Toning

Gianfranco_R

lynn_glenmont wrote: »

Gianfranco_R wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

robertw486 wrote: »

rabbitjb wrote: »

Just as a point of order toning doesn't really exist, muscles get bigger or smaller and fat reduces to show muscles

Just a point of order, but the dictionary isn't defined by MFP terms. The first search for the word tone brings up the following on my home page...

tone
tōn/Submit
verb
gerund or present participle: toning
1.
give greater strength or firmness to (the body or a part of it).
"exercise tones up the muscles"

It seems to be another in a string of words that some at MFP oppose, even though dictionary's support it.

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I think "some at MFP" try to inform not based on incorrectly disseminated internet information or health and fitness misuse of words.

That definition, whilst widely used in the slimming world and tabloids, would not appear in any medical textbook and does not seem to appear in the OED or Merriam-Webster

OED
6
(also muscle tone)
[MASS NOUN] The normal level of firmness or slight contraction in a resting muscle:
a reduction of muscle tone
a certain amount of daily exercise is essential to maintain proper body tone and function
MORE EXAMPLE SENTENCES
6.1 Physiology The normal level of activity in a nerve fibre:
vagal tone


Merriam-Webster

a : the state of a living body or of any of its organs or parts in which the functions are healthy and performed with due vigor
b : normal tension or responsiveness to stimuli; specifically : muscular tonus

Uhm, still fighting with the vocabulary? You have to look at the VERB definition, just below..
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/tone

Again, just because enough people use a word to express a false concept that a dictionary takes notes of that usage doesn't mean the concept reflects the way the world really works (see "detox"). What is it that you think happens to a muscles when you "tone" it? Because the only thing you can change about your muscles is to build more muscle mass, or to lose muscle mass. You can also lose fat and make the muscle appear more defined, but you're not actually doing anything to the muscle in that case, so saying you're toning the muscle would be pretty nonsensical.

people that want to "tone up", as I understand, just want to look firmer without getting bigger.
Is that possible? Yes, of course it is. So "toning up" is not a false concept, per se. What is contentious is just how to get such result and whether "toning up" requires a different approach or not.
I don't have a horse here. What is sure is that people that even struggle with vocabulary aren't going to convince me that they are right.

psuLemon

BeYouTiful94 wrote: »

Hey all, I have one more question (sorry, I know I've asked a lot already!). The gym in my apartment has a smith machine (I think that's what they're called). Soooo ... Being only 5'5", the bar won't go down far enough for me to do certain things, like the row. So I looked around and found a dumbbell weight lifting routine, and I'm wondering if that's as good as the barbell? I suppose I could buy my own barbell and drag it to the gym with me and just use their weighs lol, but I'm hoping dumbbell lifting is kind of the same???? Or maybe do barbell squats and bench presses and whatnot and then dumbbell rows and deadlifts and such (that I can't do with the attached barbell contraption)????

Use what you have access to, but I would agree with @rabbitjb that smith machines aren't the best since they generally don't follow your physiology. If you do have access to free weights, than you can still follow the programs we suggested above. There are many modifications to the barbell moves. As a note, there are many solid routines that use barbells, free weights, medicine balls, cable machines, smith machines, TRX bands, and more. Everything has it's place and they will all have various effects. Overall, some will be more effective than others (i.e. - free weights engage more muscles than smith machines), but that doesn't mean the others aren't effective. Meaning, you will see results with any plan, but your results might be better with better equipment. Hell, if you don't have any equipment, you can start with routines like, "You are your own gym" or "Convict Conditioning".

psuLemon

Also, for those who want to battle it out over the use and cogitation of the word toning, please take it to the debate section. Going forward, warnings will be issues for violation of the below rule:


2. No Hi-Jacking, Trolling, or Flame-baiting

Please stay on-topic in an existing thread, and post new threads in the appropriate forum. Taking a thread off-topic is considered hi-jacking. Please either contribute politely and constructively to a topic, or move on without posting. This includes posts that encourage the drama in a topic to escalate, or posts intended to incite an uproar from the community.

jessef593

Well this was interesting. OP if you can, find a free weight routine instead of use on the smith machine. There are some that allow a free range of movement, but out of 4 gyms, I've only seen one. You can definitely do bent over DB rows either unilaterally or multilaterally. And if worse comes to worse, simply sign up for a gym membership. Chances are you have an all women's gym that offers a great 1 year sign up deal.

BeYouTiful94

Thanks for all the pointers on weighs y'all. You guys have been a ton of help and I really appreciate y'all answering my questions!