Varicose veins and strength training

Hello docs,

I am Oguz, 31 years old male from Turkey. I’ve been training with your templates for really long time and recently diagnosed with grade 1-2 varicose veins in both legs while the on the right a bit more visible. I went for an examination to cardiovascular specialist and what he said was basically lifestyle change is the only solution (don’t stand for long time, don’t sit for a long time, wear compression socks etc.). However he also told that I should stop lifting weights. He specifically said increasing intra-abdominal pressure (valsalva maneuver) might speed up the process. He also said I should stop taking citrulline malate since it is widening blood vessels.

What would your advise be about this situation ? I’m not planning to stop lifting weights in near future since it’s helping many things in my life both physically and mentally, however what doctor said concerns me a little.

Kind regards,

Varicose veins in the legs are a mostly cosmetic concern, and are not dangerous. As a result, advising someone to stop an activity with wide-ranging health benefits like resistance exercise simply due to a theoretical concern it may contribute to a cosmetic issue is very shortsighted, in our opinion.

Hello again Austin,

Firstly, thanks for your answer, it was actually what I needed to hear. Secondly, related to citrulline malate question, I read some stuff online which saying citrulline malate might even help varicose veins since it’s helping blood flow. Any opinion on that ? Should I stop taking it ?

Regards,