rex_kramer

I just got weighed the other day at the doctor's on my yearly check-up. Sure, I now have leg muscles I never had before. And while I haven't really trimmed up much anywhere else, I'm about five pounds heavier than I should be. Is it possible to "bulk up" that much in the legs with cycling alone or is it more likely the scale's off?

mcrow

It's not likely. Cycling is more likely to increase leg strenght than increase muscle mass. Typeically to increase muscle mass you would have to lift weights. You can add a small amount of muscle with cycling but for the most part you will not gain that much. The exception may be for newbies. If you go from couch potato to biking every day you'll probably put on some muscle mass but that only lasts for the first 3-6 months and we're talking a couple pounds max.

Spld cyclist

Weight can change dramatically day to day based on what we eat and drink, apart from any change in fat or muscle. Who knows, maybe you were dehydrated and a little hungry on that day a year ago and you were well-hydrated and ate a hearty breakfast before your recent appointment. That could be 2 or 3 pounds right there....

caloso

How do your pants fit? After a few seasons of riding I had to have all my dress pants altered to take in the waist and let out the seat.

mcrow

Yes, unless you are weighing yourself on the same scale, at the same time of day and wearing the same weight of clothing you can be off by +/- 5 pounds easy.

If your sodium intake was higher than normal around that time you can have water bloat of a a couple of pounds. If you ate higher or lower amounts of carbs than normal weight can fluctuate a couple pounds. If you went to the bathroom right before this time and not this time that can be a pound or two. If you drank water or ate before this time and not the last that can be 1-3 pounds.

It's always best to weigh your self nekkid right away after peeing in the morning, it takes out the most variables.

seeker333

Muscle tissue is ~20% more dense than fat tissue, so it is possible (and not unusual) to start "getting in shape" and actually gain weight. Also, exercise tends to make you drink a lot, and even water is more dense than fatty tissue.

Go to walmart and pick up a balance, and weigh yourself regularly on a schedule (first thing every AM etc). You won't know much until you start measuring.

I can lose 2# just sitting here in front of a PC for an hour, sweating in an non-AC room @ 90F.

AdamDZ

You'd have to build up a lot of muscles to notice significant gain from cycling.

mcrow

The only problem is that if you are burning fat (in a caloric defict) you're not likely to also be putting much if any muscle.

However, if you start cycling (Or doing any other strenous activity you are not used to) you will retain extra water in the beginning due to the body adjusting to the the new activity. Generally speaking the more sore you are the more water you're going to retain.

rex_kramer

Great answers all around. I guess five pounds isn't so drastic a change after all. Thanks for the input, everyone!

mcrow

It's only a problem when it becomes a pattern.

Surrealdeal

I see fluctuation in my weight based on how dehydrated I am when I weigh myself. Right off the bike in the evening I can weigh 4# less than I did in the morning, and by bedtime after I have eaten and re-hydrated be back to where I was. (BTW, If you are down 4# of water you should be busy re-hydrating instead of weighing yourself). If you take stomach and bowel contents into consideration a 5# fluctuation is not outside the realm of possibilities. OP could have been 'emptied out' for one weight measurement and filled up for the other, and not have changed much at all.

Boudicca

I just finished six months working out with a personal trainer. I actually put on about 2 pounds over the period, but my clothes fit better and I am definitely stronger. I even have two-pack abs.

So yes, new muscles could be part of it. Maybe not all of it (you may be snacking more as well), but part of it.

seeker333

Yes. I routinely dehydrate 3 lbs in a 35 mi summer ride, despite drinking 3 lbs of water during the ride, which is why I wrote "weigh yourself regularly on a schedule" in post #6. And I should add, log each measurement, on paper or better yet, a spreadsheet.

no motor?

If you really want to know get a %body fat scale. That will give you a breakdown of how much of your mass is fat and how much isn't.

ckaspar

I weigh myself daily. I average between 174 and 178. I have noticed that when I DON'T workout I actually weigh less and I am guessing it is because when I ride and workout I am drinking 3 liters of water per day plus whatever I drink in the evening. I can weigh myself in the evening and be 178-179 but then when I wake up I am 174-175.

Weight is a meaningless number when looked at as an indicator of how much you REALLY weigh. I can drink 32 ounces of water and "gain" 2 pounds in the blink of an eye but am I 2 pounds heavier in unhealthy weight or do I just weigh 2 pounds more?

I have nearly given up on actual weight anymore as an indicator. If it goes up a lot I will be concerned but bouncing between the aforementioned weights I am fine with. Now back to my donuts.

ckaspar

Or even calipers so you can measure your true fat. Even those scales can vary a bit based on water intake and even how wet you are when you stand on them.

mcrow

Bodyfat scales are so inaccurate you'd be wasting your time. Calipers are better, bodpod or dexa scan are best.

Surrealdeal

It's hard to determine tone in a forum posting, but just in case I am reading yours correctly seeker333, let me just say that I quoted you b/c I was agreeing with you.

cehowardGS

Ha, pictures please!!

rex_kramer

no motor?

Indeed they are. If your obsessive about it you can measure yourself enough times so you don't really know what's accurate. But if you weigh yourself consistently under the same conditions for long enough you'll be able to spot the trend that's really important. Immersion is the most accurate measurement I've heard of, but that's impractical for the average person.