Muscle loss after exercising

[JohnDoe]

Out of curiosity, how does weight lifting work in general?

For the past 3 weeks or so, I've started going to the gym pretty regularly. Turns out I like it quite a bit - who would have guessed.

The odd thing I've noticed is that my scale which measures body fat and muscle % always very consistently registers a lower muscle % after a weight lifting session and then gradually comes back over the next 48 hours.

This doesn't seem to happen after a cardio session. I wonder why that is?

I don't know much about this at all and figured I'd see if anyone here could explain this to me. Is muscle depleted or consumed in any way while working out? If so, what makes it come back?

If not, is this possibly the mechanism the scale uses 'glitching' because of extra water retention in my muscles?

I find this fascinating for some reason.

[Tril]

Those scales that measure body fat are not accurate. The electric pulse that they use are effected by water... so the numbers will change based on hydration levels. Read the fine print that came with the directions for your scale.

Exercise changes your hydration levels... when you work a muscle you increase blood flow through that muscle. When you exercise you exhale a LOT of water. So, anything that changes your hydration, will change the fat% which will change the lean%. I would use those scale percentages like you use the keto-stix.... as a gauge, an estimation. Not as a true indication of what's actually going on in your body. You should see changes over time... but daily (or hourly) changes don't mean anything.

[JohnDoe]

Thank you for the replies.

I know that a scale like this isn't "accurate", but mine seems very consistent as long as I'm consistent about the situation in which I use it - first thing in the morning, before showering.

If nothing else, I find it comforting to have something reassuring me that my weight loss is fat and not muscle.

[Clarioneer]

"Out of curiosity, how does weight lifting work in general?"

Like asking in general how does a diet work lol... In general weight lifting will increase your core strength but not necessarily enhance the size of your muscles... There are petite girls in my bodypump class that lift the same and more weight during some of the excercises than myself! When you start Bodypump it can be quite humbling for some men lol...

Basically when a body builder says they are "ripped" it doesnt mean they look "buff" it means they are literally ripped! they tear and stretch their muscles apart so like bones it grows back stronger and bigger... hence the need for protein!

It actually made me laugh to here some girls saying they were concerned they might look too ripped and muscular doing bodypump lol...

Check out HIT training on youtube its scary stuff and they look like that doing the gym once or twice a week, when they do the gym they literally rip every muscle in their body and need 5 days for the muscle to grow back!... they also diet hard... and dont care about fitness... for example... everyone has abs but you will only see them if you have less than 7% body fat... these HIT training guys are extremely lean!

(HIT = High Intensity training)