Good way of expressing "gain weight" without negative connotations

Question

Hi, I'm looking for a good way of expressing the activity of gaining weight without the connotation of getting fat. I am thinking of what athletes do when they gain weight by building up muscle, so engordar probably would not work.

Is there a good word or expression in Spanish for that purpose? Does ganar peso work, i.e. does it not have the negative aspect?

Answer 1

It sounds like you are trying to say bulk up or add muscle mass as opposed to get fat: añadir masa muscular.

Answer 2

Ganar peso would work.

Answer 3

Ganar peso or coger peso (the second one only in Spain).

Answer 4

I'm not sure if I understood this right but please correct me by sending a private message to me if I miss understood your question. I think you're trying to tell someone that their "over weight"

ganar peso would not work. in my opinion. i would say; "haz subido un poco de peso" or to make it sound better instead of saying poco say poquito (: which means you've gained a little weight

"overweight" is one word, an adjective. "tell someone that they are overweight" or "they're overweight" (not their) - Jack-OBrien, Jan 22, 2011

"Has subido de peso" Haz is a conjugation of the verb to do in Spanish and not the auxiliary to have. - gone, Jan 22, 2011

No, I was looking for a good translation to say "bulk up", as lorenzo9 put it. - RobertoLeones, Jan 23, 2011