We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

Heavy lifting equals weight gain?

TheRealParisLove
TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I lifted heavy yesterday (Friday) and am quite sore today. I also gained 1.2 lbs overnight. Are these things related? I can't imagine that I am retaining water after sweating as much as I did yesterday. I'm pretty new to the heavy lifting exercises, I've been doing high reps and low weights or cardio only for most of my adult life with a few "bulking" periods thrown in, in my 20's.

How do other's bodies respond to this shift in training? I'm just curious about what to expect.

Replies

  • MrsBully4
    MrsBully4 Posts: 304 Member
    Muscles retain water to repair themselves. It's normal.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    I lifted heavy yesterday (Friday) and am quite sore today. I also gained 1.2 lbs overnight. Are these things related? I can't imagine that I am retaining water after sweating as much as I did yesterday. I'm pretty new to the heavy lifting exercises, I've been doing high reps and low weights or cardio only for most of my adult life with a few "bulking" periods thrown in, in my 20's.

    How do other's bodies respond to this shift in training? I'm just curious about what to expect.

    It's water retention- after intentense or unfamiliar exercises, the body retains INTRAMUSCULAR fluid, which helps protect and heal the muscle. It's not like bloating where its all over the body- it's localized to the muscle, but shows up on the scale. Doesn't feel anything like sodium or TOM bloating. Don't worry about the weight gain, It will go away on its own eventually.
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    water weight.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    I "gained" 5lbs after a hard 50km bike ride......water weight, back to normal a couple of days later.
  • jjefferies7
    jjefferies7 Posts: 120
    NT
  • Yanicka1
    Yanicka1 Posts: 4,564 Member
    Weight gain does not equal fat gain.

    I suggest you use a measuring tape in addition of the scale
  • 2hobbit1
    2hobbit1 Posts: 820 Member
    The day after any heavy exercise the muscles that were effected retain water as part of their repair/rebuild process. This is totally normal. The water will release as they recover. It is very typical to hold an extra pound or two after a heavy lifting session. Have you checked out the strong lifts 5 x 5 group here Lot of good info on the program there.
    Most lifters weigh the morning before a session rather than the day after. Make sure your getting enough protein to help build strength - at least 1gm per pound of lean body mass is usually recommended.

    Congrats on your shift to heavy lifting! Make sure you get your before measurements to track as you might not see a lot of movement on the scale but you should see improvement on your shape and tone.
  • jaysonhijinx
    jaysonhijinx Posts: 663 Member
    Weight gain does not equal fat gain.

    I suggest you use a measuring tape in addition of the scale

    Concur with the above! Taking measurements will give you another means of tracking progress. My weight goes up and down in small fluctuations but my measurements are trending the way they should.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    Thanks for the replies! I didn't think it was either fat or muscle gain, as overnight seems very unlikely for either to happen (but wouldn't it be great to gain a pound of muscle over night?).

    I'm going to do cardio for the next couple of days, and then have another heavy lifting day again on Monday. As sore as I am today, I'm considering adding in some supplements to speed healing. I already take whey protein and alpha lipoic acid, daily. I've tried creatine in the past and that stuff left me with upset stomach, so I'm not going there again.

    I am open to suggestions about what works and what doesn't. I'm on a student's budget, so I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on supplements every month. :flowerforyou:
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
    The day after any heavy exercise the muscles that were effected retain water as part of their repair/rebuild process. This is totally normal. The water will release as they recover. It is very typical to hold an extra pound or two after a heavy lifting session. Have you checked out the strong lifts 5 x 5 group here Lot of good info on the program there.
    Most lifters weigh the morning before a session rather than the day after. Make sure your getting enough protein to help build strength - at least 1gm per pound of lean body mass is usually recommended.

    Congrats on your shift to heavy lifting! Make sure you get your before measurements to track as you might not see a lot of movement on the scale but you should see improvement on your shape and tone.

    I measured last Tuesday, and will make that my measurement day. I like to weight daily, as it keeps me motivated if either a gain or loss.

    I will definitely check out the strong lifts 5x5 group! Thanks for the tip!
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Thanks for the replies! I didn't think it was either fat or muscle gain, as overnight seems very unlikely for either to happen (but wouldn't it be great to gain a pound of muscle over night?).

    I'm going to do cardio for the next couple of days, and then have another heavy lifting day again on Monday. As sore as I am today, I'm considering adding in some supplements to speed healing. I already take whey protein and alpha lipoic acid, daily. I've tried creatine in the past and that stuff left me with upset stomach, so I'm not going there again.

    I am open to suggestions about what works and what doesn't. I'm on a student's budget, so I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on supplements every month. :flowerforyou:
    Protein and water will do the bulk of the work. You can try L-glutamine if you want additional help- it's cheap and effective.
  • Birddog6424
    Birddog6424 Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks for the replies! I didn't think it was either fat or muscle gain, as overnight seems very unlikely for either to happen (but wouldn't it be great to gain a pound of muscle over night?).

    I'm going to do cardio for the next couple of days, and then have another heavy lifting day again on Monday. As sore as I am today, I'm considering adding in some supplements to speed healing. I already take whey protein and alpha lipoic acid, daily. I've tried creatine in the past and that stuff left me with upset stomach, so I'm not going there again.

    I am open to suggestions about what works and what doesn't. I'm on a student's budget, so I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on supplements every month. :flowerforyou:
    Protein and water will do the bulk of the work. You can try L-glutamine if you want additional help- it's cheap and effective.

    Glutamine has long since been debunked scientifically for having beneficial impact on muscle soreness. It does however show a lot of good data on maintaining a healthy immunological system. So there is benefit there.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Thanks for the replies! I didn't think it was either fat or muscle gain, as overnight seems very unlikely for either to happen (but wouldn't it be great to gain a pound of muscle over night?).

    I'm going to do cardio for the next couple of days, and then have another heavy lifting day again on Monday. As sore as I am today, I'm considering adding in some supplements to speed healing. I already take whey protein and alpha lipoic acid, daily. I've tried creatine in the past and that stuff left me with upset stomach, so I'm not going there again.

    I am open to suggestions about what works and what doesn't. I'm on a student's budget, so I can't afford to spend hundreds of dollars on supplements every month. :flowerforyou:
    Protein and water will do the bulk of the work. You can try L-glutamine if you want additional help- it's cheap and effective.

    Glutamine has long since been debunked scientifically for having beneficial impact on muscle soreness. It does however show a lot of good data on maintaining a healthy immunological system. So there is benefit there.

    I'm unaware of glutamine being debunked "scientifically" as a recovery aid but always open to new developments in sports nutrition! Can you provide the research?
  • jjefferies7
    jjefferies7 Posts: 120
    glutamine supplementation has already been proven to be ineffective. it's a waste of money.

    EDIT: studies for you


    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11822473
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17111006
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11834123
    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17618004
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    As you get more used to lifting, you will be less sore and have just a general feeling that the muscles were worked the next day. As others have mentioned, the gain was you muscles storing water and glycogen for recovery and repair. MoreBean has posted a thread on this and I'm attatching a link from Lyle McDonald but whole milk is a great recovery food. It has a great balance of protein fats and carbs as well as IGH-1 which has shown a correlation with improved recovery and protein systhesis for muscle repair.
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/milk-the-new-sports-drink-a-review-research-review.html
  • CoderGal
    CoderGal Posts: 6,800 Member
    heavy lifting + calorie deficit = muscle repair = temporary weight fluctuations = weight loss over all + long term hotness
This discussion has been closed.

Categories