Been Exercising for the past month and I'm gaining weight!

T

Timur

0
Hi all, I'm new to the forums and have a question. Thanks for any answers in advance.

I'm an 18 year old male who, as of July 25th, weighed around 260 on a 6'2 frame (primarily fat, I had started to bench-press in late March and last month was repping 185 10-8 times a set, 3 sets). I was aiming at losing weight for health reasons, and had been using a cross trainer for an hour each day (I burn anywhere from 1100-1200 calories a session). I had done little to no running for around a year prior to this (broken leg). Besides the bench (that I have not gone up in just yet) I had also added the peck deck (which I have climbed in weight) and a few deltoid muscle exercises here and there.

My schedule for strength training is usually 2 days in a row on, 1 day off. I cross train everyday. Now diet has never really been a problem (I do occasionally binge with good food), and normally consume between 1600-2400 calories a day (I figure with the exercise and just casual burnage I should be good, even in the negatives, at the end of each day calorie wise).

Now the problem is that I’m gaining weight. Just weighing myself this past week, the scale reads anywhere from 162 to 170. My family has commented how much better I look (but hey, they’re family, could be just trying to make me feel better), but still the scale bothers me.

Is it just added muscle from the cross trainer and new strength exercises? And if so how can I burn more fat?
 
If the scale is going up but you're looking better it sounds like you're gaining muscle. Your post was a bit confusing so excuse me if I miss quote, it sounds like you're only doing a few excersises (bench, peck deck and shoulder excersises - cross trainer for cardio). You may want to do a full body workout, big compound moves for the major muscle groups to get started.

Legs - squates, lunges as primary. Extensions, calve raises and leg curls as secondary
Chest - flat and incline bench, peck deck, dips
Arms - curls and tricep extensions
Shoulders - lateral raises, military presses, front raises
Back - lat pull downs and seated lat pulls, use different grips
Abs - crunches, leg raises and stability ball stuff

Just a thought. Also watch that appetite when using weights. Mine goes thru the roof. Keep the portions moderate and keep 3 hours or so between meals. Personally, I try not to eat at night. A lot of people will say it doesn't matter but from my own personal experience I get better results when I close the gate by 8.
 
I agree. If you're looking better it's probably muscle gain, but you won't know for sure without something that calculates body fat %. Good body fat scales aren't too expensive any more and reasonably accurate. Skin calipers are more accurate buy you'd need a bit of training on using them.

I'd recommend bumping up your reps from the 8-10 range to the 12-15 range, and trying to add in some consistent cardiovascular exercise.

Diet-wise, beware of the binging as it can negate some good weight loss in a short amount of time. Calories are calories and if you eat too many, healthy or otherwise, you'll gain weight. If you feel really hungry and like a binge is coming on, a glass of metamucil and a wait of about 5-10 minutes will usually fill up your stomach.

Bob
 
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