More muscle = more weight

[brad34]

This might be a dumb question...

I have been doing 5x5 for a while and am making good progress. I have not taken any before and after body measurements and because muscle growth is gradual I can't tell if i am putting on more muscle. My body weight has increased, but so has my waist-line (=more fat- due to eating ALOT).

So here comes the dumb question, and I am probably looking more for motivation. If I am lifting more weight I must be gaining muscle..right??!! For example my bench went from 155 to 205, squat from 95 to 185, Row 115 to 205..etc.

 

[Tblock1]

Yeah you are definitely gaining muscle. It is normal to gain both muscle and fat, however if you gain 6 inches on your waist and only .5 inch on your arm you need to change something up. Measure your arms along with your waist to access progress.

 

[musketeer]

You probably are gaining muscle, but most strength gains for beginners are due to neuro-muscular where your muscles just lean to fire correctly. That's how you can have tiny but highly tuned athletes lifting big weights, because they are using the muscle they have at near 100%. So it is possible to get stringer without growing.