how do you lose weight without building muscle at the gym?

sam932
sam932 Posts: 14 Member
edited December 19 in Fitness and Exercise
this may be a stupid question but ive been going to the gym now 4-6 times a week for the past 4 months and have gained 9 pounds, which is probably all muscle but im not technically trying to gain muscle. i know that muscle naturally burns fat faster and easier so weight loss will be easier in the future but thats not the question here. I do lots of cardio ex: bike, elliptical, cross trainer.. but am i putting the resistance too high causing muscle gain? how do you just burn fat? lower resistance? :/

Replies

  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 743 Member
    I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
  • You have to eat more than you burn to build muscle and gain weight. You may wan to re-evaluate your diet plan and just how many cals you are recording for your exercise. Strength training alone will not automagically make you gain muscle and weight. Cardio and a cal deficit will put your body into a catabolic state, which makes it really hard to gain ..... unless your body isn't actually in a deficit that is.
    That being said, if you are looking better naked, and you're clothes/underwear no longer fits, then throw the scale away and keep doing what you're doing.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    sorry but you more than likely did not gain 6 pounds of muscle in that time.. your newbie gains will be 1-2 pounds AT MOST and then it will cap offf..

    it takes male bodybuilders approximately 2 years of hard work with heavy weights, specialized diets where they eat well over their maintenance , as well as supplements to gain 6 pounds of muscle in 2 years, so the odds of you gaining 6 pounds of muscle in 4 months (or 14 pounds in 2 months) is pretty much impossible unless you're taking a crap load of steroids.

    if you were gaining weight (and you're certain that it wasnt water retention) then it happened because you were eating more than you maintenance, not because of your exercise

    but to answer your question if you eat at a deficit then you wont gain muscle and can still work out with weights.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    this may be a stupid question but ive been going to the gym now 4-6 times a week for the past 4 months and have gained 9 pounds, which is probably all muscle but im not technically trying to gain muscle. i know that muscle naturally burns fat faster and easier so weight loss will be easier in the future but thats not the question here. I do lots of cardio ex: bike, elliptical, cross trainer.. but am i putting the resistance too high causing muscle gain? how do you just burn fat? lower resistance? :/
    Calorie deficit to lose fat. If you are on calorie deficit, then maybe a pound of it is muscle, but I truly doubt it's 9lbs. since it's practically impossible to gain muscle on a calorie deficit (with the exception of a couple of types of people).


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 743 Member
    I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'd be happy to share... Kidding.

    Who knows...It wasn't "fat" that's for sure. "fat" as in I was not becoming "fatty looking" or gaining sizes in clothes...I just started feeling "bulky" bloated and not like myself. (and I know bulky is a trigger word for debate...but it is how I felt...personally) Just trying to answer her question. I found that by reducing my gym time I started loosing...when I was going daily and burning tons and tons of calories I was gaining.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,024 Member
    I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'd be happy to share... Kidding.

    Who knows...It wasn't "fat" that's for sure. "fat" as in I was not becoming "fatty looking" or gaining sizes in clothes...I just started feeling "bulky" bloated and not like myself. (and I know bulky is a trigger word for debate...but it is how I felt...personally) Just trying to answer her question. I found that by reducing my gym time I started loosing...when I was going daily and burning tons and tons of calories I was gaining.
    When the demand for glycogen and water (for muscle repair) is reduced, then weight will go down. That's a given since the combination of glycogen and water being stored in muscle and liver can easily add up to 4-9lbs of weight depending on the size of the individual. Glycogen and water are stored in muscle and liver with the body's anticipation of "working" out if you've just completed a hard session.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • O2Bslimagain
    O2Bslimagain Posts: 120 Member
    You didn't mention if you were doing any strength training along with the cardio- It sounds like you are doing too much cardio. It is hard to give you some pointers if we don't know the whole story, so if you are lifting weights- how often?
  • I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'm not disputing the theory that a person can only gain a few lbs in a month, but I want to share my experience because I believe that I gained far more than that.

    When I was 21 years old, I was a former fit person. I went to a boarding school with a dance program and I loved to dance so I took as much as I could. I regularly danced 20 hours a week.

    By the time I was 21, I had lost most of that fitness. I rarely worked out even though I was still thin. I signed up for a wilderness leadership course, which was a month long program where we would travel 125 miles carrying packs across the mountains. The recommendation was that a person was supposed to prepare for the course for at least six months beforehand, but I didn't do that. I worked out a few times, but I was honestly unprepared for how strenuous the program was and I paid for it.

    It was a part of the program that we were weighed at the beginning and the end of the program and that on the last day we put on the clothes we had taken off on the first day, so there was that kind of measure of how differently our clothes fit and whether we had gained or lost weight.

    At the beginning of the program I weighed 104 lbs and my pants fit me. I would say that they were probably even a little tight in the waist. I carried an ~80 lb pack, so that would be ~80% of my weight. We hiked at least 8 hours a day, ~3,000 vertical feet per day, and rock climbed on our off days. The accumulated vertical feet was ~75,000, so you could say that would be approximately equivalent of taking 120,000 stair steps while carrying 80 lbs, except that would be a little easier since stairs are easier terrain. I ate like a pig. In fact, most of the other people taking the course had the manners not to complain outright, but I got the side-eye and some significant looks over how much I ate. One rude person told me I was going to get fat. I couldn't help it. I was hungry. I also felt no guilt. I knew I was a thin person and I didn't feel that their fat-shaming was appropriate. I felt sick that some of the other women who looked perfect and gorgeous to me complained about needing to lose weight. I thought that they were crazy.

    I was sore almost continuously. I was miserable. I was in pain from head to toe. I was the very definition of overtraining, but I had to keep going, so I did. Eventually, my body stopped hurting so much, so I was definitely becoming stronger and gaining endurance.

    At the end of the course, I weighed 118 lbs. Almost everyone else lost weight or stayed almost the same weight. When I put my clothes on, my pants were noticeably looser. I had gained 14 lbs and my body was as solid as a rock. I loved how I looked. I could twitch my big toe toe and a calf muscle would twitch in response. I loved that my legs were that muscular. I had become extremely fit in a very short time period, but I had put at least 200 hrs of extremely painful hard work into it!

    So, did I really gain as much muscle mass as I believe I did? It certainly seemed like it could not have been fat, given how extremely thin I was to begin with and how much smaller my waist was at the end. It doesn't seem plausible that I only gained 2 lbs of muscle mass. After all, I carry all my excess weight around my waist. It's where my fat cells like to party.
  • Toddrific
    Toddrific Posts: 1,114 Member
    I believe lifting and such without proper amounts of recovery will cause your body to sort of be..inflamed...for lack of a better word. Your body would be in a constant state of repair and therefore retains fluids and nutrients in order to do this. Try backing off to half as much lifting/work and see what happens?
  • I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'm not disputing the theory that a person can only gain a few lbs in a month, but I want to share my experience because I believe that I gained far more than that.

    When I was 21 years old, I was a former fit person. I went to a boarding school with a dance program and I loved to dance so I took as much as I could. I regularly danced 20 hours a week.

    By the time I was 21, I had lost most of that fitness. I rarely worked out even though I was still thin. I signed up for a wilderness leadership course, which was a month long program where we would travel 125 miles carrying packs across the mountains. The recommendation was that a person was supposed to prepare for the course for at least six months beforehand, but I didn't do that. I worked out a few times, but I was honestly unprepared for how strenuous the program was and I paid for it.

    It was a part of the program that we were weighed at the beginning and the end of the program and that on the last day we put on the clothes we had taken off on the first day, so there was that kind of measure of how differently our clothes fit and whether we had gained or lost weight.

    At the beginning of the program I weighed 104 lbs and my pants fit me. I would say that they were probably even a little tight in the waist. I carried an ~80 lb pack, so that would be ~80% of my weight. We hiked at least 8 hours a day, ~3,000 vertical feet per day, and rock climbed on our off days. The accumulated vertical feet was ~75,000, so you could say that would be approximately equivalent of taking 75,000 stair steps while wearing a 80 lb pack. I ate like a pig. In fact, most of the other people taking the course had the manners not to complain outright, but I got the side-eye and some significant looks over how much I ate. One rude person told me I was going to get fat. I couldn't help it. I was hungry. I also felt no guilt. I knew I was a thin person and I didn't feel that their fat-shaming was appropriate. I felt sick that some of the other women who looked perfect and gorgeous to me complained about needing to lose weight. I thought that they were crazy.

    I was sore almost continuously. I was miserable. I was in pain from head to toe. I was the very definition of overtraining, but I had to keep going, so I did. Eventually, my body stopped hurting so much, so I was definitely becoming stronger and gaining endurance.

    At the end of the course, I weighed 118 lbs. Almost everyone else lost weight or stayed almost the same weight. When I put my clothes on, my pants were noticeably looser. I had gained 14 lbs and my body was as solid as a rock. I loved how I looked. I could twitch my big toe toe and a calf muscle would twitch in response. I loved that my legs were that muscular. I had become extremely fit in a very short time period, but I had put at least 200 hrs of extremely painful hard work into it!

    So, did I really gain as much muscle mass as I believe I did? It certainly seemed like it could not have been fat, given how extremely thin I was to begin with and how much smaller my waist was at the end. It doesn't seem plausible that I only gained 2 lbs of muscle mass. After all, I carry all my excess weight around my waist. It's where my fat cells like to party.

    Some people are genetically pre-disposed to gaining/loosing fast, but the vast majority of people will not gain 14 pounds of muscle doing anything (without increased cals and "extra" help - like HGH) let alone humping all over the mountain ranges
    Bone density can also increase under loads and stress. So even though the scale will move up, it doesn't always mean muscle mass increase. Increased density in bone will increase weight with no noticeable increase in volume. Then if you're sore and stiff etc, your body will retain water. Muscle can also be gained but, it it is unlikely that the day or week after going from zero to high volume workout and seeing a big spike on the scale can be attributed to 100% muscle gain. I'd bet that a week or so after weighing in at 118 pounds, assuming you didn't gain extra weight from other sources (like eating more), that the scale went back down.
    There are times, after a really strenuous workout - like I just moved 10000+ pounds from ground to over head (this is cumulative) or a bunch of really heavy back squats and high volume push-ups and bench press. I will definitely see an increase in weight and some of my muscles are noticeably increased in volume (the pump but it lasts for a day or so). This will go away. The scale may move 6-7 pounds but it will go back with adequate rest and recovery.
  • I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'm not disputing the theory that a person can only gain a few lbs in a month, but I want to share my experience because I believe that I gained far more than that.

    When I was 21 years old, I was a former fit person. I went to a boarding school with a dance program and I loved to dance so I took as much as I could. I regularly danced 20 hours a week.

    By the time I was 21, I had lost most of that fitness. I rarely worked out even though I was still thin. I signed up for a wilderness leadership course, which was a month long program where we would travel 125 miles carrying packs across the mountains. The recommendation was that a person was supposed to prepare for the course for at least six months beforehand, but I didn't do that. I worked out a few times, but I was honestly unprepared for how strenuous the program was and I paid for it.

    It was a part of the program that we were weighed at the beginning and the end of the program and that on the last day we put on the clothes we had taken off on the first day, so there was that kind of measure of how differently our clothes fit and whether we had gained or lost weight.

    At the beginning of the program I weighed 104 lbs and my pants fit me. I would say that they were probably even a little tight in the waist. I carried an ~80 lb pack, so that would be ~80% of my weight. We hiked at least 8 hours a day, ~3,000 vertical feet per day, and rock climbed on our off days. The accumulated vertical feet was ~75,000, so you could say that would be approximately equivalent of taking 120,000 stair steps while carrying 80 lbs. I ate like a pig. In fact, most of the other people taking the course had the manners not to complain outright, but I got the side-eye and some significant looks over how much I ate. One rude person told me I was going to get fat. I couldn't help it. I was hungry. I also felt no guilt. I knew I was a thin person and I didn't feel that their fat-shaming was appropriate. I felt sick that some of the other women who looked perfect and gorgeous to me complained about needing to lose weight. I thought that they were crazy.

    I was sore almost continuously. I was miserable. I was in pain from head to toe. I was the very definition of overtraining, but I had to keep going, so I did. Eventually, my body stopped hurting so much, so I was definitely becoming stronger and gaining endurance.

    At the end of the course, I weighed 118 lbs. Almost everyone else lost weight or stayed almost the same weight. When I put my clothes on, my pants were noticeably looser. I had gained 14 lbs and my body was as solid as a rock. I loved how I looked. I could twitch my big toe toe and a calf muscle would twitch in response. I loved that my legs were that muscular. I had become extremely fit in a very short time period, but I had put at least 200 hrs of extremely painful hard work into it!

    So, did I really gain as much muscle mass as I believe I did? It certainly seemed like it could not have been fat, given how extremely thin I was to begin with and how much smaller my waist was at the end. It doesn't seem plausible that I only gained 2 lbs of muscle mass. After all, I carry all my excess weight around my waist. It's where my fat cells like to party.

    Some people are genetically pre-disposed to gaining/loosing fast, but the vast majority of people will not gain 14 pounds of muscle doing anything (without increased cals and "extra" help - like HGH) let alone humping all over the mountain ranges
    Bone density can also increase under loads and stress. So even though the scale will move up, it doesn't always mean muscle mass increase. Increased density in bone will increase weight with no noticeable increase in volume. Then if you're sore and stiff etc, your body will retain water. Muscle can also be gained but, it it is unlikely that the day or week after going from zero to high volume workout and seeing a big spike on the scale can be attributed to 100% muscle gain. I'd bet that a week or so after weighing in at 118 pounds, assuming you didn't gain extra weight from other sources (like eating more), that the scale went back down.
    There are times, after a really strenuous workout - like I just moved 10000+ pounds from ground to over head (this is cumulative) or a bunch of really heavy back squats and high volume push-ups and bench press. I will definitely see an increase in weight and some of my muscles are noticeably increased in volume (the pump but it lasts for a day or so). This will go away. The scale may move 6-7 pounds but it will go back with adequate rest and recovery.

    The weight didn't drop off me and my muscles didn't deflate a week later. I stayed really buff for a very long time. I loved it. I loved showing off my legs especially. It was great!

    Like I said, I did eat a lot more than anyone else, so I did have a significant increase in calories, and most of the other people didn't gain that weight, but they ate less than me and most of the other people started off being a lot more fit than I was. They were all athletes at the time. I started off as the weakest of the bunch and from my experience working out when I've had a period of inactivity, initial gains happen the fastest.
  • slkehl
    slkehl Posts: 3,801 Member
    sorry but you more than likely did not gain 6 pounds of muscle in that time.. your newbie gains will be 1-2 pounds AT MOST and then it will cap offf..

    This. Females can't build much muscle unless they have abnormally high levels of testosterone in their body or are on some sort of crazy body building plan. You may get stronger, but you won't get much actual muscle mass.
  • I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'm not disputing the theory that a person can only gain a few lbs in a month, but I want to share my experience because I believe that I gained far more than that.

    When I was 21 years old, I was a former fit person. I went to a boarding school with a dance program and I loved to dance so I took as much as I could. I regularly danced 20 hours a week.

    By the time I was 21, I had lost most of that fitness. I rarely worked out even though I was still thin. I signed up for a wilderness leadership course, which was a month long program where we would travel 125 miles carrying packs across the mountains. The recommendation was that a person was supposed to prepare for the course for at least six months beforehand, but I didn't do that. I worked out a few times, but I was honestly unprepared for how strenuous the program was and I paid for it.

    It was a part of the program that we were weighed at the beginning and the end of the program and that on the last day we put on the clothes we had taken off on the first day, so there was that kind of measure of how differently our clothes fit and whether we had gained or lost weight.

    At the beginning of the program I weighed 104 lbs and my pants fit me. I would say that they were probably even a little tight in the waist. I carried an ~80 lb pack, so that would be ~80% of my weight. We hiked at least 8 hours a day, ~3,000 vertical feet per day, and rock climbed on our off days. The accumulated vertical feet was ~75,000, so you could say that would be approximately equivalent of taking 120,000 stair steps while carrying 80 lbs. I ate like a pig. In fact, most of the other people taking the course had the manners not to complain outright, but I got the side-eye and some significant looks over how much I ate. One rude person told me I was going to get fat. I couldn't help it. I was hungry. I also felt no guilt. I knew I was a thin person and I didn't feel that their fat-shaming was appropriate. I felt sick that some of the other women who looked perfect and gorgeous to me complained about needing to lose weight. I thought that they were crazy.

    I was sore almost continuously. I was miserable. I was in pain from head to toe. I was the very definition of overtraining, but I had to keep going, so I did. Eventually, my body stopped hurting so much, so I was definitely becoming stronger and gaining endurance.

    At the end of the course, I weighed 118 lbs. Almost everyone else lost weight or stayed almost the same weight. When I put my clothes on, my pants were noticeably looser. I had gained 14 lbs and my body was as solid as a rock. I loved how I looked. I could twitch my big toe toe and a calf muscle would twitch in response. I loved that my legs were that muscular. I had become extremely fit in a very short time period, but I had put at least 200 hrs of extremely painful hard work into it!

    So, did I really gain as much muscle mass as I believe I did? It certainly seemed like it could not have been fat, given how extremely thin I was to begin with and how much smaller my waist was at the end. It doesn't seem plausible that I only gained 2 lbs of muscle mass. After all, I carry all my excess weight around my waist. It's where my fat cells like to party.

    Some people are genetically pre-disposed to gaining/loosing fast, but the vast majority of people will not gain 14 pounds of muscle doing anything (without increased cals and "extra" help - like HGH) let alone humping all over the mountain ranges
    Bone density can also increase under loads and stress. So even though the scale will move up, it doesn't always mean muscle mass increase. Increased density in bone will increase weight with no noticeable increase in volume. Then if you're sore and stiff etc, your body will retain water. Muscle can also be gained but, it it is unlikely that the day or week after going from zero to high volume workout and seeing a big spike on the scale can be attributed to 100% muscle gain. I'd bet that a week or so after weighing in at 118 pounds, assuming you didn't gain extra weight from other sources (like eating more), that the scale went back down.
    There are times, after a really strenuous workout - like I just moved 10000+ pounds from ground to over head (this is cumulative) or a bunch of really heavy back squats and high volume push-ups and bench press. I will definitely see an increase in weight and some of my muscles are noticeably increased in volume (the pump but it lasts for a day or so). This will go away. The scale may move 6-7 pounds but it will go back with adequate rest and recovery.

    The weight didn't drop off me and my muscles didn't deflate a week later. I stayed really buff for a very long time. I loved it. I loved showing off my legs especially. It was great!

    Like I said, I did eat a lot more than anyone else, so I did have a significant increase in calories, and most of the other people didn't gain that weight, but they ate less than me and most of the other people started off being a lot more fit than I was. They were all athletes at the time. I started off as the weakest of the bunch and from my experience working out when I've had a period of inactivity, initial gains happen the fastest.

    In your example, did you work out fairly strenuously about 25 hours a week?

    As I said, some people are genetically predisposed to gaining and bone density can increase. So you may be the exception to the rule.
    No, my workout example was for one workout only.
    Do you think that if you were to repeat what you did, from where you are now, that you'll gain another 14 pounds ?
    How much do you weigh now ?
  • I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'm not disputing the theory that a person can only gain a few lbs in a month, but I want to share my experience because I believe that I gained far more than that.

    When I was 21 years old, I was a former fit person. I went to a boarding school with a dance program and I loved to dance so I took as much as I could. I regularly danced 20 hours a week.

    By the time I was 21, I had lost most of that fitness. I rarely worked out even though I was still thin. I signed up for a wilderness leadership course, which was a month long program where we would travel 125 miles carrying packs across the mountains. The recommendation was that a person was supposed to prepare for the course for at least six months beforehand, but I didn't do that. I worked out a few times, but I was honestly unprepared for how strenuous the program was and I paid for it.

    It was a part of the program that we were weighed at the beginning and the end of the program and that on the last day we put on the clothes we had taken off on the first day, so there was that kind of measure of how differently our clothes fit and whether we had gained or lost weight.

    At the beginning of the program I weighed 104 lbs and my pants fit me. I would say that they were probably even a little tight in the waist. I carried an ~80 lb pack, so that would be ~80% of my weight. We hiked at least 8 hours a day, ~3,000 vertical feet per day, and rock climbed on our off days. The accumulated vertical feet was ~75,000, so you could say that would be approximately equivalent of taking 120,000 stair steps while carrying 80 lbs. I ate like a pig. In fact, most of the other people taking the course had the manners not to complain outright, but I got the side-eye and some significant looks over how much I ate. One rude person told me I was going to get fat. I couldn't help it. I was hungry. I also felt no guilt. I knew I was a thin person and I didn't feel that their fat-shaming was appropriate. I felt sick that some of the other women who looked perfect and gorgeous to me complained about needing to lose weight. I thought that they were crazy.

    I was sore almost continuously. I was miserable. I was in pain from head to toe. I was the very definition of overtraining, but I had to keep going, so I did. Eventually, my body stopped hurting so much, so I was definitely becoming stronger and gaining endurance.

    At the end of the course, I weighed 118 lbs. Almost everyone else lost weight or stayed almost the same weight. When I put my clothes on, my pants were noticeably looser. I had gained 14 lbs and my body was as solid as a rock. I loved how I looked. I could twitch my big toe toe and a calf muscle would twitch in response. I loved that my legs were that muscular. I had become extremely fit in a very short time period, but I had put at least 200 hrs of extremely painful hard work into it!

    So, did I really gain as much muscle mass as I believe I did? It certainly seemed like it could not have been fat, given how extremely thin I was to begin with and how much smaller my waist was at the end. It doesn't seem plausible that I only gained 2 lbs of muscle mass. After all, I carry all my excess weight around my waist. It's where my fat cells like to party.

    Some people are genetically pre-disposed to gaining/loosing fast, but the vast majority of people will not gain 14 pounds of muscle doing anything (without increased cals and "extra" help - like HGH) let alone humping all over the mountain ranges
    Bone density can also increase under loads and stress. So even though the scale will move up, it doesn't always mean muscle mass increase. Increased density in bone will increase weight with no noticeable increase in volume. Then if you're sore and stiff etc, your body will retain water. Muscle can also be gained but, it it is unlikely that the day or week after going from zero to high volume workout and seeing a big spike on the scale can be attributed to 100% muscle gain. I'd bet that a week or so after weighing in at 118 pounds, assuming you didn't gain extra weight from other sources (like eating more), that the scale went back down.
    There are times, after a really strenuous workout - like I just moved 10000+ pounds from ground to over head (this is cumulative) or a bunch of really heavy back squats and high volume push-ups and bench press. I will definitely see an increase in weight and some of my muscles are noticeably increased in volume (the pump but it lasts for a day or so). This will go away. The scale may move 6-7 pounds but it will go back with adequate rest and recovery.

    The weight didn't drop off me and my muscles didn't deflate a week later. I stayed really buff for a very long time. I loved it. I loved showing off my legs especially. It was great!

    Like I said, I did eat a lot more than anyone else, so I did have a significant increase in calories, and most of the other people didn't gain that weight, but they ate less than me and most of the other people started off being a lot more fit than I was. They were all athletes at the time. I started off as the weakest of the bunch and from my experience working out when I've had a period of inactivity, initial gains happen the fastest.

    In your example, did you work out fairly strenuously about 25 hours a week?

    As I said, some people are genetically predisposed to gaining and bone density can increase. So you may be the exception to the rule.
    No, my workout example was for one workout only.
    Do you think that if you were to repeat what you did, from where you are now, that you'll gain another 14 pounds ?
    How much do you weigh now ?

    I had not considered bone density, but I doubt that could account for much weight. Perhaps I'm underestimating the difference in weight between dense bones and soft ones? I will have to research this for sure.

    I weigh 106.5 lbs now and I've been sedentary because I had a baby and then I broke my patella and had to go through physical therapy to reach the point I'm at now, so I am currently very unfit. I am also almost 16 years older! I doubt my body would respond the way that it did when I was 21 years old.

    I wouldn't repeat it as an experiment anyway. In addition to not having the time and not wanting to go through the daily excruciating pain I went through, I also got achilles tendonitis in both ankles and I was on crutches for weeks afterwards. Not only that, without the motivation of completing the wilderness leadership course and getting four credits, I don't think I could will myself on my own to do it. It was just too hard! I should have listened to my body and stopped, but I'm a tough little thing when properly motivated. It's the dancer in me.
  • BandedTriaRN
    BandedTriaRN Posts: 303
    this may be a stupid question but ive been going to the gym now 4-6 times a week for the past 4 months and have gained 9 pounds, which is probably all muscle but im not technically trying to gain muscle. i know that muscle naturally burns fat faster and easier so weight loss will be easier in the future but thats not the question here. I do lots of cardio ex: bike, elliptical, cross trainer.. but am i putting the resistance too high causing muscle gain? how do you just burn fat? lower resistance? :/

    Have you been losing inches instead? Get out the measuring tape!
  • Vailara
    Vailara Posts: 2,472 Member
    I'm another one went through a period of apparently gaining muscle (years ago, now). I think I gained about 8lb, maybe more, after starting exercising intensely. I'm pretty sure it was muscle as the muscles were really obvious! My legs got bigger (couldn't wear my knee boots any more as my calves got too big) and the muscles were defined. I felt that my legs looked like (male) footballer's legs! I'm not aware that I had any testosterone imbalance at the time. It looks like it can happen to some of us.
  • walkner88
    walkner88 Posts: 165
    I just want to ask why gaining muscle would be a bad thing? Women naturally won't look bulky or anything. As your doing cardio your muscles naturally will get stronger to cater to the movement. This is especially true for most women who do not exercise throughout their life. This is natural and very good for your long term health. Don't watch a number on the scale take your measurements and watch how your clothes change. Just starving yourself and only trying to burn fat will never give you a body that could even be deemed healthy.
  • I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!
    If you really did that then every professional bodybuilder would want to be on your regimen.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    I'm not disputing the theory that a person can only gain a few lbs in a month, but I want to share my experience because I believe that I gained far more than that.

    When I was 21 years old, I was a former fit person. I went to a boarding school with a dance program and I loved to dance so I took as much as I could. I regularly danced 20 hours a week.

    By the time I was 21, I had lost most of that fitness. I rarely worked out even though I was still thin. I signed up for a wilderness leadership course, which was a month long program where we would travel 125 miles carrying packs across the mountains. The recommendation was that a person was supposed to prepare for the course for at least six months beforehand, but I didn't do that. I worked out a few times, but I was honestly unprepared for how strenuous the program was and I paid for it.

    It was a part of the program that we were weighed at the beginning and the end of the program and that on the last day we put on the clothes we had taken off on the first day, so there was that kind of measure of how differently our clothes fit and whether we had gained or lost weight.

    At the beginning of the program I weighed 104 lbs and my pants fit me. I would say that they were probably even a little tight in the waist. I carried an ~80 lb pack, so that would be ~80% of my weight. We hiked at least 8 hours a day, ~3,000 vertical feet per day, and rock climbed on our off days. The accumulated vertical feet was ~75,000, so you could say that would be approximately equivalent of taking 120,000 stair steps while carrying 80 lbs. I ate like a pig. In fact, most of the other people taking the course had the manners not to complain outright, but I got the side-eye and some significant looks over how much I ate. One rude person told me I was going to get fat. I couldn't help it. I was hungry. I also felt no guilt. I knew I was a thin person and I didn't feel that their fat-shaming was appropriate. I felt sick that some of the other women who looked perfect and gorgeous to me complained about needing to lose weight. I thought that they were crazy.

    I was sore almost continuously. I was miserable. I was in pain from head to toe. I was the very definition of overtraining, but I had to keep going, so I did. Eventually, my body stopped hurting so much, so I was definitely becoming stronger and gaining endurance.

    At the end of the course, I weighed 118 lbs. Almost everyone else lost weight or stayed almost the same weight. When I put my clothes on, my pants were noticeably looser. I had gained 14 lbs and my body was as solid as a rock. I loved how I looked. I could twitch my big toe toe and a calf muscle would twitch in response. I loved that my legs were that muscular. I had become extremely fit in a very short time period, but I had put at least 200 hrs of extremely painful hard work into it!

    So, did I really gain as much muscle mass as I believe I did? It certainly seemed like it could not have been fat, given how extremely thin I was to begin with and how much smaller my waist was at the end. It doesn't seem plausible that I only gained 2 lbs of muscle mass. After all, I carry all my excess weight around my waist. It's where my fat cells like to party.

    Some people are genetically pre-disposed to gaining/loosing fast, but the vast majority of people will not gain 14 pounds of muscle doing anything (without increased cals and "extra" help - like HGH) let alone humping all over the mountain ranges
    Bone density can also increase under loads and stress. So even though the scale will move up, it doesn't always mean muscle mass increase. Increased density in bone will increase weight with no noticeable increase in volume. Then if you're sore and stiff etc, your body will retain water. Muscle can also be gained but, it it is unlikely that the day or week after going from zero to high volume workout and seeing a big spike on the scale can be attributed to 100% muscle gain. I'd bet that a week or so after weighing in at 118 pounds, assuming you didn't gain extra weight from other sources (like eating more), that the scale went back down.
    There are times, after a really strenuous workout - like I just moved 10000+ pounds from ground to over head (this is cumulative) or a bunch of really heavy back squats and high volume push-ups and bench press. I will definitely see an increase in weight and some of my muscles are noticeably increased in volume (the pump but it lasts for a day or so). This will go away. The scale may move 6-7 pounds but it will go back with adequate rest and recovery.

    The weight didn't drop off me and my muscles didn't deflate a week later. I stayed really buff for a very long time. I loved it. I loved showing off my legs especially. It was great!

    Like I said, I did eat a lot more than anyone else, so I did have a significant increase in calories, and most of the other people didn't gain that weight, but they ate less than me and most of the other people started off being a lot more fit than I was. They were all athletes at the time. I started off as the weakest of the bunch and from my experience working out when I've had a period of inactivity, initial gains happen the fastest.

    In your example, did you work out fairly strenuously about 25 hours a week?

    As I said, some people are genetically predisposed to gaining and bone density can increase. So you may be the exception to the rule.
    No, my workout example was for one workout only.
    Do you think that if you were to repeat what you did, from where you are now, that you'll gain another 14 pounds ?
    How much do you weigh now ?

    I weigh 106.5 lbs now and I've been sedentary because I had a baby and then I broke my patella and had to go through physical therapy to reach the point I'm at now, so I am currently very unfit. I am also almost 16 years older!

    I wouldn't repeat it as an experiment anyway. In addition to not having the time and not wanting to go through the daily excruciating pain I went through, I also got achilles tendonitis in both ankles and I was on crutches for weeks afterwards. Not only that, without the motivation of completing the wilderness leadership course and getting four credits, I don't think I could will myself on my own to do it. It was just too hard! I should have listened to my body and stopped, but I'm a tough little thing when properly motivated. It's the dancer in me.

    I had not considered bone density, but I doubt that could account for much weight. Perhaps I'm underestimating the difference in weight between dense bones and soft ones? I will have to research this for sure.

    Oh nuts. The good 'ole days:) I wish it were more recent. I dare say that back then the scale did go back down unless you have a super-dooper memory and actually weighed yourself again. I'm not saying that the scale didn't go up and that muscle wasn't built, but that amount is just abnormal.
    For me, after the scale comes back down I look better than before anyway because any inflammation is gone and my vascularity and leanness shows up better - which means everything looks better. Now whether i gained anything substantial from one workout is a different story. But the result over time is the same. I do damage (as-in workout etc) and the scale goes up. After a while, the scale comes back down. In the long run muscle is built and I get leaner. Assuming my cal intake is appropriate. Sometimes, the scale is up for a week or two too - just because of what i happen to be doing. But just as fast as it went up, it can come back down too. The long-term trend is consistent though. Small gains/losses with spikes up and down all over the place.
    It's kind of like I weigh way less after walking 36 holes of competitive golf in one day, under the hot sun - like we do for the usga public links championship or us open sectionals. I may weight 10 pounds less that when I started ..... but it's only temporary and doesn't mean I lost 10# of fat or muscle right? But if I did that for two weeks straight, everyday, then it is likely I will lose that 10#. (but would probably burn out well before then).
  • Oh nuts. The good 'ole days:) I wish it were more recent. I dare say that back then the scale did go back down unless you have a super-dooper memory and actually weighed yourself again. I'm not saying that the scale didn't go up and that muscle wasn't built, but that amount is just abnormal.
    For me, after the scale comes back down I look better than before anyway because any inflammation is gone and my vascularity and leanness shows up better - which means everything looks better. Now whether i gained anything substantial from one workout is a different story. But the result over time is the same. I do damage (as-in workout etc) and the scale goes up. After a while, the scale comes back down. In the long run muscle is built and I get leaner. Assuming my cal intake is appropriate. Sometimes, the scale is up for a week or two too - just because of what i happen to be doing. But just as fast as it went up, it can come back down too. The long-term trend is consistent though. Small gains/losses with spikes up and down all over the place.
    It's kind of like I weigh way less after walking 36 holes of competitive golf in one day, under the hot sun - like we do for the usga public links championship or us open sectionals. I may weight 10 pounds less that when I started ..... but it's only temporary and doesn't mean I lost 10# of fat or muscle right? But if I did that for two weeks straight, everyday, then it is likely I will lose that 10#. (but would probably burn out well before then).

    That was the most I ever weighed, so it's something I remember very well. My whole life I've hovered around 105 lbs. so realizing I had topped my previous "highest weight" was a shocking moment for me. Plus we had recorded my previous weight during the weigh in at the beginning of the course that was taken on the same scale. I had most definitely gained 14 lbs. This is how unusual it was: I called my parents and told them.

    In fact, that one rude boy actually made a mean remark about how much weight I had gained when we did our weigh in. I looked great, much better than before, but he wanted to make me feel bad so he made a point to say something about it because no one else gained weight like I did. What a jerk. I was proud of myself. That's not the sort of thing that you forget, especially when someone makes a point of trying to make you feel bad. I was also the most I had ever weighed in my entire life, so I was impressed by that and so proud of myself, that I had attained that through so much hard work, especially because it had come at the cost of so much pain and effort.

    I don't mean to be so skeptical about the explanations, but from where I am, it seems that the simplest explanation is that more than 200 hours of carrying ~80% of your body weight which includes doing ~4,000 stair steps per day can result in significant changes. After all, when we're talking four weeks of working out, we're usually talking no more than 24 hours of work, figuring that a person puts in 2 hours of hard work 3 times a week, or an hour per day six days a week. I would say that most people do that much. I did more than 175 more hours than that. I was being conservative with my "working out" hours and I didn't even count rock climbing, which isn't exactly a spa day. As someone who is used to doing 6 hours of working out per week in a gym, let me tell you, it doesn't come close to comparing to the experience I had on my wilderness course, given how weak I was. I push as hard as I can but it's not 125 miles criss-crossing the continental divide as the flabby sedentary person I was at the time, carrying that pack a minimum of 8 hours a day. If we got lost it could be 10 hours, not counting breaks. I was so far down the fitness ladder, you have no idea, but I kept up with everyone who was much more muscular than me, even though my pack weighed more percentage-wise by body weight because I was so light.

    I also wonder if being "formerly fit" has anything to do with it. Regarding initial changes, it's happening to me now. I know that I'm still recovering and my physical therapist says it will take at least six months of hard work to get my strength back, but I started off barely being able to push 60 lbs on the leg press and now every single time I go to the gym, I move up in weight. I'm already up to 135 lbs. It's very satisfying and those gains are coming quickly.
  • BeautyFromPain
    BeautyFromPain Posts: 4,952 Member
    have you been eating back your exercise cals?
    i did the stupid thing of thinking my HRM was right when doing strength training (it's not!) so was eating back 700 cals 3-4 times a week i did not need.
  • ines25
    ines25 Posts: 107 Member
    Girl ur doing something but women can not gain like that we are not man every time I change my routine I gain 3lb and after a couple weeks the weight go down for up to 4lb all at once it must be fat what u gaining.
  • kpetty60
    kpetty60 Posts: 14
    this may be a stupid question but ive been going to the gym now 4-6 times a week for the past 4 months and have gained 9 pounds, which is probably all muscle but im not technically trying to gain muscle. i know that muscle naturally burns fat faster and easier so weight loss will be easier in the future but thats not the question here. I do lots of cardio ex: bike, elliptical, cross trainer.. but am i putting the resistance too high causing muscle gain? how do you just burn fat? lower resistance? :/

    according to my trainer, you can't.... but this is a good thing.
    Lean muscle burns calories more efficiently, thus fat burns off more readily. I think I stated this correctly.
    So, your weight might bump up, but only for the short term as you build more lean muscle mass.
  • _hi_hat3r_
    _hi_hat3r_ Posts: 423 Member
    I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!



    14 lbs a muscle since feb?LOL...riiiiiiiiight
  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 743 Member
    .... Tell me I gained 14 lbs of fat...
    I had the same thing happen..I gained 14 lbs of muscle since February. I love muscle and I build it really easy but I had to reevaluate what my ultimate goals were. Well seems to me that I want lean and toned. Since decreasing my gym time very dramatically (almost altogether) and eating reasonable calories combined with clean food (diary is public) I am loosing again. I have just been doing my at home videos and plan on going to the gym for a big cardio session only once a week.

    Good luck with all your goals!!!!



    14 lbs a muscle since feb?LOL...riiiiiiiiight

    I am a more muscular girl naturally...going to the gym I started to feel too muscular... That is all. Just sharing with the op what my experience was. I went from 118 lbs jan to 132 in april/may. That is a fact. 14 lb gain. Probably not 14lbs of pure muscle. But Probably not 14 lbs of fat either.

    Thanks to anyone who took the time to list out the reasons a person may experience such a drastic weight gain to the op...as well as give me a possible better understanding. It can be frustrating to see huge weight gains,especially of gaining is not your goal...muscle or not.
  • annielizstan
    annielizstan Posts: 24 Member
    Hi,
    Hi,
    You’ll get good aerobic benefit out of your weight training, Eat fresh fruits and vegetables.Drink more water.
    Do cardio exercise.
This discussion has been closed.