What's The Down-Low on Gaining Muscle
OK. quick history:
I went from 144 lbs. to 116 lbs. over the course of about a year. I got as low as 114 lbs. I've been maintaining for about 9 months. Anyway, I joined the gym a month and a half ago and have been working out 4-6 times a week, and anywhere from 30 minutes - 90 minutes a workout. Two weeks ago I shot up to 122 lbs and I thought it was just water retention due to my period, but I'm still at 121 lbs. and my period ended a week ago. I've had several people tell me that I'm gaining muscle, but how legit is that? Yes, I realize muscle weighs more than fat, but is it realistic to gain 5 lbs. of muscle in 7 weeks?
hmmm... maybe none of you have ever gained muscle
five pounds in seven weeks is possible but highly unlikely. you'd have to be eating tons of food in order to pull that off.
to me, it seems most likely that it's still water gain (particularly if you're new to strength training).
Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Pounds are pounds. If you are gaining weight that quickly probably not muscle but fluid and water retention or a combination of weight and muscle. You do retain more water when lifting. What is your strength training workout like? Are you eating more salt than normal? Have you added any additional foods to your diet that are out of the ordinary?
Sounds like water, most pro bodybuilders that are all juiced up only gain about 5-7 pounds of just muscle in about a year if they are lucky. I would suggest not worrying about how much you weigh, and focus on how you look in the mirror. No body is going to look at you as say. she looks like she weighs 122, they will say wow she looks great. So don't worry too much about the weight.
Exactly. That is a hard thing to do especially for girls. If you are adding muscle but decreasing fat you can weigh the same but you are building muscle and toning up. Go by how your clothes feel and how your body looks. Don't weigh yourself more than once a week and do it fist thing in the morning after you use the restroom, before you eat breakfast.
Original Post by marmarl:
hmmm... maybe none of you have ever gained muscle
Nope, none of us
Listen to Bodyscience - trust your eyes and how you feel, not the scale. It's something I'm trying to do myself by the way: I look great at 117 but would love to be able to maintain the 114/115 that I sometimes weigh (I'm short, which means that a few extra pounds really show). If I focus too much on the scale I get frustrated. My body, however, looks and feels strong and healthy. Weight training is one of the best things you can do for your body and your overall health, in my humble opinion.
In terms of the weight gain, I have been lifting weights for years - both to build muscle and stregnth for competitive sports and to decrease my body mass after I quit playing competitive rugby and didn't want the mass to turn to fat. My body STILL retains water after a heavy workout or when I use a muscle group in a way that I'm not used to. I don't believe you're gaining fat weight, nor is it very likely that it is all muscle. You'll probably find that in a few weeks time your body will get back to its usual weight.
Yes it is realistic, when you start off weight training you should get very good gains in the first 5 months, I gain 30kg in a year with only 4percent fat addage
Ah, if only it were that easy to gain that much muscle. When I gained 10 pounds over 8 months, I liked to believe it was because I was lifting heavier. Turns out it was fat, and now I'm on a calorie deficit, dropping weight and seeing some real definition due to my heavier lifting.
Yay!
Original Post by littleshellys:
Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Pounds are pounds. If you are gaining weight that quickly probably not muscle but fluid and water retention or a combination of weight and muscle. You do retain more water when lifting. What is your strength training workout like? Are you eating more salt than normal? Have you added any additional foods to your diet that are out of the ordinary?
While it's true that 5 lbs is 5 lbs wether it be muscle or fat, there is some truth to the muscle weighs more than fat. If you have sample of fat and a sample of muscle each with the same volume, the muscle will weigh more because it is denser.
So to put it another way, 5 lbs of fat takes up more space than 5 lbs of muscle.
I just wanted to clear that up.
Original Post by strikerzerox:
Original Post by littleshellys:
Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Pounds are pounds. If you are gaining weight that quickly probably not muscle but fluid and water retention or a combination of weight and muscle. You do retain more water when lifting. What is your strength training workout like? Are you eating more salt than normal? Have you added any additional foods to your diet that are out of the ordinary?
While it's true that 5 lbs is 5 lbs wether it be muscle or fat, there is some truth to the muscle weighs more than fat. If you have sample of fat and a sample of muscle each with the same volume, the muscle will weigh more because it is denser.
So to put it another way, 5 lbs of fat takes up more space than 5 lbs of muscle.
I just wanted to clear that up.
True but weight and volume are two different things.
Original Post by littleshellys:
Original Post by strikerzerox:
Original Post by littleshellys:
Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Pounds are pounds. If you are gaining weight that quickly probably not muscle but fluid and water retention or a combination of weight and muscle. You do retain more water when lifting. What is your strength training workout like? Are you eating more salt than normal? Have you added any additional foods to your diet that are out of the ordinary?
While it's true that 5 lbs is 5 lbs wether it be muscle or fat, there is some truth to the muscle weighs more than fat. If you have sample of fat and a sample of muscle each with the same volume, the muscle will weigh more because it is denser.
So to put it another way, 5 lbs of fat takes up more space than 5 lbs of muscle.
I just wanted to clear that up.
True but weight and volume are two different things.
Yes, but what I am trying to say is that a person that weighs 160 and is 30% body fat will be bigger and in worse health than a person that weighs 170 and is 15% body fat. The 170 may be heavier, but will look skinnier. And we are assuming these people are the same height.
So people need to stop worrying about body weight and need to start focusing on body composition.
Original Post by strikerzerox:
Original Post by littleshellys:
Original Post by strikerzerox:
Original Post by littleshellys:
Muscle does not weigh more than fat. Pounds are pounds. If you are gaining weight that quickly probably not muscle but fluid and water retention or a combination of weight and muscle. You do retain more water when lifting. What is your strength training workout like? Are you eating more salt than normal? Have you added any additional foods to your diet that are out of the ordinary?
While it's true that 5 lbs is 5 lbs wether it be muscle or fat, there is some truth to the muscle weighs more than fat. If you have sample of fat and a sample of muscle each with the same volume, the muscle will weigh more because it is denser.
So to put it another way, 5 lbs of fat takes up more space than 5 lbs of muscle.
I just wanted to clear that up.
True but weight and volume are two different things.
Yes, but what I am trying to say is that a person that weighs 160 and is 30% body fat will be bigger and in worse health than a person that weighs 170 and is 15% body fat. The 170 may be heavier, but will look skinnier. And we are assuming these people are the same height.
So people need to stop worrying about body weight and need to start focusing on body composition.
I agree with that. It is about fat loss. You can be at a good weight and still have too much fat. I don't focus on the scale, I focus on body fat% and how I feel.
idk maybe im a freak but for someone who just started weight lifting results are obtained pretty easy.. Granted that some of the 5Lbs is water weight, but in 7 weeks its totaly possibly to gain 3 lbs of muscle.. As for bodybuilders all juiced up gaining 7 lbs a year.. May be true but cant compair them to us... as they have far surpassed there natural limit, the better shape your in the harder it is to progress... some one weighing 450lbs will lose weight just by walking a mile a day.. as for a marathon runner wouldnt see any results to walking a mile a day..
As for myself iv restarted weight lifting 6-8 months ago and have seen like a 20 lb increase in my weight.. given 5 or so pounds is gained fat... I went from benching 205 to 310... so if your dedicated you can gain faster than people say
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