of Las Vegas. Check it out now and immerse yourself in the SHOT Show experience!

Replica Airguns SHOT Show 2026 Videos Coming Up

I was in Las Vegas last week for SHOT Show, primarily covering content for Replica Airguns, but I wanted to share a quick update here on GetFitOver40 so you know what I was up to.

I came out to SHOT Show to meet people in the industry and capture a bunch of interviews with vendors and companies, including Airgun and Paintball brands (and more). I filmed about seven interviews in total, and there’s a lot of great footage to sort through now that I am back.

I’m was in Vegas with my buddy Steve (the man behind the camera), and at this point the work was done we  we’re just enjoying Vegas after a busy week of filming. We’ve definitely did a few things beyond SHOT Show, because if you’re going to come to Vegas, you might as well experience it.

In the video now we’re at the Montecristo cigar bar inside Caesars Palace, winding down with a nice port and a cigar.

Stay tuned, now that I’m back home, I’ll start editing and posting the interviews. If you want to catch those SHOT Show interviews, head over to Replica Airguns.

AI Is Everywhere Now - Fake Feeds - Lost Jobs and the TERMINATOR Question

I went out for what’s usually a simple walk-and-talk… except I was riding my VESC MagWheel OneWheel setup instead since it's a lot of fun and way more interesting to watch. Tight corners, a bit of construction, people and dogs coming the other way, one of those rides where you’re paying attention to everything at once. which kind of leads into this discussion... this is exactly what it feels like trying to live online right now too.

Everything is moving fast. Everything is noisy. And now, whether you like it or not, AI is in the middle of it.

In this ride video, I wanted to cover three basic topics without going off the rails:

1. how AI is changing what we’re consuming (videos, photos, “viral” clips)

2. how AI is going to affect jobs and the economy

3. and the big one: are we walking toward a real “Terminator-style” scenario where AI becomes something we can’t control?

I’m not an AI expert. I’m just paying attention, asking questions, and trying to think through the logic of where this goes.

1) AI content is taking over the feed - and it’s getting ridiculous:

You’ve probably noticed it too. You start watching a video and within 10 seconds you realize: this isn’t real. The voices are off. The movements are weird. The lighting doesn’t make sense. Or it’s something that would be so incredible in real life… that it almost has to be fake.

That’s the part that bugs me. Not because I hate technology, but because it’s turning the “real world” feed into a fiction feed. If I want fiction, I’ll watch a movie or read a book. But when I’m doomscrolling (and yes, we all do it sometimes), I want to see real things, real people, real events, real moments. Not some AI-generated clip designed to trigger a reaction and keep me watching.

There’s also a deeper issue: the more people watch AI content, the more the algorithm feeds it to everyone. The platforms don’t care if it’s real; they care if it performs. If the metric says “people watched,” then the platform learns: “Give them more of that.”

So if you’re like me and you don’t want your feed turning into an AI theme park, the only real weapon you have is your attention.

• The moment you spot obvious AI, scroll away.

• Use the “don’t recommend” or “not interested” options when you can.

• Stop rewarding fake content with your watch time.

I honestly hope platforms eventually give us a setting: No AI-generated video. No AI-generated photos. A filter. An option. Something. Because right now it’s blending into everything, and the average person has to waste mental energy just figuring out what’s real.

And that’s not a small thing. A society that can’t tell real from fake is a society that’s easy to manipulate.

2) Jobs, money, and purpose: what happens when AI eats the desk work?

This part is where it stops being annoying and starts being serious.

AI is already replacing chunks of jobs, especially anything that looks like:

• writing

• editing

• basic design work

• customer support

• admin tasks

• data entry

• scheduling

• entry-level programming and web tasks

And it’s not because the AI is perfect. It’s because it’s “good enough,” fast, and cheap.

A lot of desk jobs are basically information work: take input, process it, output something useful. That’s exactly what AI is designed to do. Even fields you’d think were untouchable like medicine are already being reshaped. Not necessarily replacing doctors entirely, but doing screening, analysis, triage, documentation, pattern recognition… and then a smaller number of human professionals supervise.

That could be a good thing in places that have shortages. But zoom out and ask the bigger question: what happens when the scale gets extreme?

If we get to a world where 80–90% of traditional “information jobs” disappear or shrink dramatically, you run into a math problem:

• People need income to buy products and pay bills.

• Governments can’t “tax” money that people don’t earn.

• Companies can’t keep selling products if consumers can’t afford anything.

So where does the money come from?

Some people talk about universal basic income, government support, or corporate-funded solutions. Maybe something like that becomes reality. But it still doesn’t answer the human side of the equation: people don’t just need money, they need purpose. Most people do better mentally when they have a role, a skill, a reason to get up and contribute.

A future where huge numbers of people are “managed” with a check while living small, bored lives with no mission… that’s not a win. That’s a slow decline.

And for anyone thinking, “Well trades are safe,” I mostly agree, for now. Plumbers, carpenters, mechanics, electricians… jobs where you need hands, creativity, and problem-solving in unpredictable situations. That’s harder to automate. But robotics is improving too. It might take longer, but it’s not off the table forever.

3) The “Terminator” question: not Hollywood - just incentives and lack of brakes:

This is where people either laugh it off or get uncomfortable. But if you strip away the movie imagery and just look at incentives, it gets real fast.

Right now, AI companies are in a race. Whoever has the best AI wins massive leverage:

• military contracts

• business dominance

• intelligence advantages

• economic advantage

• social influence

That creates pressure to move fast, cut corners, and release more powerful systems before safety and regulation are mature. And the scary part is: regulation tends to move slowly, while tech moves fast.

Even if you never believe in a “killer robot” scenario, the risk isn’t only physical robots. It’s also:

• automated cyberattacks

• AI-driven propaganda and persuasion at scale

• manipulation of markets

• control of infrastructure through software

• autonomous decision systems making high-stakes calls

And here’s the part that sticks in my mind: we may reach a point where AI is so integrated into everything, power grids, banking, communications, logistics, healthcare, that turning it off becomes impossible without crashing society.

If the systems running electricity, payments, shipping, and communication depend on AI… then “shutting it down” could mean:

• no power

• no commerce

• no communication

• no functioning infrastructure

Even if AI became dangerous, we might be locked in because the alternative is collapse.

That’s why I don’t think fear is the right response, but I do think seriousness is the right response. People should be talking about this openly. Governments should be building real guardrails. Companies should be pressured to prove safety, not just promise it.

Where I land on it:

I’m not “anti-AI.” I use AI tools for research and organizing ideas. It can help you learn faster, outline content, brainstorm, and tighten your thinking. Used responsibly, it’s useful.

What I’m against is:

• AI replacing reality in our feeds without disclosure

• AI stripping purpose and stability from society without a real plan

• AI racing ahead of safety because money and power reward speed

If you’re watching this stuff unfold and you feel uneasy, I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you’re paying attention.

The best thing you can do is keep your eyes open, control what you feed your brain, build real skills that translate outside the “information-only” world, and push for transparency and guardrails wherever you can.

Because the future is coming either way, and it’s better to walk into it awake than sleepwalk into it distracted.

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