Why strength training increases weight

In most cases, weight gain after strength training does not mean gaining weight. Instead, it is often a positive signal that the body's metabolic capacity is improved and muscle content is increased.

The novice student I taught a while ago, Xiao Lin, is a typical example. She is 160cm tall and had an initial weight of 96 kilograms. She practiced basic strength movements such as squats, deadlifts, and chest presses for three weeks. When she got on the scale, she weighed 2.8 kilograms.

The core reason why there is this contrast of "people gain weight but lose weight" is that the density of muscle and fat is far different - the volume of muscle of the same weight is only about one-third of fat. To put it bluntly, one pound of muscle and one pound of fat are put together. The fat can be as big as three muscles. If you lose one pound of fat and gain two pounds of muscle, the circumference will definitely shrink, but the weight number will go up.

In addition, when you first start practicing strength training, your body will actively store more glycogen for energy in order to adapt to the higher training consumption. For every 1g of glycogen stored, it must store 3g of water. This part can add up to 2-3 pounds. In addition, the water retention required for muscle fiber repair after training, the weight fluctuation is particularly normal in the first week or two. Once the body adapts to the training rhythm and water metabolism stabilizes, the weight will not jump so much.

Of course, not all weight gain after strength training is a good thing. There are also many people who actually gain weight after practicing the free diet. There is a friend next to me. Every time after an hour of strength training, he turns around to eat barbecue and drink iced Coke. He also calls it "post-training supplement". He eats hundreds of calories more in a day, and the excess calories are converted into fat and piled up on his body. As his weight increases, his circumference also increases. That is when he has really gained weight.

When I first started practicing strength training, I stared at the scale every day. I was very anxious about how much I weighed. Later, I simply put the scale on the top of the cabinet. I measured my circumference and took a comparison photo of my back and waist and abdomen only once every half a month. Only then did I realize that I had increased from 98 pounds to 1 pound. When I weighed 04 pounds, the lines on my back showed up. The tight-fitting T-shirts that I couldn't wear before now look so good on me. I can even climb the fifth floor without gasping for breath. It was then that I realized that the weight number is really just a reference, and it cannot represent whether you are in good shape or healthy.

If you have just started practicing strength training recently and have experienced weight gain, don't stop in a hurry. Feel to see if your muscles have become tighter and if your clothes are looser. If they are all in line, then you really have to have fun. This means that your training effect is better than most people.