Weight Gain during F1

Since starting F1 I think I've gained something like 6 pounds.  I feel like most of this is muscle (probably in my lower back, quads, and glutes more than anywhere else).  Coming from a mostly Primal/Paleo  diet (~75% of my food anyway) I've started incorporating more carbs to keep up with the work I've been doing but still I'm not used to gaining weight while working out (I went through a period of weight loss in college coming down from ~235 5 years ago down to ~164 at my lowest weight last year - at 6'1") so the norm for me is working out = losing weight.  

I just wanted to see how many of you out there have experience weight loss or gain during F1 so far.  I'm trying to judge my progress by how well I'm performing my workouts and not by what the scale is telling me but I have mild anxiety over seeing higher numbers on the scale I guess.  I guess I should take a picture and see if I look any different than when I started.

Judge by your performance and your clothes. Don't mind the number right now.

After 1 month of F1 I must admit that there's change in the size of my arm. A little bigger, not huge improvement but noticeable.

I don't worry about my weight, it's a terrible indicator of healthy body mass. Your weight gain could be due to a number of factors. If you're really worried about it, take some circumference measurements around your waist, legs and arms for a more accurate idea of what kind if weight gain your experiencing.

If you're changing your diet, that could be why you're gaining weight. Your body probably isn't used processing carbs from your time on paleo. And carbs tend to increase water absorption as well, so that's probably a factor.

I practice intermittent fasting, check it out if you want a great alternative to paleo. If you're interested, I can provide more info.

Oh no, more people complaining about gaining muscle.

Lucky ducks

Haha not complaining - just polling.  It is difficult to set aside my old mindset that I've always had as a climber: lighter is better - but I recently realized that what would make it easier to climb up a rock isn't necessarily what will make me a healthier and more able human being, so I'm trying to embrace this new weight (hopefully it's muscle!)

@thecolin:  I actually did take measurements of my legs, chest, biceps, neck and waist a month or two before starting F1.  I'm definitely going to see where I grew!  That's a great suggestion!  Thanks!  And as far as IF goes - I dabble in it here and there.  Some days I'll do a leangains-style eating schedule.  Some days I'll eat 3 square meals.  Depends on how I feel.

I've definitely leaned out, but as far as muscle gain goes, I don't think I'm that lucky

Cannister said:

Haha not complaining - just polling.  It is difficult to set aside my old mindset that I've always had as a climber: lighter is better - but I recently realized that what would make it easier to climb up a rock isn't necessarily what will make me a healthier and more able human being, so I'm trying to embrace this new weight (hopefully it's muscle!)

 

@thecolin:  I actually did take measurements of my legs, chest, biceps, neck and waist a month or two before starting F1.  I'm definitely going to see where I grew!  That's a great suggestion!  Thanks!  And as far as IF goes - I dabble in it here and there.  Some days I'll do a leangains-style eating schedule.  Some days I'll eat 3 square meals.  Depends on how I feel.

Definitely take measurements as it will be the easiest way to see if you're gaining muscle or fat. If you're waist has gotten bigger(at the navel, an inch above and an inch below), you're probably gaining fat, particularly if it's in the spare tire area. If your waist is smaller, chest and shoulders are bigger then it is most definitely muscle mass gains.

since I started in Fed, my glutes fire more, my knees feel more stable, my wrists feels amazing, my shoulder mobility and engagement in activity has improved and my overall sense of body awareness has gone up a bit and that's always nice. feeling comfortable in the meat sack we inhabit while we're here is a pretty bomb feeling

aside from that I went up from a 148-150lb range to a 152-154lb range. 

neurologically, i feel pretty good too, some positions that before felt shaky are improving in their shaky factor. not quite a coco-bongo status anymore

I'm also up in weight since starting the program! Allthough for me who is a heavier trainee (210 pounds) this isnt exactly what i wanted. A slow and nice body recomp effect seems to be starting though so i gotta be patient. Most of my growth has been my upper lower back, shoulders and bicep (after high volume of the RC PE2).

Allthough it makes me want to go on a crash diet since im alot stronger in the F1 movements than my friends sporting 75ish kg. Makes me wonder what id be capable off if i was 20 kg smaller weight wise , oh well....

I gained a lot of weight when I started the program... and not in a good way. The thing is you can see that when you start off, a week can look like doing 3 sets of 3 reps or 12 seconds across three to four movements. That's not a lot of exercise and I would finish off a workout in a matter of minutes.

If you are used to training differently, you can find yourself burning far fewer calories than what you are used to. Now, I am currently nearing the end of my 12 week cycle and the workouts are much more difficult and intense, but I have to watch out for when movements are mastered and I go back to week one or four for the next movement.

I must admit that this weight gain should not have been a problem for the sole reason that I normally train a bunch of other stuff like Capoeira and tumbling, but due to personal issues arising I just did the Foundation One workout and my diet was mediocre during this time. Bottom line, when you are doing F1 be aware of your level activity and accommodate lower work loads with more cardio and/or better diet.

A buddy of mine who I haven't seen in like 1-2 months told me yesterday that I packed on quite a bit of muscle.

It doesn't show on the scale yet but apparently it's visible.

It was nice to hear  

I am  staying at 225 right now, up from 208 when I started getting onto F1 later last Fall (had access to the programming for a while, but wasn't healthy enough to start very much until then).

There has been a lot of muscle gain, which is continuing as I recomp a bit. This is especially visible in my legs, abs, chest, shoulders, and arms.

Joshua Naterman said:

There has been a lot of muscle gain, which is continuing as I recomp a bit. This is especially visible in my legs, abs, chest, shoulders, and arms.

So pretty much everywhere .

Form follows function. We will build the muscle we need to perform what we demand from our bodies. If undesirable weight gain occurs it might have something to do with what we eat. I agree that the initial phases of F1 might not be particularly high in either intensity or volume. I can however say that it produces remarkable neurological adaptation very quickly. Three weeks ago I was filled with trepidation when I saw what was ahead of me. Now I can do what is required with not too much effort. I would recommend staying with the program while also keeping the eating pretty clean.

Since I started the Foundation program about 6 weeks ago, I lost 3 to 4 kg, or about 5% of my body weight (now down to 74 kg at 185 cm; 163 lbs at 6'2"). Coming back from 3 weeks of pretty intense x-country skiing to get my endurance up, my wife and I changed to a low carb (and low protein from meat) diet. Lots of vegetables, fruit and nuts, much less  bread, noodles, rice and potatoes (without being obsessive about it), very little meat (we do take vitamin supplements). I also started the Foundation program. I probably lost some upper body strength by not working out on my rings, but gained significantly in terms of proprioception and neuromuscular strength. So, not bigger, but leaner (3 to 4 kg) and with quite a bit more body awareness and control; and, of course, slow but steady increases in flexibility. And that in 6 weeks time. Apparently, I possessed a lot of dormant neuromuscular strength that just needed to be woken up  . When I started GST three years ago I wanted to get stronger without getting bigger. Well, it worked out more than OK for me and with the Foundation program I don't have to worry much any more about how to progress in a more disciplined and controlled manner. 

Klaudius Petrulis said:

I've definitely leaned out, but as far as muscle gain goes, I don't think I'm that lucky

Like me you are not genetically gifted. However at least we have strength to brag about;) 

hunashaman said:

...I agree that the initial phases of F1 might not be particularly high in either intensity or volume. I can however say that it produces remarkable neurological adaptation very quickly...

 

Hmmm... I would not have thought this to be true. That is, why would neurological adaptation occur without intensity or volume? Were the workouts very challenging for you in the initial phase? I think that, looking back on it, I started on week 1 for certain movements where I probably should have started on week 5.

IcedDante said:

Hmmm... I would not have thought this to be true. That is, why would neurological adaptation occur without intensity or volume? Were the workouts very challenging for you in the initial phase? I think that, looking back on it, I started on week 1 for certain movements where I probably should have started on week 5.

We're not talking about intramuscular adaptation, in this case, at least in most muscle groups. This is what you're familiar with, and this is what is responsible for a given isolated muscle producing more force without increasing the number of contractile elements.

This is probably happening in the stabilizing muscle groups, because those are what these movements stress the most, but the rest of the neurological differences will be coming from learning coordination BETWEEN muscle groups.

Example: Teaching your body to stay straight, without letting your head get out of line (or curling your torso), while doing RC PE1, takes time, but in the end you learn more efficient movements, and this allows you to move your body more effectively. This then carries over to PE2-6 and beyond.

This is much of the basis behind GOOD Gymnastic Strength Training™, because you can't exert your strength during complex movements properly until you can hold the correct shape, and that requires its own strength. As your skill level rises, you will shift to a more shared focus on the larger muscles because you'll have the skill (and strength) to use GST to train more demanding movements.

Yup Joshua. You said it. I can hold a decent L-sit, do proper dips, Bulgarian push ups on the rings etc. With F1 however I realized that I'm actually doing it all wrong. I'm "forcing" myself into these positions rather than knowing which muscles to use and how. I had the same experience with weightlifting and Kettlebells. I can force the issue and look the part but always with detrimental effects eventually. F1 breaks everything down into chunks that allows the brain and body to work together in harmony.

To correct a bad pattern you must break it first then relearn it correctly. Do not reinforce bad patterning.

I actuallu have a hard time getting in my weight class. Im stronger and more confident than ever. We have nationals this weekend. Nothing that litle sauna wound fix, but still im getting stronger and bigger and have to see what weight class im competing in future.