Putting on weight during resistance phase

Hi there
I’m a 54 yr old masters racer doing the 32 week plan. I usually weight in at 78kg but have noticed that during the resistance phase I’m putting on weight (80kg at the moment) .

I don’t want to forego the muscle gain and I realise that I need to fuel it. I also see that I have lots and lots riding to do later in the year.
I’m thinking I should carry on and expect to lose the weight later
Any thoughts?

Hey @andrew1!
A slight weight fluctuations of 3-4 lb (or 2 kg) is not out of the norm, especially if you weighed yourself after a hard week of training. Glycogen (which is the storage form of carbs) is a main source of energy when you are training. If you burn through most of that (which a hard week on the bike can do, especially if that is compounded with dehydration) you will lose a noticeable amount of weight. If you gain it back, you will similarly gain a little bit of weight. It is not necessarily fat mass if that makes sense. If you have been on the plan for a few weeks, that weight could be you gaining lean muscle mass.

For now, I do not think 2kg is much to be concerned about in the off season. If you are looking to lean up though, I suggest choosing lean sources of protein (about 20-30g per meal), cutting down on added sugars/processed food products outside of training and aiming to consume most of your carbs directly before, during and after your training sessions (aiming for about 4-5 g/kg or ~300-400g per day). On your rest days you can consume around 3g/kg or 240ish grams of carbs. The goal is to only have a 400-600 calorie deficit so that the weight loss is sustainable and so that you are able to properly fuel your rides and support the muscle growth and repair that will occur with the resistance training.

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