Weight training: bulk and weight gain

[Yen]

My husband and I joined a fitness club earlier this year to supplement our cycling. I wanted to do some serious weight training to balance the hours we sometimes spend on the bike --- a few sets with 3# weights at home weren't really doing the trick. I'm 54 years old and in pretty good shape for my age, not needing to lose any weight.

So I signed up for 12 sessions with a trainer. He's taught me about 30 different routines I can do for total-body strengthening. Every other week, he increases the weight just a little on some of the machines. I am now pressing 205 lbs. on the leg press(!!!) and feel a significant difference in my strength on the bike.

However, I am also noticing that my jeans are fitting tighter. I don't think I am eating too much; I may be eating a little more more than before, but I am also working out longer and harder at the gym. If anything, I may be sitting more during the day (I work at a very sedentary job) and don't get up as often to walk during the day. I also eat later at night since we often don't get home from the gym until after 7:00, then eat a light dinner (soup w/ 1 piece of bread without butter) and finish eating about 8:00.

My husband says the added bulk is due to my workouts at the gym (including leg presses, lunges, squats, etc.), but I think I should also be losing fat which would offset the bulk.

Is it possible for my legs to increase in bulk in just a few months assuming everything else has stayed the same? I want to be strong, but not bulky!

[Veronica]

Each body is different. I can leg press 3 sets at 360 pounds. My legs are less bulky than when I started with my trainer and my butt has a much better shape. My back and shoulders are definitely more massive from my weight training. I like it, since I was not gifted with the body of a twig. I'll take strong and muscular.

But each body is different. Talk to your trainer. He/she is the person who sees you and knows what you are doing. Presumably they took measurements when you started. You can always have them measure you again.

Veronica

[lph]

Where are your jeans fitting tighter? And where do you carry fat?

When I upped my bike training significantly I "biked myself out of" my (tightfitting) jeans, because my thighs grew larger. I lost weight around my waist at the same time though, which is where I store fat. Didn't help much for the jeans problem though, since they were low-rise..

[Yen]

My jeans are tighter through the hips and thighs. It's possible I have put on a little fat weight because my waist is a little thicker than it was last year ... hmmmm... I'm working out harder and more often, so maybe I am eating more than I realize to compensate ....??? Also, refined carbs that I consume other than during or immediately after exercise seem to cling to me like gorilla glue --- very frustrating! I might be eating a little more of them thinking that last night's intense gym workout means I can have an extra treat today. :-( Otherwise, I am fairly restrictive and people comment on how "good" I am. I also eat a lot of nuts, my favorite go-to snack. But again, I surely must have more muscle mass than before, and a higher metabolic rate, so I'm at a loss.....

[Yen]

Each body is different. I can leg press 3 sets at 360 pounds. My legs are less bulky than when I started with my trainer and my butt has a much better shape. My back and shoulders are definitely more massive from my weight training. I like it, since I was not gifted with the body of a twig. I'll take strong and muscular.

But each body is different. Talk to your trainer. He/she is the person who sees you and knows what you are doing. Presumably they took measurements when you started. You can always have them measure you again.

Veronica

Thanks, I will ask my trainer about this next time I see him. My hips and thighs are taking shape, and definitely are much stronger. We didn't take measurements when I started, but he did measure my body fat, intending to test it again later on.

Another thought... I have been doing fewer cardio work-outs than before, in favor of the weight room. Previously, I did more treadmill workouts, and other walking more often. Maybe I need to do more of that.

[itself]

It's not uncommon to put on muscle weight when weight training. I've been lifting over twenty years. I generally run about ten pounds heavier when lifting as I bulk up quite a bit.

You might try doing higher reps of 12-15. Lighter weight won't bulk/thicken the legs up as much.

[marni]

also look at the fat content of your diet. I cannot lose any weight nor do I trim down muscle bulk until I eat under20 g of fat a day. I have lost inches in the muscles, but am also fighting the 62 year old inevitable 1-10% year of muscle tissue loss. Still what you are trying to increase is lean muscle so the fat content definitely becomes an issue, along with all synthetic sweetners which don't help, and although they may taste good, rot your brain cells and increase tencancy to sunburn, as do a lot of the other not natural, or too much of a natural additives. Hang in there and go for more frequent slower reps of lighter weight to develop less bulky more elastic muscles.