muscles

butterfly4u2us
butterfly4u2us Posts: 39
edited September 18 in Fitness and Exercise
I know that muscle weighs more than fat. So you do strength traing to build up your muscles. So when you get on the scale you may gain a pound because muscle weighs more than fat. So how are you suppose to reach your goal weight?

Replies

  • butterfly4u2us
    butterfly4u2us Posts: 39
    I know that muscle weighs more than fat. So you do strength traing to build up your muscles. So when you get on the scale you may gain a pound because muscle weighs more than fat. So how are you suppose to reach your goal weight?
  • shorerider
    shorerider Posts: 3,817 Member
    Muscle does not "weigh' more than fat. It is heavier by volume than fat--meaning, it takes less muscle to weigh a pound than it take fat to weigh a pound.

    And, you lose weight while gaining muscle for many reasons.

    ---you will probably not gain as much muscle as fat you lose

    --the more muscle you gain, the better. Muscle burns energy almost continuously, from what I understand, so even when not working out, your muscle will be burning calories. not so with fat.

    Others will chime in here, too, I'm sure
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    Why not think of a "goal size"? Or a range of a "goal weight" (mine is between 135 and 140). If you go after a "magic number", too many factors come into play.

    It is, in reality very difficult to gain muscle weight. And yes, muscle isn't "heavier" than fat, a pound is a pound, but muscle takes up less space. The visual I was once given is a pound of muscle might be proportionately like a small tangerine, while a pound of fat is a grapefruit.

    I have a good friend who weighs less than I do, but I am smaller than her. So, weight is not everything.:flowerforyou:
  • flachix
    flachix Posts: 256 Member
    viviakay has a very good observation. I believe a pound is a pound of course. and a pound of foam rubber weighs the same as a pound of lead.
    BUT if you take one square inch of foam rubber and one square inch of lead. the lead is heavier so, that tells us lead is heavier or weighs more than foam rubber. its the same with muscle it weighs twice as much as fat. (per equal volume) so a hundred pound woman made of muscle and a hundred pound woman made of fat would not be the same size. what size would you like to be? there are hundreds of charts that tell you what a healthy and safe fat to muscle ratio would be. check them out and see what is best for your health. I am currently almost 50% fat ugh. :noway: and am trying to reduce that by half. setting a weight goal is an easy way to measure your success. and as you work out with weight training you will be adding muscle, which, BTW burns twice as many calories as fat. so, if your goal is 150 pounds stick to that. stay with the weights and when all is said and done you will actually be smaller than you expect. and healthier. I have seen 125 pound women who are flabby and still not healthy or in shape. just thinner. you can do this. don't let the idea of getting "bulky" or adding too much muscle scare you. it won't happen. good journey. :heart:
  • butterfly4u2us
    butterfly4u2us Posts: 39
    Thank you! I just got scaed because when I exercise with weights or anything that builds muscle my pants gets tighter and the scale says that I have gained.I know that it is muscle because I have sticked to my calories. I can feel the bulk.which I want to be firm and toned but I want to weigh a certain weight and be toned.I have a certain weight in my head because when I weighed that I looked good.
  • lotusfromthemud
    lotusfromthemud Posts: 5,335 Member
    Make sure that you are including stretching into your workouts. I was skimping on this, and my pants (in the thighs) started to get tight. I went for a massage, and all of a sudden, my pants were looser. This encouraged me to re-incorporate stretching. So, make sure you're stretching after you do weights, it makes a difference.
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
    yes viv! stretching is so under rated!

    muscles require that they be stretched out, or it wont take very much exercise to realize how tight your muscles have become!

    Stretching is just as important as the exercise itself, if you want the new (awesome) muscles you have built to appear lean!

    thanks for bringing this up, as i believe it is under-discussed!
  • butterfly4u2us
    butterfly4u2us Posts: 39
    maybe that is it because i do not streach.
  • flachix
    flachix Posts: 256 Member
    YES, definately stretch, stretch first to warm up your muscles before you add weights and then after to relax them from the workout. I have just discovered Pilates, and I really like it. I haven't noticed a lot of difference in the shape of my muscles yet, because its only been a week and I can't do most of the exercises at the level they show on tape, but I can feel what I do and I feel a lot better when I am done. even if you did no other exercise, you should still stretch. at 54 I am not as flexible as I used to be, but much more so than a few months ago even.
  • iluvsparkles
    iluvsparkles Posts: 1,730 Member
    i do pilates also, and let me just say , IT ROCKS! Some of the moves are diffucult, but some of them i just CANT WAIT to acheive! But stretching is a must!
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