Muscle Composition

[gymrat]

My understanding is that muscles are 75% water. Logic tells me that if you were to gain muscle weight, some of that weight would be due to water retention within the actual muscle rather than the muscle fibers expanding alone. Is this correct?

[.V.]

Yes, more water in the muscle cells makes them bigger, making the muscles bigger, making the muscles stronger.

[F-4-L]

I started drinking more water a while ago and now I get thirsty all the time! Apart from running to the toilet constantly I think it really helps! :

[threenorns]

the toilet trips will settle in a couple of days once your body is reassured that there's plenty of water available. you know you're dehydrated if your pee looks like apple juice. it should be pretty near colourless. of course, vitamin B will turn it a funky day-glo lime-yellow, beets will turn it pink, methylene blue will turn it (of course) blue (fun thing to do: put meth blue into someone's coffee if they drink it black - wait for the screams), and rhubarb will turn it a dark greenish-black, but who's checking.

[AndrewH]

well that's pretty neat! I should eat some beets one night and go to school peeing pink and saying i need to go home because I have bloody urine!

[Firehawk]

Originally Posted by gymrat

My understanding is that muscles are 75% water. Logic tells me that if you were to gain muscle weight, some of that weight would be due to water retention within the actual muscle rather than the muscle fibers expanding alone. Is this correct?

That's right brother. 1g of glycogen pulls in 3grams of water with it. Now if you take creatine which will volumize those msucle cells even more, then you can get more juice into those cells, and you'll weigh more.

[threenorns]

Originally Posted by AndrewH

well that's pretty neat! I should eat some beets one night and go to school peeing pink and saying i need to go home because I have bloody urine!

that might work except for one thing: bloody urine looks more like tomato juice.