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Why you weigh more after the gym (and it is not muscle)

Why you weigh more after the gym (and it is not muscle)

You finish a hard workout, step on the scale, and the number has gone UP by half a kilo or more. It feels scary and unfair, but it cannot be fat or new muscle. It is water you drank, water pulled in by refilling sugar stores, and water sent to fix sore muscles.

18 Jul 2026 · Burnie Academy
workout water-weight scale muscle-repair

Riya finishes 45 minutes on the treadmill. She feels proud. She wipes her face, drinks two glasses of water, and steps on the gym scale before driving home. The number has jumped up by almost 1 kg since morning. Her heart sinks. She thinks, "I worked so hard, and I gained weight?" This short read is for Riya, and for you. That scary up-number after a workout is almost never fat. And it is definitely not new muscle. It is water, wearing three different costumes.

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