Ok initially I used to think that the ‘network of veins’ I’ve developed over the last few years since starting tris were pretty cool and made my legs look more ripped (a ‘sign’ of an athlete).
Now I’m wondering whether there is anything sinister associated with them? I’ve seen the old guys with bulging jagged veins sticking out and heard of people requiring surgery to repair ‘ruptured’ (if that’s a correct word to use) veins. Am I going to turn into one of these crusty old warhorses? Is it a sign of partial blockage?
Note I’m 32, never been anything other than ‘athletic’ build though have a tendency to eat a bit of crap from time to time.
As your % of body fat in certain locations decreases, the prominence of blood vessels in those areas increases - primarily because they are so close to the surface of the skin.
If they are vericose veins that’s typicall something different entirely - and may or may not require attention.
Wear compressions stockings if you are concerned. Healthlegs.com has pretty competitive prices on medical grade stockings, like those by Mediven, which I’ve found far superior so far to the athletic oriented companies that are beginning to make compression wear.
I don't know why Hincapie's legs are like that and I've heard they are like that all the time....somebody told me that occurs with alot of cycling, but I don't know anybody else's legs that look that way. Of course George probably bikes more in a month than most of us will in a year so....
I’m 38, 5’10", 154LBS. and have become very vascular looking in my legs, abdomen, and arms. My body fat has dropped to 5.5% as I build into IMAZ and my training volume has picked up. It’s just a result of being lean and has an added benefit of making me very heat efficient. Living and training in Arizona, that’s a big plus. The more your vascular vessels you have closer to the surface of the skin, the easier it is to release heat and cool your blood as it circulates. Now, when it’s cold out, that’s a different story as I get cold very easily.
Those are vericose veins in George’s legs. Unfortunately, I have the same affliction. And, yes, they are like that all the time, although they do tend to bulge more when exercising heavily or after standing for extended periods. I can’t speak for George, but mine aren’t painful at all, just ugly. It has nothing to do with all of the cycling he does. It’s genetic.
Thanks for all the feedback. Mine are nothing like the picture (yet?) but yes that was the ultimate version (the pic) of what I was talking about. Touch wood my genes don’t send me down that path.
varicose veins are genetic…i have a couple spots where they are showing up on my right calf, they are very small and probably wouldn’t be noticable at all if I didn’t shave my legs. I’m 35, btw. (i.e they are nothing like hincapie’s). My mom has them too. Hers are a little worse than mine. I have some vascularity as well from cycling, you can tell the difference as the normal veins are thicker and straighter. Varicose veins tend to look tangled and lumpy.
Asked my dr. about them, he said not to worry…if they get bad, there are some procedures where they can remove them. They do typically get worse with age. But its more a cosmetic thing then anything…
