Gaining muscle but also gaining fat around legs and hips?
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lithezebra wrote: »Have you actually measured a difference, or just noticed it? I notice my thick thighs more when I get leaner overall. (I notice my arm muscles more too when I get leaner, which isn't necessarily muscle gain). Fat lingers around my hips, butt, and thighs longer than any other place on my body. Still, even though I notice them more, my hip measurement is smaller, and my thigh measurement is stubbornly the same.
I have a similar issue - I call it the Beyonce effect. As soon as I gain weight - bam - straight to my thighs and then the tummy.Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »It's not possible to naturally add lean mass without some of the gains being fat as well.
When you gain weight, some is muscle...and some is fat.
I agree with you, but surely a lower calorie surplus will help minimise fat gain.
Adding surplus calories until you see strength gains in your training, but not going overboard with them.
As we have been saying time and time again YES a slow surplus of calories will minimise fat gains...AND muscle gains. They go together hand in hand.
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I suggest u do more cardio. U will not lose your muscle as long as u keep weight lifting. Maybe about 15 mins of cardio should do it0
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Diet and training can shift the odds, but again, any natural weight gain will include fat as well as muscle.Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »It's not possible to naturally add lean mass without some of the gains being fat as well.
When you gain weight, some is muscle...and some is fat.
I agree with you, but surely a lower calorie surplus will help minimise fat gain.
Adding surplus calories until you see strength gains in your training, but not going overboard with them.
That's life...
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Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »It's not possible to naturally add lean mass without some of the gains being fat as well.
When you gain weight, some is muscle...and some is fat.
I agree with you, but surely a lower calorie surplus will help minimise fat gain.
Adding surplus calories until you see strength gains in your training, but not going overboard with them.
Yes, and you will still gain fat ....0 -
For me it's three steps forward, one step back. When I gain weight, I gain strength and muscle, but I also gain fat. And as one progresses, it gets worse. Just reality.0
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That's not how physiology works, but hey you're welcome to believe what you want.Patttience wrote: »I not inclined to agree with the poster above about his first line. It would seem to me if your calories are correctly matched to your activities and your protein is right, you should be able to gain muscle and not fat, in the same way that when people are cutting they can cut fat and not lose the muscle.
So I am sure its quite difficult to work out the exact right amount of calories and macros to achieve what you want but the perhaps the thing to do is increase your exercise burn so that you don't have any excess calories that can settle on your body as fat.
I do'nt think it would matter what sort of exercise you do. But if you don't want to spend a lot of time on it, then try doing some sprint type exercise ie interval training. Reason being that sprinting burns more calories than slower activities. Its also excellent for increasing your fitness.
To the OP, it works both ways: gain muscle, you'll gain fat. Lose fat, and you'll lose a little muscle too. Where you put on fat more is based on genetics.
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Thank you all for your insightful comments! I haven't really bulked at all in the past, I just did a lot of swimming and martial arts so I would really get "toned". The thing is, I'm not looking to get even more "toned" because I've been pretty skinny with incredibly thin arms throughout my life.
I did not know you gain fat while gaining muscle. I thought it was possible to just gain lean mass muscle and not gain fat in the process.
I just find it weird that my upper body is gaining some muscle and my torso is getting smaller but my legs and especially legs are getting fatter
Someone suggested I do more cardio.. should I do more cardio?
I guess I can eat what I burned off so that I'm not significantly under in my calorie counting?0 -
teamwellness9119 wrote: »Thank you all for your insightful comments! I haven't really bulked at all in the past, I just did a lot of swimming and martial arts so I would really get "toned". The thing is, I'm not looking to get even more "toned" because I've been pretty skinny with incredibly thin arms throughout my life.
I did not know you gain fat while gaining muscle. I thought it was possible to just gain lean mass muscle and not gain fat in the process.
I just find it weird that my upper body is gaining some muscle and my torso is getting smaller but my legs and especially legs are getting fatter
Someone suggested I do more cardio.. should I do more cardio?
I guess I can eat what I burned off so that I'm not significantly under in my calorie counting?
Adding more cardio will not help with reducing your fat on our hips/legs. What cardio will do is increase caloric expenditure, requiring your to eat more to hit a surplus, and will improve your cardiovascular health.
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Ok so a lot of people are saying gaining mass also comes with gaining fat. I didn't know that before. Aw shucks. I was hoping to gain mass muscle without gaining amounts of fat
but thank you for your input. If you have suggestions that could balance it all out, feel free to give a shout out. Thanks guys 
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You can eat a maintenance and train your butt off to add a little muscle at a time. Just realize that it's a LONG ongoing process to see any significant results.teamwellness9119 wrote: »Ok so a lot of people are saying gaining mass also comes with gaining fat. I didn't know that before. Aw shucks. I was hoping to gain mass muscle without gaining amounts of fat but thank you for your input. If you have suggestions that could balance it all out, feel free to give a shout out. Thanks guys
Also just realize that genetics are something you can't change. If it makes you feel better, you can entirely blame your parents for this!!!
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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teamwellness9119 wrote: »Ok so a lot of people are saying gaining mass also comes with gaining fat. I didn't know that before. Aw shucks. I was hoping to gain mass muscle without gaining amounts of fat but thank you for your input. If you have suggestions that could balance it all out, feel free to give a shout out. Thanks guys
We would all love to be able to gain muscle without fat, but it's not how the body works. But that is why post bulk, you should probably transition to maintenance for a few weeks to a month and then do a cut.0 -
Pinnacle_IAO wrote: »
I totally do not want to hear this....and too bad...You can't gain muscle and not gain fat, it is impossible.
Also, there is no such thing as lean mass, there is just mass.
You can't control where you add muscle or fat,it just happens.
IT'S TRUE 100%
This is our double edge sword. How big do we want to get given the reality of fat gains along with the muscle?
Do a long bulk, then cut some of the fat. You'll lose some muscle, yes, but you bulked up enough that you still finish with a significant increase in muscle.0 -
Patttience wrote: »I not inclined to agree with the poster above about his first line. It would seem to me if your calories are correctly matched to your activities and your protein is right, you should be able to gain muscle and not fat, in the same way that when people are cutting they can cut fat and not lose the muscle.
So I am sure its quite difficult to work out the exact right amount of calories and macros to achieve what you want but the perhaps the thing to do is increase your exercise burn so that you don't have any excess calories that can settle on your body as fat.
I do'nt think it would matter what sort of exercise you do. But if you don't want to spend a lot of time on it, then try doing some sprint type exercise ie interval training. Reason being that sprinting burns more calories than slower activities. Its also excellent for increasing your fitness.
23K posts vs barely 1K. I think we know who has the correct information.
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