It’s normal to gain weight while strength training

Don’t panic. There’s no need to freak out if the scale is going up while you are getting down with your serious strength training workouts. Those three numbers on the scale simply mean you weigh more or you weigh less, it’s not a read out on the intensity of your workouts, your body composition or your level of fitness. Your weight doesn’t know what you’ve been doing (or not doing) at the gym. So relax as you read why weight gain can happen when you are strength training and why there’s no need to get freaked out.

Weight training can cause weight gain
If you strength train regularly and improve your fitness level, your weight on the scale may increase while your body fat percentage decreases. This is a change that happens over months and you can confirm that it’s happening by checking your body fat percentage, looking in the mirror at the changes in your body, or trying on that pair of jeans you’ve owned since before you started your weight training programme. If your body fat percentage shows more muscle and less fat, hooray! If your jeans are loose, or you look in the mirror and a more muscular person is staring back at you, your strength training efforts could be causing a bit of an uptick on the scale. So breathe easy because you are making positive changes in your health, body definition and physical appearance.

Water can change your weight
Ever notice you weigh less after a sweaty workout session? That loss of water (sweat) can cause a decrease on the scale, just as a salty dinner can cause your weight to increase because your body is retaining water. Keep in mind that your weight can fluctuate due to your water retention vs water loss and it’s not related to your strength training. Make sure you stay hydrated.

Stress can cause weight gain
When you are under stress (from tough workouts or a tough day) your body produces the stress hormone cortisol. More cortisol released in the body can cause fluid retention. Lack of sleep due to stress can make you hungrier too, and you may eat more than you normally do. Make sure you plan some downtime to do the things that recharge you mentally and physically so you can alleviate stress. Be sure to take a recovery day in your week of workouts too, so you aren’t over-exerting your body.

Don’t use workouts as a green light to eat what you want
Sometimes when we have an intense sweat session or we push ourselves in a new way, we look to food as our reward for a hard workout completed. Yes, your body needs fuel, but your workouts shouldn’t mean a licence to eat whatever and as much as you want. So eat clean and watch your portions — even when you are working out hard.

Source: www.weighttraining.about.com