is this exercise regime enough to generally tone?

penelopepittstopper

Hi there everyone

I am very confused about the whole concept of strength training. I have read somewhere that strength training is strictly weights and then I have read elsewhere that doing calisthenics is classed as strength training as well?

I tend to do a lot of cycling (as a hobbie) and this has toned me a lot but mostly my bum and legs. I have added in some calisthenics for my upper body and also an ab wheel. Is this enough for toning purposes and to burn fat?

RaspberryTickleChicken

Hello & Welcome to MFP forums!

I think it really depends on what YOU are comfortable with and can consistently do.

The idea of 'strength training' is to build muscle because muscle burns more calories than fat. In the long run muscles will help keep the weight off more so than flabby skinny.

SO if the end-game is to build muscle than any weight baring exercises will achieve the same as lifting, albeit a bit slower and possibly less muscle definition.

For me, personally I hate lifting. I'm just uncomfortable in the free weights area of my gym. So I've started to regularly add on weight-baring exercises like push ups, pull ups, leg lifts, etc. 2-3 times a week for about 5 wks now. I'm essentially using my own body weight to apply resistance and even at only 2-3 times a week I am starting to see some nice definition on my back & shoulders.

Whatever you decide, consistency is key so pick something that you like or can at least tolerate on a regular basis.

Best of Luck!

pkw58

I would say, as a recent participant in weight lifting, that my PT if big on a combination of dumbbells and body weight resistance training - I only meet with him 2 times a week and it really helps me on upper body strength. Learning to do planks and push ups and pull ups as well as burpees and various forms of lunges is a great compliment to walking and Barre3 and yoga - for me. I also like the TRX straps - so much I am working on figuring out how to have them in our home. The upper body and back weight lifting also helps my posture.

Wheelhouse15

Strength training isn't just resistance training with weights but that's what most people usually mean when they say strength training. You have to understand how the various types of exercise will fit into your fitness goals. However, there really isn't such a thing as "toning" you are either building muscle or cutting the fat to see it better but toning is really a buzzword that is meant to sell light weight training to women who are afraid of becoming "bulky".

So really the question is what do you want to do? I would recommend taking a look at books like New Rules of Lifting for Women and trying out that program and see how you like it if you are interested in firming up your body. You won't get bulky unless you really try and you will find that the weight lifting will give you that toned look you want.

3laine75

Calisthenics is just fine as long as you're making the exercises progressively harder. Your muscles aren't going to know whether you're pushing a 50kg barbell or 50kg of your own weight around.

To keep getting the same returns from your cycling, I'd think you'd need to hit up some serious hills but I don't know a lot about that if I'm honest.

alereck

Isolation exercises with dumbbells worked well to define my upper body. If you want to just match your upper with a toned lower body then I would start there. Start with the basics: curls, kickbacks, overhead press, chest press, pull downs, rows with a weight you’re comfortable with doing 3 sets of 8-12 reps then slowly increase the weight. I do one day of arms/shoulders and another for chest/back.

If you are new to these exercises go to bodybuilding.com to find proper form or try youtube.