Weight lifting beginner in Need of Help!

E

Edge

0
Hi everyone this is my first post. I have just started weight lifting and need some help.

I am 5ft 9 and 7 months ago I weighed 243 pounds so I was overweight/obese.

Right now I weight 180 pounds after embarking on a clean eating regime by consuming 6 small meals a day and drinking 2 litters of water daily.
During the last 7 months I have been attending the gym 5 times a week and have been performing cardio exercises such as running and using the cross trainer. Over this period I have increased the intensity of my workouts overtime and lost a lot of weight. My fitness has greatly improved and I have completed 10k runs in good time and now regularly play 90 min football games.

Although I am now happy with my fitness level I am still have fat around my midsection (belly, stomach area). This is in contrast to the rest of my body which is quite muscular.

I have just started to incorporated weight lifting into my gym sessions in order to tighten up my midsection which has a lot of fat on and hardly any muscle mass.

I started 2 days ago. I completed a intense cardio session for an hour then a weight lifting session and I engaged all major muscle groups such as chest, abbs ex.
In these 2 days I have put on 5 pounds in weight and I feel fatter and my face looks puffier, why is this?

I have not changed my diet which is very clean and am still drinking the same amour of water per day (2 litres). The only difference i have made is my drinking a protein shake after my workout.

Any one have any ideas as to why I have gained 5 pounds in 2 days and look puffier and feel fatter?
 
Hi Edge,

If you've been doing everything else the same, my assumption is going to be that you're experiencing fluid retention as a result of inflammation. Resistance training causes a temporary change in the pH of your blood and muscles, and puts a lot of stress on the muscles, causing inflammation. I've observed that it's quite common for people to experience this for as much as 3-6 weeks after starting resistance training, before their bodies finally learn to handle the training and the inflammation flushes out.
 
Stay intended and use fitness written report card. Note these subjects: Cardio, Musculus Acquisition, Flexibleness and Mental attitude. Set goals and class yourself through with four times a year. When you see how much you improve, you'll want to act in important form.
 
Edge, I'm concerned.

You need to drink a bit more than 2 litres of water a day. Especially if your working out and exercising. You should shoot for AT LEAST 5 litres a day. A lot fatigue, low energy and burn out is the result of inadequate fluid intake. Muscle growth is also hindered by dehydration.
 
That's a point but they recommend 3L a day for guys and that's without taking exercise and sweat replacement into consideration. Hydration also plays a part in energy level and after reading edge's exercise plan...he needs to up that H2O intake.
 
The water argument. Human beings are the most pathetic primate regarding dehydration and one of the most pathetic land animals. Chimps feel a little bit thirsty at the level where we have died from lack of water.
That said drinking too much flushes out mineral etc we want to keep. All comes down to balance. Urine should run clear, and not sting but there should be couloir in the bowl when you have finished.
I sweat profusely, intake between 2 and 5 litres a day dependant on what I am doing. Fit it to yourself, try not to look for magic numbers, they are usually wrong because we are all different.
 
CrazyOldMan said:
The water argument. Human beings are the most pathetic primate regarding dehydration and one of the most pathetic land animals. Chimps feel a little bit thirsty at the level where we have died from lack of water.
That said drinking too much flushes out mineral etc we want to keep. All comes down to balance. Urine should run clear, and not sting but there should be couloir in the bowl when you have finished.
I sweat profusely, intake between 2 and 5 litres a day dependant on what I am doing. Fit it to yourself, try not to look for magic numbers, they are usually wrong because we are all different.
Click to expand...

Good point about the numbers. We live in a world where we count everything and thanks for pointing that out. However, its still easy to not take hydration as seriously as it needs to. They say that by the time we feel thirsty, we're already dehydrated. I say,what can it hurt to try and get in a few more glasses of water each day?
 
^ That depends on how evenly the extra glasses are spread, and what condition you're body's in (as well as the presence of other nutrients) at the time of consumption. The human survives on electrical signal, which are transferred through the right balance of salt and water. Consume too much water in one hit while your electrolyte levels are low, and people have been known to drop dead on the spot from electrolyte dilution. In short, if you're comfortable drinking more water, it's probably safe or even a good idea to do so; if you aren't, it might not be.
 
Water is one of those things we need desperately and is so important that there has been a host of nonsense spread about it. Just have some with you and sip throughout the day, if you feel thirsty, you haven't had enough, bloated from it, far too much.
Water is a simple compound so keep it simple. Don't target set amounts, because there are too many internal and external factors effecting need.
 
Sprints, sprints, sprints! Now that the weather is nice go find a track and run in bursts as fast as you can. Also I would run after weight training instead if before. I've heard that running before a weight session isn't good because it pulls all the blood to your legs and you don't get as much power. Good luck to you!
 
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