Female lifters, building muscle in the first week?

Jersey_Devil

this is one of my favorite upper body lifting type exercises:

step 1: take scale out back
step 2: grab a heavy sledge hammer
step 3: swing sledger hammer repeatedly at scale

or you can put a sledgehammer in both hands and alternate chopping... great core workout!

Cait_Sidhe

As muscles tear they retain water to heal. The extra weight is fluid, not fat or muscle.

AggieCass09

you need to give it more than a week. Make sure you are eating sufficient protein (like 0.7-1x your body weight in grams each day) and ignore the scale for a few more weeks. I bet your clothes will start fitting better!

here is why i dont trust the scale: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/AggieCass09/view/3-months-of-crossfit-with-comparison-pics-249749

AlsDonkBoxSquat

this is one of my favorite upper body lifting type exercises:

step 1: take scale out back
step 2: grab a heavy sledge hammer
step 3: swing sledger hammer repeatedly at scale

or you can put a sledgehammer in both hands and alternate chopping... great core workout!

you can also celebrate the smashing of the scale by raising it above your head and repeatedly lift it up and down while jumping . . . I hear this is a complex move.

JennieAL

In the first week, it's water & glycogen... like others have stated.

Just FYI, I gained 3 or so lbs and held onto them for 3 months as I introduced myself to weight lifting. Only when I took a two week break from it did I drop some water weight and the scale moved just a little. It's not so much about the scale now that you're lifting (not saying you aren't going to lose weight, if you have more weight to lose, you certainly will) but it's going to change the composition of your body now... you will lose fat & gain a little muscle. The scale may not reflect this shift until further down the road. Just understand that you are burning fat while adding muscle (and water & glycogen) so you have to realize all that makes up "weight" now.

Elizabeth_C34

Probably water retention (and maybe glycogen but I'm not clear on this). You will probably gain a tiny bit of muscle from "newbie" gains but probably not anything measurable yet.

this.

Eclaire32

It is true you are gaining water right now but it will quickly change to an exchange of fat for muscle if you stick with it. Only use the scale once a month then once a week after about 8 weeks. It takes time but losing too fast isn't healthy so do it right so you can keep it off. It's a lifestyle change, not just a quick fix when done correctly. Good luck and keep up the hard work. We are all with you!:bigsmile:

DopeItUp

To be fair, the same volume of muscle does weigh more than the same volume of fat.

It bothers me when people try to say muscle does not weigh more than fat, because it does from the reference point from which most people approach the subject.

If you don't use an appropriate frame of reference, you can make pretty much any weight comparison you want.

Elephants weigh less than humans when you have a very large group of humans compared to two baby elephants. Volume is the only consistent way we think about weight for comparison purposes. Because of this, it is totally fine and accurate to say that muscle weighs more than fat.

Yes, of course, but I wouldn't waste your time. It's a common trolling theme to start the whole "muscle doesn't weigh more than fat!" thing. Only a moron or troll would try to make such a claim.

TrainingWithTonya

Never, ever, ever weigh yourself for the first 6 weeks on a new weight lifting program. The first 2 physiological responses in the body to weight lifting are (in this order) 1. Neurological adaptations to recruit more muscle fibers to be able to lift more and 2. Glycogen storage in the muscle (in 3 times as much water as glycogen) in order to have adequate fuel for future workouts. You are not building muscle fibers for at least 6 months after you start training. Any increases in weight are from the glycogen storage and the water that it has to be stored with in the muscle. This is a required step in order to eventually build actual muscle fibers, so don't think that you need to stop that storage or lose the "water weight" associated with lifting. Unfortunately, it takes a lot more time and effort to burn body fat then it does to store glycogen and water, so the scale goes up at first. This happens with any good weight lifting program. So, like I said before, never, ever, ever weigh yourself for the first 6 weeks on a new weight lifting program!

doubglass

Oh, where to start.

1. weigh yourself on the same scale, at the same time of day. either first thing in the morning or or after your workout.
2. chart your weight and ignore the fluctuations. What counts is the overall trend.
3. also keep tabs of your waist measurement and hips to waist chest ratios. These are probably more important to both your health and general appearance than your weight. While muscle doesn't weigh more than fat it makes you appear lighter than you are because it is denser and shows up in places that don't make you "look fat".

Jersey_Devil

this is one of my favorite upper body lifting type exercises:

step 1: take scale out back
step 2: grab a heavy sledge hammer
step 3: swing sledger hammer repeatedly at scale

or you can put a sledgehammer in both hands and alternate chopping... great core workout!

Yes, that qualifies it as a compound exercise

you can also celebrate the smashing of the scale by raising it above your head and repeatedly lift it up and down while jumping . . . I hear this is a complex move.

Mishka84

Read this...It will help explain HTH...

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/595473-why-the-scale-goes-up-with-a-new-workout-program-must-read

Thank you for this, wish I'd have read it sooner. :blushing:
Will definitely push through it and the scales are going in the cupboard.

Thanks for all your replies! :happy:

DixiedoesMFP

I've been lifting for about 3 months, in a slight caloric deficit. I've only lost maybe five pounds. I've gone down three pants sizes. Today, the 3rd person in 4 days commented on how much weight I've lost and how small I'm getting. In reality, only five pounds or so.

Stick with it. Put the scale in the closet.