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Thread: gaining muscle weight?

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    Default gaining muscle weight?

    This may sound obvious, but I can't understand why I look the same-ish, but weigh about four pounds more lately. I haven't been eating too much, and I've been working out like a mad woman (too much perhaps, because here I am, awake once more after only 4 hours sleep- too much cardio inexplicably gives me insomnia, but I am addicted). So I measured myself, and I've lost half an inch off my waist. So this is gaining muscle maybe? Or my scale is broken? I don't know why I would be gaining muscle since I'm not really doing strength training (such a muscular build already), though maybe power yoga is enough. My question- can you gain muscle mass from just cardio and yoga and dancing? I don't get it. I'm trying to lose weight, but so long as I'm smaller?

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    Featured Member MadisonM's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    I would think you're probably gaining muscle, especially if you've lost 1/2 inch in your waist. You're losing fat, but gaining muscle. After a while, you'll start to look leaner from the muscle you're gaining, even though the scale may say you weigh more. I'm going through this same thing. Normally I weigh between 110-115, but I got weighed at the doctor last Friday, and the scale said 121. I've been working out a lot more than normal, and can tell I've toned up a lot in my stomach and legs, so the extra 6lbs on the scale must be muscle.
    Take the road less traveled- just make sure you have a map.

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    Member Zanestrip's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    Sounds like but seems a bit odd that you would be gaining much muscle if you are getting [email protected]#K all sleep and doing heaps of cardio. Not really the best combination for muscle gain.

    Sassy~n~Sexy should be able to shed some more light on it though.
    Zanestrip
    New Zealand

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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    Well I usually get sleep. Just once in a while I wake up way too early cuz I didn't eat enough. Actually, I'll go 10+ hours a night for several days in a row, then drop to 6 or less a couple days, then back up. Don't know why. I probably should also move somewhere quieter.

    But my muscles are sore quite often? Is that a sign? This sounds obsessive. Maybe my scale is broken.

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    Member Zanestrip's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    10 hours is a good amount of sleep.

    Muscles are sore because they have been damaged. When we workout and work the muscles, we are tearing them, then when they repair they grow. That's why we need recovery time between working out muscles. I specifically only work each muscle once a week.
    Zanestrip
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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    You are probably gaining muscle mass. You should make sure that you are eating/intaking enough protein to aid in muscle repair and recovery. Sleeping for 10 hours is excessive, though. You may need to retrain your body to sleep for 8 hours a day. There is a study out that says sleeping too much or too little at a time can cause problems.

    Anyways...if you are losing inches but gaining weight, then you are gaining lean muscle mass. So, don't worry too much about it.

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    Featured Member thechaosfairy's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    There's another study that says the health/repair benefits of getting enough sleep do not stop at "enough," and that extra hours can kick off some kind of advanced repair mode. Too little sleep initiates aging processes even in the very young, and too much slows them down. It also slows everything else down, IME. I've taken twelve-hour naps and woken up super-groggy. But I seem to need them at least once a month to stay healthy. :-)

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    Senior Member Sassy~n~Sexy's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    Your gaining muscle...power yoga puts muscle on...it's a great workout!

    How much cardio are you doing? Are you mixing it up (bike,running,stairs)?

    Your muscles become 'sore' when you tear the muscle...which is normal...if there si swelling or prolonged tenderness then you need to cut back on the cradio. Your muscle needs to 'tear' in order for it grow....think of it like this...that protein your putting in your body (and I do hope your eating a good ammount) is forming a little bridge between that tear in your muscle and healing it.

    I'm curious to hear how much cardio your doing, what time of day and what your food intake is.....
    "Just hold me close boy 'cause I'm your tiny dancer"

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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    How much more than fat does muscle weigh? I feel like I'm the same size as when I started weight training a little over a year ago but I weigh more.

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    Senior Member Sassy~n~Sexy's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    1 lb of muscle= 1 lb of fat

    Fat takes up more space....that's why it's better to go by body measurements then by what the scale reads

    1 lb of fat is equal to 3500 calories! YUCK!

    1 lbs of fat burns 2 calories a day, 1 lb of muscle can burn 50 calories a day
    "Just hold me close boy 'cause I'm your tiny dancer"

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    Featured Member aviendha's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    One thing to keep in mind is that it takes quite a long time to put on muscle--months of regular exercise, especially for women. But what *doesn't* take a long time is water retention. When you exercise your muscles, they become pumped (or 'toned'), firmer and more visible. Water is what provides that pump. That's why when you stop working out for a few weeks, you lose a couple pounds and look less toned.

    So, it's probably water pumping up your muscles. I wouldn't worry--tone is good! But you may want to lighten up on the cardio a bit just to make sure you don't lose muscle mass. An hour a day is plenty, especially since you're doing other exercise and dancing in addition.

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    Senior Member Sassy~n~Sexy's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    It actually doesn't take months to put on muscle weight. And she is doing power yoga and plenty of cardio...she also lost on her waist...if there was 'water gain' she would also be 'bloated'

    You gain water weight in your muscles when you use things like creatine when working out...that will put water in your muscles.

    But someone as fit and active as herself can put on muscle quickly. Muscle has 'memory'...that is why people that do stop working out can eventually get the same gains as the once had when they start working out again.It takes months to build muscle if you have never lifted a weight before.

    As for losings a few pounds when you stop working out...you are actually losing some muscle not water weight. (kind of like people saying 'muscle turns to fat' WRONG!)

    I spent 4 years in University studying my ass of so I could help people and provide accurate information...to move here and find out that you can go to school for 2 days and be a personal trainer and provide nutritional advise and make the same ammount of money as I do.NUTS!

    I'm a Nutritionist...I have a double major (Human Kinetics/Sports Nutrition) and I attended a very top notch school. Not some online crap.

    Please becareful when providing any nutritional or workout information. If you don't have a degree please state that you have read it somewhere or it's something you heard because providing information about someone's health without credentials could put someone is danger.

    Just my 2 cents and 4 years of University later.

    *adding to this...I don't want to sound like I'm being a bitch and this is not directed at anyone on here. I'm disappointed with how so many people try to make money by writing a bunch of garbage diet books and then push them on the public...they are feelding people with very bad information. Why do you think 'diets' fail? I just want people to know what works, what's backed by science and what will help them long term. So this post is not meant to be attacking...I just don't want anyone on here to think books or websites are sources of good information. That is why there is dieticians and nutritionists...we are highly educated and we have to be licensed to practice.*
    Last edited by Sassy~n~Sexy; 05-31-2006 at 10:45 PM.
    "Just hold me close boy 'cause I'm your tiny dancer"

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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    Sounds good to me, and that explains why even though it took years of working out for me to gain a muscular appearance (I am genetically the wiry, lean type), it generally takes about three weeks to bounce back immediately if I do it seriously.

    Some of those power yoga routines are pretty strenuous and would definitely help. There's one I still use occasionally that's very tough to do.

    Dancing will definitely make women lose fat and gain muscle, depending on how often they go onstage and how hard they push it when they do--and to some extent genetic disposition. Even certain kinds of cardio will slowly but surely add muscle, though it is more effective at removing fat.
    You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star.
    Friedrich Nietzsche

    Free your mind, and your ass will follow.
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    I worked at farm full time every summer and 16 hours a week throughout the rest of the year, ages 13-18, plus I did a year and a half of competitive wrestling and running- so yeah, I've got a predisposition to put on muscle I think (guys at work comment a lot on my biceps- they're just there forever I think).

    It's a few years later, but I'm back at the running (between 3-5 miles a day, but I dip down to walking 4.2 miles per hour on a high treadmill incline if I get any twinge of shin splints). In addition to this I do 20-30 min of intervals on the stairmaster or bike, about as much as my quads can handle, and the yoga 5x a week. (so on average I burn between 500-900 calories a day, usually around 700, just from the cardio machines and running, plus yoga, plus I'm dancing fulltime for the first time ever- throughout the school year I was only dancing 2, maybe 3x a week). Plus I walk around a lot, being without a car and abhorrent of buses.

    I was eating around 1500 calories a day, but I've upped it to 1800 because I was waking up (like this morning) starving out of my mind. How much should I be eating? I guess I don't care what I weigh, but I want to lose another two inches off my waist because my hips are so damn narrow (I'm naturally not so pear shaped). I've also noticed my ribs are showing more than they used to in the mirrors at work, so I am less and less trusting my scale.

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    Quote Originally Posted by FrustratedBunny
    How much more than fat does muscle weigh? I feel like I'm the same size as when I started weight training a little over a year ago but I weigh more.
    I always used this descriptor with my clients. Take 1 pound of lean meat (with no fat on it) and put it against one thigh. Then, take one pound of mini marshmallows and put it against the other thigh. It's the same WEIGHT...but the "size" is vastly different.

    And, that's the difference between 1 lb of lean muscle and 1 lb of fat.

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    Senior Member Sassy~n~Sexy's Avatar
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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    VenusGoddess that is an EXCELLENT descriptor! And I'm sure a major wake up call for clients

    MollyZMoon running 3-5 miles a day is fine....lots of people do that. The extra 20-30 minutes od cardio is fine as long as your not doing back to back and you are listening to your body.

    Those calorie monitors on cardio equipment are pretty useless...it's just a rough est.

    Have you thought of buying a heart rate monitor? It is a much better way to monitor your workouts and also will help you to stay in an area where you are burning fat.

    With the ammount of cardio your doing and the power yoga...I think your fine at 1800 calories a day...but make sure you are eating enough protein!

    To get your protein intake follow this:

    Step 1:

    Take your body weight in pounds

    Example: 194 lbs

    Step 2:

    Find your body fat % (buy a skin fold caliper home test...you can find it online)

    Example: 15.7% (which is .157 for the step below)

    Step 3:

    Take your body weight in pounds and subtract the % body fat

    Example: 194 lbs - (194 x .157 = 30.45 lbs of fat) = 163.54 lbs of lean body weight

    Step 4:

    Take your lean body weight and multiply by 1.14

    Example: 163.54 lbs x 1.14 = 186.4g of protein a day

    Step 5:

    Divide your daily protein requirements by 5-6 meals and that is what your protein target is for each meal.

    Example: 186.4/6 meals = 31.07g of protein per meal

    But why use 1.14 for protein requirements?

    The RDA recommends .75g of protein. But that's been shown to be too low for active athletes.

    Some people recommend 2.0g of protein. But that seems a bit high and your body will have trouble absorbing that not to mention you will probably have a lot of excess calories which can lead to fat gains.

    1.14-1.5 is the most efficient range for most active, healthy adults. This range will help build muscle but not lead you into a high protein diet. Feel free to adjust within that range if you feel you need more protein.

    And try to eat your starchy carbs your first 2 meals of the day...and with your other meals 1 cup of veggies. (try to stay clear of carrots and corn...contain a high ammount of sugar).

    Drink plenty of water, avoid soda and watch your portion sizes...they tend to get ignored by people. And Americans have HUGE portion sizes...it's crazy!

    Keep a food journal and monitor your success. Buy a tape measure and log your measurements and adjust your diet as needed.

    You can get those 2 inches off your waist in no time!

    Let me know if you have anymore questions and Good Luck!
    "Just hold me close boy 'cause I'm your tiny dancer"

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    Default Re: gaining muscle weight?

    Thanks so much. This is good advice!

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