Lifting heavier but weighing the same..?

Hausisse1

Hi! So as the title suggests I've been able to lift heavier as I get stronger and better at it- and I can even see muscles developing- although I weigh the same. I'm not trying to lose weight or gain weight necessarily, but building muscle would be nice- and as I understand it if I were building muscle I'd be gaining weight. I dunno. Why might this be?

thesupremeforce

Lifting heavier doesn't always mean muscle gain. If you're seeing more muscles without a weight change, it's possibly (probably?) a body re-composition situation. It's a slow process, but it happens.

Hausisse1

thesupremeforce wrote: »

Lifting heavier doesn't always mean muscle gain. If you're seeing more muscles without a weight change, it's possibly (probably?) a body re-composition situation. It's a slow process, but it happens.

That makes sense. Thank you!

nossmf

There are three ways to lift heavier:

1. More muscle
2. More efficient use of the muscle you already have (neuro-muscular connection)
3. Better form technique

Note only one of these actually involves getting any bigger, and as pointed out it could be accompanied by a loss of body fat at the same time so even that may not actually involve gaining weight.

SonyaCele

being female you aren't just gonna start packing on pounds of muscle.

Hausisse1

nossmf wrote: »

There are three ways to lift heavier:

1. More muscle
2. More efficient use of the muscle you already have (neuro-muscular connection)
3. Better form technique

Note only one of these actually involves getting any bigger, and as pointed out it could be accompanied by a loss of body fat at the same time so even that may not actually involve gaining weight.

Oooh, I didn't think about the latter two things. True. Thank you!

Hausisse1

SonyaCele wrote: »

being female you aren't just gonna start packing on pounds of muscle.

Fair point!

vinerie

I'm in the same boat. I do know that heavy lifting results in micro-tears to your muscles, and muscles will hold on to water as part of the repair process. I've noticed my loss is in big bursts (whooshes) about once or twice a month. My sense is this is from the body letting go of water following recovery. Stay super hydrated and you may see that drop. If you are lifting and eating at a deficit, you are burning fat. The scale may be deceiving due to the water/recovery issue.

ninerbuff

Neuromuscular adaptation.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition