Gaining size without gaining weight?

[punkguitarist]

Is it possible to gain size without gaining any weight?

For example if over a 6 month period someone added 100 lbs to their 10RM on squats but they didn't increase the amount of food they were eating and their "scale weight" remained the same, do you think their legs would still increase in size??

[Carlito Gambino]

It's possible. But the only people I've seen this happen to are obese beginners who tend to lose fat and build muscle simultaneously, thus keeping their weight the same. I remember "coaching" (I use that term very lightly because I was merely helping him out in his fat loss quest) a guy that was roughly 250lbs but stayed at the same weight for quite some time even though he got a lot leaner but still gained visible muscle.

[theroymccoy]

Just throwing it out there...

Figure out how many calories you consume on average just to maintain. Lower the carbs and fats and up the protein but still maintain that calorie-average.

[mentalflex]

I'm no expert on the nervous system, but I would think that someone could also increase their weights by developing greater neural efficiency. With a better mind-muscle connection and established neural pathways to contract motor units then I would imagine someone would be able to move more weight without gains in size. Again, this is just me speculating and trying to open up the discussion. I'm interested in hearing what others have to say on this topic.

[BryanB]

It is possible. I was working with Skip for a while. I went from 240 @ almost 19% BF to 238 @ 12%. 15.5lb muscle gain & 17lb fat loss. and I'm not a beginner

[Knickerbocker24]

Is it possible to gain size without gaining any weight?

For example if over a 6 month period someone added 100 lbs to their 10RM on squats but they didn't increase the amount of food they were eating and their "scale weight" remained the same, do you think their legs would still increase in size??

My hunch is that if you're losing net weight, but increasing strength in the process, you're likely just reducing your bf%, and will likely actually lose some size, while visually appearing larger. You may not fill out your shirt as much, but you may appear larger due to a more aesthetic shape.

[LG1]

My hunch is that if you're losing net weight, but increasing strength in the process, you're likely just reducing your bf%, and will likely actually lose some size, while visually appearing larger. You may not fill out your shirt as much, but you may appear larger due to a more aesthetic shape.

BINGO!!! at least for me, and also working with SKIP :gossip:

[evahflow]

I've always been able to do it.
I recently dropped about 9% bf and only lost 4lbs
and had noticeable muscle gain.

[Yev33]

IMO one of the best things that can happen, getting stronger, dropping BF and maintaining the same weight. A lot of times when someone gains a lot of bw, it will be muscle but fat as well. And unless you get your BF % tested you really dont know how much you gained, then when you begin to strip of the fat you risk losing some of the muscle you gained.
If you're maintaining your bw and getting leaner, you know for a fact youre doing something right.