Want to be Toned but Not Ripped

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  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Hmm yes, this really is a dilemma. So many people have gotten huge and ripped accidentally. It's the next biggest problem we face as a society after obesity.

    :laugh:

    I'm still waiting for that one day I will wake up with nice big guns... :cry:
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    Thinking you can gain a significant amount of muscle by accident is silly when you consider a natural pro bodybuilder would be happy with 5lbs of clean muscle a year.

    Anyway, start lifting now. You can't get big and muscular without the dedication or drugs to do so. By the way, toned isn't a real thing; it's a term created by women's media because it sounds sexier than lose bodyfat. Which is what you want to do.

    And once more... Just in case you're still not convinced it's the right answer... lol
    QFT :wink:
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
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    The only difference between what you call "toned" and what you call "ripped" is the level of bodyfat. The amount of muscle mass is the same. The actual work you do to reach those goals is the exact same, with the ONLY difference being that you simply switch to maintenance level calories sooner. Also, you can get away with not being as anal retentive about meeting your macros or keeping under your calorie goal 100% of the time.

    Basically, the work is the same, you just don't have to be as anal retentive about the nutrition end of things. When you like the level of muscle definition you see in the mirror, simply stop eating at a deficit. That's it.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Thinking you can gain a significant amount of muscle by accident is silly when you consider a natural pro bodybuilder would be happy with 5lbs of clean muscle a year.

    Anyway, start lifting now. You can't get big and muscular without the dedication or drugs to do so. By the way, toned isn't a real thing; it's a term created by women's media because it sounds sexier than lose bodyfat. Which is what you want to do.

    ^^^ this

    and just to add, if you want the "softer" look rather than the female bodybuilder look, the difference is how low you take your body fat percentage:

    13% = ripped like a bodybuilder, lots of muscle definition, popping veins etc

    15% = more like a fitness model with visible abs and quite a lot of definition, but the definition is softer

    18-22% = more like a bikini model, where the body is lean and firm, but there's not so much muscle definition.

    So to answer your question - yes absolutely hit the gym and the weights, but keep your body fat percentage above 20%. Low 20s is probably best for the look you're describing. If you want a better idea, Leigh Peele's blog has pictures of women at different body fat percentages, pick the one you like the best and aim for that body fat percentage, and lift weights so you have a nice, firm shape when you get to that body fat percentage.
  • Iron_Lotus
    Iron_Lotus Posts: 2,295 Member
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    Hey Everyone!
    Hoping someone would be able to give me a little advice. I am currently working towards a weight loss goal. I would ultimately like to be toned, but not ripped. (Think pageant girl instead of body builder). Do I lose the fat before I start lifting weights or do both simultaneously? I don't want to have huge muscles once I've lost the weight.
    Thanks :)


    Oh how I wish for ripped!
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,775 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I will be investing in some dumbells this week! Yay! :)

    I hope that means you will be investing in dumbbells of substantial weight, not 1lb, 3lb, 5lb or 10lbs. Check out New Rules of Lifting for Women or Stronglifts. Both programs have active groups here.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/102-new-rules-of-lifting-for-women-nrol4w
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/771-women-strength-training
  • deksgrl
    deksgrl Posts: 7,237 Member
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    ZOMG! I'm soooo scared, I might get ripped by accident!!!!!
  • ladyark
    ladyark Posts: 1,101 Member
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    Hmm yes, this really is a dilemma. So many people have gotten huge and ripped accidentally. It's the next biggest problem we face as a society after obesity.

    :laugh:

    I'm still waiting for that one day I will wake up with nice big guns... :cry:


    Yes me too!! Until then i just use the pink weights :)
  • Escape_Artist
    Escape_Artist Posts: 1,155 Member
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    Yes me too!! Until then i just use the pink weights :)

    :noway:
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I will be investing in some dumbells this week! Yay! :)

    Instead of buying some dumbells, I would encourage you (if you can afford it) to look into a gym that has a squat rack. If you can find one (doesn't have to be a fancy gym, as long as they got a squat rack), checkout stronglifts (google it and there is a group for it on MFP too!) you will absolutely love it as it is very beginner friendly and will help you build strength very fast

    Heres the group with all the info in the stickies
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women
  • ladyark
    ladyark Posts: 1,101 Member
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    Yes me too!! Until then i just use the pink weights :)

    :noway:

    LOL just totally kidding...i use those to prop my door open. I just use weights that challenge me and go up from there.
  • MzManiak
    MzManiak Posts: 1,361 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I will be investing in some dumbells this week! Yay! :)

    Instead of buying some dumbells, I would encourage you (if you can afford it) to look into a gym that has a squat rack. If you can find one (doesn't have to be a fancy gym, as long as they got a squat rack), checkout stronglifts (google it and there is a group for it on MFP too!) you will absolutely love it as it is very beginner friendly and will help you build strength very fast

    Heres the group with all the info in the stickies
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

    Omg. I didn't even know there was a group. Thanks, Taunto! :smooched:
  • dressagester
    dressagester Posts: 53 Member
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    Strength training now will help you retain muscle as you lose weight, so start now. And unless you are dedicating a couple hours a day to training and following a rigid diet plan designed to bulk and cut, it is doubtful that you will develop "huge muscles". Bodybuilders, male and female, get that way because they are spending hours and hours in the gym working their *kitten* off, not 40 minutes in the gym 3 times a week.

    This.

    Lift now and help keep your muscle mass. Accidentally getting ripped is impossible. Bikini competitors spend hours in the gym and are meticulous about dieting - and they have nowhere near the muscle definition of the bodybuilders that you fear.

    Also - women MUST lift. It helps keep your bones strong.
  • mjrkearney
    mjrkearney Posts: 408 Member
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    Putting in the 112th vote for "Both". Weight training is a great way to burn calories while increasing the efficiency of your muscles.

    I understand what the OP means by toned, though. With women, it's kind of in contention for what gets called "skinny fat". We want enough muscle to be able to open our own pickle jars and not look like stick figures, but not so much that we look "gross". We can drop enough body fat to look "ripped" but still look like Olive Oyl. If someone has Shelly Duval as an inspiration, great, but that's not what this post is about.

    Personally, I try to lift, run, and do yoga and since I still have a fairly high body fat percentage, it comes across as bulky, and I'm fine with it.
  • IronmanPanda
    IronmanPanda Posts: 2,083 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I will be investing in some dumbells this week! Yay! :)

    Instead of buying some dumbells, I would encourage you (if you can afford it) to look into a gym that has a squat rack. If you can find one (doesn't have to be a fancy gym, as long as they got a squat rack), checkout stronglifts (google it and there is a group for it on MFP too!) you will absolutely love it as it is very beginner friendly and will help you build strength very fast

    Heres the group with all the info in the stickies
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

    Yes I agree. Curls are always better in the squat rack at your local gym.
  • NovemberJune
    NovemberJune Posts: 2,525 Member
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    Lift while you lose! :smile:
    To be really ripped you have to attain a pretty low body fat percentage, so if you ever feel like you're a bit too "ripped", just gain a little fat :smile:
  • wareagle8706
    wareagle8706 Posts: 1,090 Member
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    these threads always get me. Good luck looking like a bodybuilder. seriously.

    Weight lift and do cardio as you eat at a deficit and you will get that beauty queen look you're going for. you will not ever look like a body builder eating at a deficit or even eating at maintenance. Just workout, for crying out loud.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    these threads always get me. Good luck looking like a bodybuilder. seriously.

    Weight lift and do cardio as you eat at a deficit and you will get that beauty queen look you're going for. you will not ever look like a body builder eating at a deficit or even eating at maintenance. Just workout, for crying out loud.

    Some folks are new and have heard a lot of broscience from family and on the internet. No need to get angry. Just point them towards the right direction with facts. The kind of replies I am seeing in this thread discourages people from asking and continuing believing in the broscience. Try being patient :)
  • 0110Charlotte
    0110Charlotte Posts: 26 Member
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    :)
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I will be investing in some dumbells this week! Yay! :)

    Instead of buying some dumbells, I would encourage you (if you can afford it) to look into a gym that has a squat rack. If you can find one (doesn't have to be a fancy gym, as long as they got a squat rack), checkout stronglifts (google it and there is a group for it on MFP too!) you will absolutely love it as it is very beginner friendly and will help you build strength very fast

    Heres the group with all the info in the stickies
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/4618-stronglifts-5x5-for-women

    Yes I agree. Curls are always better in the squat rack at your local gym.

    Thanks :) I have a gym membership starting in September so I will utilize this. :)

    The curls comment was a joke between iron and me. Don't do curls in the squat rack (and if you choose to do stronglifts, you won't have to do curls anyways so no biggie)

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