Do your muscles look smaller after working out?

[CompletePimp]

I know muscles get pumped up while you're working out. But do you ever notice that they shrink in the following hours? I always seem to not look as full after working out... Anyone else notice this?

And I don't mean when the lactic acid leaves the body but in general. Seem to look smaller than on your days off. And then the next day bigger again. So what I mean is that it seems like the hours after working out, the muscles look smaller than they did before you even started the workout.

[TRun18]

Probably because the muscles are tired?

[DontRevMe]

the blood doesn't stay in the muscle...

[rude boy]

this is where consistent eating of carbs/pro/fat every 2-3 hours and drinking a ****load of water comes into play. also u might want to try creatine pre and post workout

[M3Rachel]

this is where consistent eating of carbs/pro/fat every 2-3 hours and drinking a ****load of water comes into play. also u might want to try creatine pre and post workout

Yeah? Not really. What happens when you work out is your blood vessels dilate to release excess heat that your body is creating from working out. Also bigger blood vessels = more blood that carries oxygen TO your muscles.

This is also why you sweat. Your body releases excess water and other nutrients through your skin to help cool off.

When you are done working out, your blood vessels start to slowly get smaller since they don't need to release as much blood for oxygen to your muscles... and your heart isn't working as hard.

With increased blood flow during work out your muscles will increase in size as they use up the extra oxygen from your blood. Post work out, they shrink because they no longer need all that extra oxygen.

Make sense?

[rude boy]

Yeah? Not really. What happens when you work out is your blood vessels dilate to release excess heat that your body is creating from working out. Also bigger blood vessels = more blood that carries oxygen TO your muscles.

This is also why you sweat. Your body releases excess water and other nutrients through your skin to help cool off.

When you are done working out, your blood vessels start to slowly get smaller since they don't need to release as much blood for oxygen to your muscles... and your heart isn't working as hard.

With increased blood flow during work out your muscles will increase in size as they use up the extra oxygen from your blood. Post work out, they shrink because they no longer need all that extra oxygen.

Make sense?

oh give me a break. science schmience. stop boring me and everyone else with your textbook copy and paste garbage. do u seriously think this is the kind of answer people here are looking for? no..

eat a lot, drink a lot of water, work hard in the gym and your muscles will stay full-looking. there you have it

[M3Rachel]

oh give me a break. science schmience. stop boring me and everyone else with your textbook copy and paste garbage. do u seriously think this is the kind of answer people here are looking for? no..

eat a lot, drink a lot of water, work hard in the gym and your muscles will stay full-looking. there you have it

actually I'm a nursing student and I've studied muscles and their function, protein use, and cell structure thoroughly. So I'm going to trust science over some crap you're attempting to spoon feed someone who wants to know precisely why his muscles aren't as big post work out as they are DURING work out.

[Demon-seven]

No they stay swolen looking for awhile and do no become smaller looking only sore

[CartierWatch]

Yeah, during and right after my workout, my muscles look pretty swoll... But once that dies down, they look ridiculously small. The next day or two, they get back to normal size, though.

[Denis929321]

I know muscles get pumped up while you're working out. But do you ever notice that they shrink in the following hours? I always seem to not look as full after working out... Anyone else notice this?

And I don't mean when the lactic acid leaves the body but in general. Seem to look smaller than on your days off. And then the next day bigger again. So what I mean is that it seems like the hours after working out, the muscles look smaller than they did before you even started the workout.

hold on am i missing something? i thought that the obvious reason was because your muscles use up their glucose or glycogen stores for energy.. and since ur muscle's glycogen outnumbers your muscle 3 to 1 it makes them apear smaller post pump. but in the following days they regain size do to diet. i suggest you try to get as many simple carbs into your muscle post workout .. creatine can help but i dont recommend

[Hockey16z]

Need to get some carbs in after a workout!

[asdf89]

mine always look bigger for sure...i can notice the next day they look bigger than normal also compared to when i havent worked that muscle in a few days...been some threads on this..think its cause your body is steadily pumping blood to deliver nutrients even the next day or so

oh chit somebody revived this lol

[mmafighter1294]

hold on am i missing something? i thought that the obvious reason was because your muscles use up their glucose or glycogen stores for energy.. and since ur muscle's glycogen outnumbers your muscle 3 to 1 it makes them apear smaller post pump. but in the following days they regain size do to diet. i suggest you try to get as many simple carbs into your muscle post workout .. creatine can help but i dont recommend

Im sure OP is interested in your advice 3 years later.

[TigerStealth]

it is normal for your muscles to appear smaller several hours after a workout, your pump has now faded and you are used to the look feel of the pump so now you will look a little smaller, no worries, the only one who can tell the difference is you probably

[pvn23]

oh give me a break. science schmience. stop boring me and everyone else with your textbook copy and paste garbage. do u seriously think this is the kind of answer people here are looking for? no..

eat a lot, drink a lot of water, work hard in the gym and your muscles will stay full-looking. there you have it

I guess your username really does speak for itself. Some people actually read what other users post in order to increase their knowledge on these information instead of saying, "WALL OF TEXT, TL;DR".

actually I'm a nursing student and I've studied muscles and their function, protein use, and cell structure thoroughly. So I'm going to trust science over some crap you're attempting to spoon feed someone who wants to know precisely why his muscles aren't as big post work out as they are DURING work out.

Your answer to the OP's question hit the spot. Even though I know what happens with my muscles pre and post workout, reading some more information definitely helps out with better understanding what is going on. Keep at it, your information is great for the community!

[nhunter1983]

Yeah, during and right after my workout, my muscles look pretty swoll... But once that dies down, they look ridiculously small. The next day or two, they get back to normal size, though.

Mine usually look pretty big right after a workout but then they shrink after a while then seen smaller during the week... anyone get that??