Rapid weight gain?

[runlift22]

Hey all... I've been trying to bulk for a while and add lean mass.. was going cardio 4-5 days a week for 30-55 minutes and despite eating 2000 cals a day (I am only 90 pounds), still wasn't making any gains. Now, this week I cut out cardio to just 10-15 min after my workouts, kept my food intake the same, and gained 6 pounds in one week! I am happy to be gaining, but a bit confused and worried about it being too fast. Is it possible that most of it is muscle? that's what my trainer is saying... that I am finally packing on muscle.... I really don't feel much "fatter" but I know its impossible to gain 6 pounds of just muscle in a week. Could it be water? I haven't upped my carbs though... this is just so weird to me.... will it slow down with time?

[breathingsky]

Good job on the gain! Your trainer told you that you gained 6lbs of muscle in one week? If this is true, I might consider using another trainer. Large increases in weight like this are most likely due to increased fat, glycogen and water. Below is an article on muscle gain from bb.com, which outlines that it's pretty difficult to gain more than a pound of muscle a week:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/maki2.htm

[runlift22]

I think he was trying to comfort me by saying that "most" was muscle. But I don't understand how I can even gain 6 pounds in one week. (i wasnt on my period, hadn't had a lot of salt, weighed in at the same time/same clothes). The cardio I was doing was burning at most 200-300 cals and to gain 6 pounds a week I would have to be taking in almost 3000 calories over maintenance each day! Is it possible that it is water filling out in my muscles? Do u think I will continue with this rapid gain, cuz I want to gain weight, but this is a bit much too fast for my psyche....

[twinnett]

You were doing way too much cardio to make any kind of muscle gains. Keep at it and the weight gain will even out. Weight can be from numerous things. Concentrate more on measurements!

[breathingsky]

...was going cardio 4-5 days a week for 30-55 minutes and despite eating 2000 cals a day (I am only 90 pounds), still wasn't making any gains. Now, this week I cut out cardio to just 10-15 min after my workouts, kept my food intake the same, and gained 6 pounds in one week!

Let's be generous and assume you were doing 45min of cardio 5 times a week. That's 400 cals per session and 2000 calories per week. You cut back to 10-15min sessions after workouts. You don't say how many 10-15 sessions, but I'll assume it's still 5. Being generous again, that's 750 cals a week - a difference of 1250 cals. A little over 1/3 of a pound. You also mentioned that you kept your food intake the same - you have to eat more to increase muscle mass. 1250 extra cals not burned won't put on anything more than 1/3 of a pound of muscle - provided you hadn't burned any muscle that week while training.


i wasnt on my period, hadn't had a lot of salt, weighed in at the same time/same clothes). I haven't upped my carbs though... this is just so weird to me.... will it slow down with time?

My guess is that it's fluid retention. I've gained as much as 5lbs of fluid when I'm not drinking enough water and eating the wrong food. It's sodium ions trapped under the skin, rather than straight up table salt, that can cause water retention. Things like diet soda have a significant amount of sodium. If I drink a lot of diet soda and not enough water, my stomach looks huge. Start drinking at least a gallon of water a day, and increase your fiber intake (fresh veggies are the best). That should help you to drop some of that excess fluid.