Getting stronger, weighing more, but no size difference?

[GRardB]

This is possibly the most confusing thing I've ever experienced in all my time lifting....

 

I stopped lifting for the month of August because I went on vacation with my family. I was sick of not being built, so I decided to start eating like a beast (healthy food though) when I started lifting in September again. I've stuck to my diet and I don't think I've drank anything besides water and *very little* milk for the past 5 weeks.

 

Since I started lifting again, the weight on ALL of my exercises for every muscle has gone up dramatically. Not only that, but three different scales are telling me I weigh about 5-6 pounds more than before, and I know I haven't gotten fatter. This is great and all, but here's my problem: I measured my muscles in August and a few days ago, and they are still the same size (except for my chest, I think). I know I haven't gained 5 pounds of muscle in my chest, so what's the deal?

 

Hopefully somebody can give me an idea of what might be going on, because I have no idea

 

Thanks, vegans ,

Gerard

 

EDIT: I also forgot to mention that my dad, two of my sisters, and 2 of my friends said I look bigger. I don't think they're "just saying that" because this is the first time anyone's said anything really, and I didn't even ask some of them if I looked bigger. I dunno :-\

Edited October 5, 2007 by GRardB

[Zack]

That happened to me so far as well.

[Guest]

How tall and how heavy are you??? If you are big enough 5lbs may not be a big enough gain to actually have a noticable difference in size. There can also be inconsistencies with how tight you pulled the tape. When I was big I could gain and lose 15lbs with looking basically exactly the same.

[GRardB]

How tall and how heavy are you??? If you are big enough 5lbs may not be a big enough gain to actually have a noticable difference in size. There can also be inconsistencies with how tight you pulled the tape. When I was big I could gain and lose 15lbs with looking basically exactly the same.

 

I'm 5'9" and my electric scale says 165lbs. My gym's scale and my school's scale say 168lbs. Also, my wingspan is longer than my height (I've got semi-wide shoulders I guess, and long arms).

[Guest]

That may hide some of the mass. The longer or wider things are the harder it is to see growth even if it is there.

[sydneyvegan]

Have you checked your bodyfat percentage?

It's possible you have gained weight because you have replaced fat with muscle, which is heavier.

[markc7]

I would guess that it's probably just due to random measurement error. Did you measure yourself at the exact same time of day each time? Had you done a workout shortly before either of the measurements? How hydrated were you each time? Even if you did gain some size like your family thinks, random stuff might have interfered with how accurate your measurements were.