Lifting Weights & Weight Gain

The relationship between weight lifting and weight gain has long been misunderstood. Some athletes seek to bulk up in size through resistance training, while others look to slim down. If the same techniques are used, then other factors affecting your weight must come into play. Your gender and your diet are key aspects in determining whether or not your weight will increase from your weight-training activities.

Looking to Gain -- Exercise

If you wish to increase your size through weight lifting, there are fundamental principles you will need to adhere to. These include fluctuating your frequency of repetitions and working out at high intensities. You should also practice progressive overload, which is the method of continuously adding weight to your lifting routine. One effective technique is HIT -- High Intensity Training -- which includes one to three sessions per week of short, but intense, full-body workouts with 8 to 12 repetitions of each movement, done to failure, or when you are unable to lift any more. You should perform more repetitions or use heavier weights for each consecutive workout to achieve muscle growth.

Looking to Gain -- Diet

There is a great deal of interest in protein consumption for weight gain. Excessive protein, however, does not build muscle. It is converted to fat. Too much protein can also lead to dehydration or loss of urinary calcium, according to the American Council on Exercise. The American Dietetic Association recommends bodybuilders consume 1.4 to 1.8 g of protein per kg of body weight and states that eating any more provides no known benefits. Carbohydrates, however, actually fuel muscles. So strength-training adult men should get at least half of their calories from carbs. Additionally, their caloric intake should increase by 200 or more calories per day to increase muscle mass.

Looking to Lose -- Exercise

Weight-lifting builds muscles, which are metabolically active and increase your body's fat burning abilities. When you increase your muscle mass, your BMR, or Basal Metabolic Rate, increases as well. This enables you to continue burning extra calories even when you are at rest. All adults should participate in activities that strengthen muscles. And unless your routine is very intense and your caloric intake does not go up, your results should include weight loss, not gain.

Looking to Lose -- Diet

To lose weight, you need to reduce calories. Weight lifting burns 234 calories per hour if you weigh 150 lbs. and workout moderately, 413 calories per hour if you workout intensely. Include cardiovascular training for 2.5 hours or more per week and you should see weight-loss results without having to change your caloric intake. For faster results, reduce your daily calories by 100 to 500 each day. The combination of diet and exercise should result in weight loss of 2 lbs. per week.

Gender and Age

As men age, muscle becomes more difficult to build due to lower testosterone levels. Testosterone is the hormone that helps build muscles and peaks in men between ages 16 and 18. The lack of testosterone also accounts for the difficulty women have in gaining large amounts of muscle mass. Most female bodybuilders are only able to increase their size through the use of supplements in addition to a genetic tendency toward muscle growth combined with an intense weight-lifting regimen.