"TONING"

tgzerozone

HAHAHA! I can totally understand the BF part.. My husband is afraid of me getting a hard bum too and sometimes if hes near me at the gym he will watch me like a hawk as to what weights I pick up. he is afraid of me havinglosing my women parts, its like im going to develop the male anatomy if I lift more than 7.5 pounds...

Educate the poor man.

meshashesha2012

Granted the responses, but that is not the whole deal.

It is about people not understanding what is related to the term and how to achieve what they want, and then going out and lifting 1 pound dumbbells for 15 reps.

The purpose of lifting ANY weight is to tax the muscles. If someone is just lifting 1 pound, that isn't a lack of understanding. That is just laziness.

i don't think it's necessarily about being lazy. for one thing, some women mistake that burn they feel when they do a zillion reps of an exercise as the same type of burn they feel if they lifted 1 heavy weight a few times. i've definitely heard this as an excuse before from people not having access to super heavy weights so they think well what's the difference between lifting 5 pounds 60 times or 30 pounds 10 times if i still get the same muscle burn.

also some women think that if they pick up anything larger than a 5 pound weight they will magically have mr universe arms. heck i just ran into that myth last night at my cardio kickboxing class during our "strength" section. the instructor had us get 10 # weights to do things like 1 armed DB snatches, and upright rows and several of the girls were whining about not wanting to get bulky :laugh:


considering that these people also tend to spend FAR more time in the gym than i do i wouldnt call them lazy. after all, doing 3 sets of 20 reps of an exercise takes WAY more time than 3 sets of 8. i'm definitely too lazy for their routine.

This lady lifts heavy weights for low reps:

adding her to my visual inspiration list. but i dont think skipping rope in those shoes is a good idea

devilsangel2

I'm never quite sure when reading these threads whether I am lifting in a good way or not. All my dumbbell exercises are done with 13-18 pound dumbbells. I squat 66# and deadlift 77# (yeah lame but I'm working on it) and I do 3 sets of 12 of each exercise, 30 second rest between sets.

Should I be increasing the weight and decreasing the reps or is this OK until I get stronger?

meshashesha2012

I'm never quite sure when reading these threads whether I am lifting in a good way or not. All my dumbbell exercises are done with 13-18 pound dumbbells. I squat 66# and deadlift 77# (yeah lame but I'm working on it) and I do 3 sets of 12 of each exercise, 30 second rest between sets.

Should I be increasing the weight and decreasing the reps or is this OK until I get stronger?

you get stronger by increasing the weight and strong is kinda relative, so dont feel lame about anything you're lifting. what's lame is not doing it at all

for instance, i try to increase my weight with every set. so if i start the 1set of squats at 135, i do the next set at 145. if i can get through those rep without stopping or falling down then increase again to 155. next time i do squats, i'm going to start at 165 and do the whole thing over again. i really only stay at the same weight if i have a hard time completing all my reps of a set.

not sure if this is the right way, but this is how i was taught to lift when i powerlifted for rugby. i've always stuck with doing it this way because i like the idea of my workouts being a bit different every time i do them, plus i like the feeling of being able to see that i'm getting stronger

devilsangel2

How many are you doing in a set?

meshashesha2012

8-12. i'm doing NROL4W at the moment

billthekill

exactly. i think it's more an issue of misinformation about women and lifting weights. i used to work out with a girl friend who was deathly afraid of weight lifting because she heard it would make her bulky. i convinced her to pick up a weight heavier than 5 pounds by saying it was "toning" .:laugh: it worked too.

2 years later, she's now "toning" faithfully lost tons of weight and slimmed down. recently we shared a laugh when she admitted that she was pissed at me when she finally realized that had convinced her to be a weight lifter by calling it something else.

:devil: mouhahahahahahahahaha :smokin:

ROFL,
Awesome story.

Nopedotjpeg

The problem is when people think they can do something different to their muscles rather than making them grow. "Toning those muscles with lots of reps! Don't want to look bulky!"

dad106

This reminds me of a post I was reading the other day, where a girl said that if you are pear shaped, she read somewhere that you should only weight lift on the upper half of your body and not the lower half since we have more muscle there already, and we don't want to make it bigger.. and the way to "tone" our lower half was by doing long cardio(running/walking).

What these people don't understand is, the bulk factor is fat.. If you lose the fat, you sure as hell won't be looking bulky.

beccah88

I think it is largely down to misinformation. Before I started using MFP I has a lot of the same misconceptions that we are talking about here.

Also, I am a girl who would like to start using weights more effectively but have no idea where to start. I think there is a lot more out there on routines using tiny weights with high reps, and not so much for heavier weights, especially for women. There probably is a lot of stuff out there but its not in-your-face as much.

rml_16

i get what you're saying, but who cares what people want to call it and if it's the correct term or not. you know what they mean, they know what they mean.

i dont get why people get so offended by this term.

maybe i have a different perspective on this because my midwestern grandmother insists on calling bell peppers mangoes. i've long since given up on trying to correct her or bring her the actual fruit. now when i'm in town and she asks me to pick her up a mango for the spaghetti sauce, i just go ahead and get the green bell pepper.

I need to know (like, NEED TO KNOW) why she calls peppers mangoes??? Is that a common thing where she's from? I've never heard of that!

As for toning, well, I'll keep calling it that and anyone who's annoyed will just have to be annoyed.

bcattoes

i get what you're saying, but who cares what people want to call it and if it's the correct term or not. you know what they mean, they know what they mean.

i dont get why people get so offended by this term.

I agree. When people say something is "cool" they often don't mean temperature either. So what? It's called common usage.

bcattoes

This reminds me of a post I was reading the other day, where a girl said that if you are pear shaped, she read somewhere that you should only weight lift on the upper half of your body and not the lower half since we have more muscle there already, and we don't want to make it bigger.. and the way to "tone" our lower half was by doing long cardio(running/walking).

What these people don't understand is, the bulk factor is fat.. If you lose the fat, you sure as hell won't be looking bulky.

Why do you assume "these people" don't understand they have fat? Perhaps it is just you that doesn't understand "us people".

I am pear shaped, and while I didn't write or see the post to which you refer, I agree with it. And I fully understand that much of the bulk is fat. Running will remove that fat and build muscle. I know this for a fact because I've done it.

withervein

Removed due to being late to the party. Comment about stupid shoes duly made.

MrsLVF

As I stated before. This term is so misunderstood and mis-used that I feel for the people that are told by whoever that they should do high rep low weights to "tone" up. As stated many times over by many different people (Wonder why it hasn't sunk in with everyone yet), it is nonsense.

I have a good article on the net that I would love to post completely but due to the direction in language etc on the article, I thought I'd take out the important part, edit it, and quote it. Hope this helps. Please stop "toning" get off your behind, and lift some heavy weights.

Quote below:

"When people (That knows something) are talking about toning, they're referring to myogenic tone, also known as tonus. This phenomenon's essentially a state of partial contraction of a muscle, and that includes both smooth and striated muscle(1)- you'll find a S$%tload of articles on Pubmed referring to the myogenic tone of the the vascular system, for instance. So basically, once you've achieved tonus, you're constantly flexing a bit, unconsciously. Tonic innervation, as it's called, is achieved in one of two ways- by improving neural efficiency and by stimulating fast twitch muscle fibers. You know how you do that? You lift very heavy weights for low reps. To rehash a bit, however, the former head coach of the Bulgarian Olympic Weightlifting team, Ivan Abadjiev, stated that "Consistent training with high intensity loadings can increase the density of nerve impulse that can be generated by the central nervous system. Over time this allows the athlete to recruit a greater percentage of their higher threshold muscle fibres and hence significantly improve power output. Additionally, there is evidence that Type IIa muscle fibres can actually be converted to the more powerful Type IIb fibre type. Abadjiev states that these adaptations are best achieved when loadings are near maximal."(2) High reps, conversely, stimulate slow twitch muscle fibers (Type I). These fibers, being less dense than high twitch fibers, will engorge with blood, giving anyone with a preponderance of them a pumped look when they lift. They won't maintain that look, however, which is why you'll see guys like Triple H walking around on the street and think he's a biker who plays pickup basketball in his free time, whereas you'd see a powerlifter like Joe Ladnier looking almost exactly the same walking around the mall as he would in the gym."

Good morning. While your facts are correct, your post is a bit argumentative, and is unsolicited. It is also quite arrogant to assume all of mfp has read your previous posts. Relax, it's not your job to school the masses, if they want to learn they can read a book. Have a wonderful day.

dad106

This reminds me of a post I was reading the other day, where a girl said that if you are pear shaped, she read somewhere that you should only weight lift on the upper half of your body and not the lower half since we have more muscle there already, and we don't want to make it bigger.. and the way to "tone" our lower half was by doing long cardio(running/walking).

What these people don't understand is, the bulk factor is fat.. If you lose the fat, you sure as hell won't be looking bulky.

Why do you assume "these people" don't understand they have fat? Perhaps it is just you that doesn't understand "us people".

I am pear shaped, and while I didn't write or see the post to which you refer, I agree with it. And I fully understand that much of the bulk is fat. Running will remove that fat and build muscle. I know this for a fact because I've done it.

No actually I do understand because I am also pear shaped.

I lost my lower half by doing squats and lunges to retain what muscle I have, and cardio to lose the excess fat. Women can't bulk up.. It's impossible. Muscle is denser then fat.. so if you have more muscle on the lower half why would it be bigger instead of smaller?

bcattoes

This reminds me of a post I was reading the other day, where a girl said that if you are pear shaped, she read somewhere that you should only weight lift on the upper half of your body and not the lower half since we have more muscle there already, and we don't want to make it bigger.. and the way to "tone" our lower half was by doing long cardio(running/walking).

What these people don't understand is, the bulk factor is fat.. If you lose the fat, you sure as hell won't be looking bulky.

Why do you assume "these people" don't understand they have fat? Perhaps it is just you that doesn't understand "us people".

I am pear shaped, and while I didn't write or see the post to which you refer, I agree with it. And I fully understand that much of the bulk is fat. Running will remove that fat and build muscle. I know this for a fact because I've done it.

No actually I do understand because I am also pear shaped.

I lost my lower half by doing squats and lunges to retain what muscle I have, and cardio to lose the excess fat. Women can't bulk up.. It's impossible. Muscle is denser then fat.. so if you have more muscle on the lower half why would it be bigger instead of smaller?

Squats and lunges do not spot reduce your lower half. If you lose fat, the legs will be smaller whether you gain/retain muscle or not. What does that have to do with how much muscle pear shapes already have or how much cardio such as running can retain?

ilovedeadlifts

Squats and lunges do not spot reduce your lower half. If you lose fat, the legs will be smaller whether you gain/retain muscle or not. What does that have to do with how much muscle pear shapes already have or how much cardio such as running can retain?

First time I've agreed with bcattoes.

dad106

This reminds me of a post I was reading the other day, where a girl said that if you are pear shaped, she read somewhere that you should only weight lift on the upper half of your body and not the lower half since we have more muscle there already, and we don't want to make it bigger.. and the way to "tone" our lower half was by doing long cardio(running/walking).

What these people don't understand is, the bulk factor is fat.. If you lose the fat, you sure as hell won't be looking bulky.

Why do you assume "these people" don't understand they have fat? Perhaps it is just you that doesn't understand "us people".

I am pear shaped, and while I didn't write or see the post to which you refer, I agree with it. And I fully understand that much of the bulk is fat. Running will remove that fat and build muscle. I know this for a fact because I've done it.

No actually I do understand because I am also pear shaped.

I lost my lower half by doing squats and lunges to retain what muscle I have, and cardio to lose the excess fat. Women can't bulk up.. It's impossible. Muscle is denser then fat.. so if you have more muscle on the lower half why would it be bigger instead of smaller?

Squats and lunges do not spot reduce your lower half. If you lose fat, the legs will be smaller whether you gain/retain muscle or not. What does that have to do with how much muscle pear shapes already have or how much cardio such as running can retain?

I'm so confused I don't even know how to answer.

Not sure where I said squats/lunges spot reduce, but if thats what you got out of my reply then ok.

It would help if you had read the other thread because then what I wrote originally would have made sense... so I'm just gonna drop this because I can't even begin to explain.

bcattoes

This reminds me of a post I was reading the other day, where a girl said that if you are pear shaped, she read somewhere that you should only weight lift on the upper half of your body and not the lower half since we have more muscle there already, and we don't want to make it bigger.. and the way to "tone" our lower half was by doing long cardio(running/walking).

What these people don't understand is, the bulk factor is fat.. If you lose the fat, you sure as hell won't be looking bulky.

Why do you assume "these people" don't understand they have fat? Perhaps it is just you that doesn't understand "us people".

I am pear shaped, and while I didn't write or see the post to which you refer, I agree with it. And I fully understand that much of the bulk is fat. Running will remove that fat and build muscle. I know this for a fact because I've done it.

No actually I do understand because I am also pear shaped.

I lost my lower half by doing squats and lunges to retain what muscle I have, and cardio to lose the excess fat. Women can't bulk up.. It's impossible. Muscle is denser then fat.. so if you have more muscle on the lower half why would it be bigger instead of smaller?

Squats and lunges do not spot reduce your lower half. If you lose fat, the legs will be smaller whether you gain/retain muscle or not. What does that have to do with how much muscle pear shapes already have or how much cardio such as running can retain?

I'm so confused I don't even know how to answer.

Not sure where I said squats/lunges spot reduce, but if thats what you got out of my reply then ok.

It would help if you had read the other thread because then what I wrote originally would have made sense... so I'm just gonna drop this because I can't even begin to explain.

Okay, obviously we'll have to agree to disagree anyway. The spot reduce thing came from you saying you lost your lower half with squats and lunges, but perhaps you only meant that was how you retained muscle.

songbyrdsweet

I think I'm going to start wearing clear 6-inch platform heels for squatting/jumprope. It seems to work well. Who's with me??

MrsLVF

What these people don't understand is, the bulk factor is fat.. If you lose the fat, you sure as hell won't be looking bulky.

You can't just assume they don't know that the bulk is fat. Maybe that's the reason they don't want to strength train for mass gains, and instead do strength training & exercises for strength & endurance. Maybe they want to lose the fat first, so they don't look bulky because of the fat that is already there.
Until I reduce my body fat %....I can deal with my bulky looking arms, but I do not need my lower half any bulkier than it is. I will stick to body weight squats, lunges, & lateral lunges.