Running to tone

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healthy491
healthy491 Posts: 384 Member
edited May 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
Does sprinting intervals on the treadmill help you tone your inner thighs ? As I dont like lifting but I love the treadmill and the elliptical :/
I dont want to lose anymore weight so I dont think i should be in a calorie deficit
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  • mom22dogs
    mom22dogs Posts: 470 Member
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    Losing weight removes fat. Running can help create a caloric deficit to lose weight, which in turn, lets muscle show because of fat loss.
  • healthy491
    healthy491 Posts: 384 Member
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    mom22dogs wrote: »
    Losing weight removes fat. Running can help create a caloric deficit to lose weight, which in turn, lets muscle show because of fat loss.

    But I dont want to lose weight as I have a healthy BMI and if I lose more I will be under weight
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    You have fat and you have lean body mass (LBM.) If you want to lose fat but remain the same weight, you need to increase LBM.

    Example of the math:

    total mass = fat + lean
    100 = 15 + 85

    If you were to lose 5 pounds of fat, you'd have:

    95 = 10 + 85

    So in order to get back to 100, you'd need to have:

    100 = 10 + 90

    In summary, if you don't want to lose any weight but would like to lose fat, work on losing fat and building LBM in the form of muscle. You can either do a recomp, which means you're working on both at the same time (eat at maintenance) or you can do a bulk and cut cycle (eat over maintenance to gain muscle and then eat below maintenance to lose the fat you've added plus hopefully some more fat.) Either way, you need to do resistance exercise such as lifting weights.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
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    "Toning" is basically getting leaner so that muscles are more visible. Often times that can be difficult based on doing cardio alone.
  • JH_LDNMJOURNEY
    JH_LDNMJOURNEY Posts: 1 Member
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    Arose1122 is the best comment in answer to the question. Cardio is important for overall health. However, to tone which is what you want to do. Resistance training is what you will need to do. Which we commonly associate with weight training. Depending on what areas of your body you want to focus on, there are a number of different exercises to try. First off. Start by stating exactly what you want to achieve. Then build a programme round that. If you need a hand give me a shout. X
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
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    Your results will be a direct reflection of your efforts. You can't expect the results if you don't do a program that supports that. Like others have stated, getting toned means less body fat. If you don't have the definition you desire, it means you have a body fat that is high. Resistance training (even body resistance) a small deficit and adequate protein (about .8g per lb of weight) will allow you to cut fat and help maintain your lean body mass.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,517 Member
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    To give you an idea what kind of muscles might be 'trained' from running here's some actual experience. I'm running for over a year now and stopped doing strength training sometime in October. Last Saturday I did some bodyweight lower body exercises that targeted pretty much all big muscles.

    Sunday: Back of thights and bum hurt
    Monday: still back of thighs and bum, slight pain on inner side of thighs
    Today: back of thighs and bum pain gone, inner side pain almost gone, very slight pain just above the knee, backside.

    Thus I guess running mainly trains the thighs at the front and outside, and the lower legs :hushed:
  • williammuney
    williammuney Posts: 2,895 Member
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    The answer to the original question is yes
  • ogtmama
    ogtmama Posts: 1,403 Member
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    Try Pilates
  • healthy491
    healthy491 Posts: 384 Member
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    Thanks all for your help , but as I said I cant lose anymore weight and my body fat is already in a healthy state for my age. I just want to tone my thighs.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    healthy491 wrote: »
    Thanks all for your help , but as I said I cant lose anymore weight and my body fat is already in a healthy state for my age. I just want to tone my thighs.

    Understandable. Unfortunately, you can't spot reduce fat.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    healthy491 wrote: »
    Thanks all for your help , but as I said I cant lose anymore weight and my body fat is already in a healthy state for my age. I just want to tone my thighs.

    Do some sort of progressive resistance program. It's already been said. Looking "toned" means having a bit of muscle and being lean enough for it to show. If you are as lean as you want to be, you are left with the option of building muscle. There are no other options.

  • healthy491
    healthy491 Posts: 384 Member
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    Asher_Ethan wrote: »
    healthy491 wrote: »
    Thanks all for your help , but as I said I cant lose anymore weight and my body fat is already in a healthy state for my age. I just want to tone my thighs.

    Understandable. Unfortunately, you can't spot reduce fat.

    I dont think its fat though :/ I think they are stretch marks or some loose skin but they are really bothering me :(
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    edited May 2016
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    healthy491 wrote: »
    Thanks all for your help , but as I said I cant lose anymore weight and my body fat is already in a healthy state for my age. I just want to tone my thighs.

    Weight and body fat have ranges. How are you defining a healthy range? If you dont have definition you either dont have good enough body composition or your body fat is too high.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    healthy491 wrote: »
    Asher_Ethan wrote: »
    healthy491 wrote: »
    Thanks all for your help , but as I said I cant lose anymore weight and my body fat is already in a healthy state for my age. I just want to tone my thighs.

    Understandable. Unfortunately, you can't spot reduce fat.

    I dont think its fat though :/ I think they are stretch marks or some loose skin but they are really bothering me :(

    You can't exercise skin any more than you can exercise fat.

    Would suggest getting a "second opinion" from someone you trust to give an honest opinion - what you are seeing may not be what everyone else sees.
  • healthy491
    healthy491 Posts: 384 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »
    healthy491 wrote: »
    Thanks all for your help , but as I said I cant lose anymore weight and my body fat is already in a healthy state for my age. I just want to tone my thighs.

    Weight and body fat have ranges. How are you defining a healthy range? If you dont have definition you either dont have good enough body composition or your body fat is too high.

    My body fat percentage is 22.7 % , I am 157 cm tall and I weigh 49 Kg so no I dont think its too high
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,401 MFP Moderator
    edited June 2016
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    healthy491 wrote: »
    psulemon wrote: »
    healthy491 wrote: »
    Thanks all for your help , but as I said I cant lose anymore weight and my body fat is already in a healthy state for my age. I just want to tone my thighs.

    Weight and body fat have ranges. How are you defining a healthy range? If you dont have definition you either dont have good enough body composition or your body fat is too high.

    My body fat percentage is 22.7 % , I am 157 cm tall and I weigh 49 Kg so no I dont think its too high

    That isnt high but its may be high for your goals. If you want to be toned, you might have to lose another 3 to 5% body fat depending on genetics. This is also pending your bf is accurate. Based on your info you would have around 84lbs of lbm. To hit 20% bf, you would need to cut around 4lbs of fat which is still within acceptable ranges. But in order to ensure max lbm retention, you would need some sort of progressive resistance training; weight training, body weight, body pump, cross fit, kettle bell, etc. Add that with adequate protein ( 85g) and a small deficit 10% under maintenance would work.

    If you didnt like that route you can recomp. Eat at maintenance and again have adequate protein and a good resistance program. This is more time consuming but can work for those who don't want weight loss.

    Either way, its no surprise that the key to a lean body is resistance training. It just produces more ideal results.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,988 Member
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    healthy491 wrote: »
    Does sprinting intervals on the treadmill help you tone your inner thighs ? As I dont like lifting but I love the treadmill and the elliptical :/
    I dont want to lose anymore weight so I dont think i should be in a calorie deficit

    I don't like flossing but I do it because it's good for my gums.
  • Colorscheme
    Colorscheme Posts: 1,179 Member
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    Try pilates or yoga, or a workout with 3-5 lb weights. I dislike Tracy Anderson as a person [he diet is too restrictive], but her workouts are great.

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