Toning Tips-

ningggsm

I need help. Since I've been losing the weight, I do notice that my tummy, thighs and legs have been shrinking. However, it also seems like the arms won't cooperate with everything else. I have been lifting weights, and doing my 100 reps of arm rows everyday; still, I havn't seen any changes. I do want them to look lean and toned. Any tips?

Joannie30

Just have patience. It'll happen.

Also drink loads of water, cut down on caffiene andexfoliate/massage daily to promote lymphatic drainage.

dad106

Just need to keep eating in a calorie deficit..and eventually they will shrink.

Also, 100 reps of Arm rows is a bit ridiculous. Drop the reps, drop the weight, and mix up the arm exercises.

ningggsm

Just need to keep eating in a calorie deficit..and eventually they will shrink.

Also, 100 reps of Arm rows is a bit ridiculous. Drop the reps, drop the weight, and mix up the arm exercises.

Lmfao, isn't it? They kill me. Anyway, if you don't mind me asking- when you say mix up the arm exercises; what kind of arm exercises? Don't know much exepting for lifting :P

mogletdeluxe

First of all, congratulations on your achievement.

Second of all, what weight are you lifting?

erickirb

Just need to keep eating in a calorie deficit..and eventually they will shrink.

Also, 100 reps of Arm rows is a bit ridiculous. Drop the reps, drop the weight, and mix up the arm exercises.

I think you mean drop the reps and INCREASE the weight.

Csitri

bump would like to know answers too

ningggsm

Just need to keep eating in a calorie deficit..and eventually they will shrink.

Also, 100 reps of Arm rows is a bit ridiculous. Drop the reps, drop the weight, and mix up the arm exercises.

I think you mean drop the reps and INCREASE the weight.

Okay, that's more of what I was thinking. Thank you

trud72

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

dad106

Just need to keep eating in a calorie deficit..and eventually they will shrink.

Also, 100 reps of Arm rows is a bit ridiculous. Drop the reps, drop the weight, and mix up the arm exercises.

I think you mean drop the reps and INCREASE the weight.

That is what I meant.. Thank you!

To OP:
As far as mixing up arm exercises, you can do rows, tri-cep extensions, bi-cep curls to name a few... google Arm exercises and you'll find a ton.

ningggsm

First of all, congratulations on your achievement.

Second of all, what weight are you lifting?

Thank you so much Well, I'm weak... even weaker in my left arm. Lol. I use 10lb weights when doing arm rows; and try for a 20lb weight when doing bicep curls.

yksdoris

Just have patience. It'll happen.

Also drink loads of water, cut down on caffiene andexfoliate/massage daily to promote lymphatic drainage.

ooh, the massage is a good idea! I have problems with big arms too but lately have been paying more attention to my legs, calves to be more exact because in the summer they sometimes cramped in the middle of the night. So, I've been doing more calf excercises combined with thorough stretching and a massage after the workout, more to improve the blood circulation than for toning but amazingly enough I can totally see the difference! The massage though, after the workout... sometimes it hurts so bad it makes me dizzy and nauseated, I really feel like throwing up. I know that sometimes happens when the poisons your body has collected are released, I just never knew my calves stored ALL of the poison, ever...

I've now just (=Tuesday. I'm still sore) gotten a new workout schedule that focuses more on the arms again but I think I'll try massaging my arms as well, maybe that will help some.

75in2013

Hi. Saw your success pics. You look awesome. I think you took them down now, no? Anyway.

In order to get "toned" you need to drop body fat. So keep eating at a calorie deficit. Be patient. It'll take time!

Lifting is great. If you need ideas for workouts check this link:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/main.html

Why are you doing rows? Any rows that I know mostly train the middle back, lats etc. Not really arm exercises?!

dad106

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

Well for one, you shouldn't be doing weights daily (If you are doing a full body program... Split body programs are a different story)... each muscle group needs at least a 24 hr rest period between workouts.

Two, you don't build muscle in a calorie deficit.. you need a surplus of calories before you can build muscle. Even then, for a female, it's quite hard to build muscle as we don't have the hormones for it.

ningggsm

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

That I wouldn't know :huh: Lol.
We can wait for someone else to answer that question for us ^_^

erickirb

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

If you are on a caloric deficit you will not gain any significant amount of muscle. Even in a surplus you would be lucky to add 2 lbs of muscle/month.

The reason you lift while dieting is to ensure that the weight you lose is mainly fat. If you don't do strength training then a large % of your wight loss will be lean muscle.

And for the daily working out, just don't do the same muscle group on back to back days, recovery typically takes 48hours, so if you work a muscle group Monday, don't work it again until Wednesday at the earliest.

75in2013

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

It's very difficult to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time. It's much easier to gain muscle mass when eating at a surplus and then cutting down (while trying to not lose too much lean body mass).

If you don't have a scale that shows your lean body mass (or BF%) it's difficult to judge if you are gaining muscle or not. Especially while you are still learning technique.

erickirb

First of all, congratulations on your achievement.

Second of all, what weight are you lifting?

Thank you so much Well, I'm weak... even weaker in my left arm. Lol. I use 10lb weights when doing arm rows; and try for a 20lb weight when doing bicep curls.

This surprises me as rows work your Back, which is much stronger than a bicep. I typically curl 40lb dumbbells but can row with 70lb dumbbells for the same amount of reps.

tcunbeliever

If you are going to work bi/tri then I would also suggest shoulders, chest, and back...they are all connected and it will reduce your overall risk of injury to build the supportive muscles at the same time.

ningggsm

Hi. Saw your success pics. You look awesome. I think you took them down now, no? Anyway.

In order to get "toned" you need to drop body fat. So keep eating at a calorie deficit. Be patient. It'll take time!

Lifting is great. If you need ideas for workouts check this link:
http://www.muscleandstrength.com/exercises/main.html

Why are you doing rows? Any rows that I know mostly train the middle back, lats etc. Not really arm exercises?!

Aw, thank you so much I really appreciate it. And no, I havn't taken it down. It's probably just lost somewhere inbetween the old and new forums. Everyone on MFP is so supportive, I love it. Really am thankful for all of it.

Anyway, why am I doing arm rows? Hah, I have no clue. I think I read somewhere that it was a good exercise for the arm. Bleh. And thanks for the link btw

yksdoris

Just need to keep eating in a calorie deficit..and eventually they will shrink.

Also, 100 reps of Arm rows is a bit ridiculous. Drop the reps, drop the weight, and mix up the arm exercises.

Lmfao, isn't it? They kill me. Anyway, if you don't mind me asking- when you say mix up the arm exercises; what kind of arm exercises? Don't know much exepting for lifting :P

Push-ups are good because they do your chest, back and arms all at the same time. You can also do... eh, I don't know the actual name of the excercise now but for the triceps: find a bench or table and with your back to it, hold on to the table, then lower yourself using only your arms, then up again.

Or, using a dumbbell: starting position is with the dumbbell at shoulder, simply lift it straight up. God, those used to kill me... But in hindsight they helped quite a bit with the weightloss-boob-sag as well as the arms and shoulders.

bio_fit

I've really noticed a difference in my arms since doing standing overhead presses 3x per week - 5 reps, 5 sets, a dumbbell in each hand as heavy as I can go! Currently at 44lb, which feels like a lot for my weak little arms :bigsmile:

yksdoris

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

Well for one, you shouldn't be doing weights daily (If you are doing a full body program... Split body programs are a different story)... each muscle group needs at least a 24 hr rest period between workouts.

Two, you don't build muscle in a calorie deficit.. you need a surplus of calories before you can build muscle. Even then, for a female, it's quite hard to build muscle as we don't have the hormones for it.

that's not entirely true. You can "build" muscle while on a relatively low calorie intake if you're on a really high protein level. Well, actually what happens is that you don't lose any of the muscle tissue you already have because the protein helps to build it up but instead you lose the fat. though, too much protein can also cause problems for the kidneys, i hear so... everything in moderation

ETA: I put "build" in quotation marks because you're not actually gaining muscle, but the muscles youhave become more visible. Heavy people actually have a LOT of muscle that's needed to carry all that weight around; so if you're smart about it (which I wasn't when I first started), you can retain and tone the muscle you have while losing the fat, thus ending up with a nice toned body.

ningggsm

you all are very helpful thank you so much!

Wonderob

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

The reason you lift while dieting is to ensure that the weight you lose is mainly fat. If you don't do strength training then a large % of your wight loss will be lean muscle.

Yeah this ^^^^

You'll be surprised at how great this actually is though!

At 200lb with a typical (for a woman) body fat of 35%, one is considered obese

You still have 130 lbs of lean muscle mass though

Maintain that whilst shedding the fat and if you dieted down to 160 lbs you would then have less than 20% body fat with the appearence of bigger, more defined muscles!

Keeping all your muscle whilst dropping the fat is damned hard though! Heavy weights on a calorie deficit is the only answer

dad106

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

Well for one, you shouldn't be doing weights daily (If you are doing a full body program... Split body programs are a different story)... each muscle group needs at least a 24 hr rest period between workouts.

Two, you don't build muscle in a calorie deficit.. you need a surplus of calories before you can build muscle. Even then, for a female, it's quite hard to build muscle as we don't have the hormones for it.

that's not entirely true. You can "build" muscle while on a relatively low calorie intake if you're on a really high protein level. Well, actually what happens is that you don't lose any of the muscle tissue you already have because the protein helps to build it up but instead you lose the fat. though, too much protein can also cause problems for the kidneys, i hear so... everything in moderation

ETA: I put "build" in quotation marks because you're not actually gaining muscle, but the muscles youhave become more visible. Heavy people actually have a LOT of muscle that's needed to carry all that weight around; so if you're smart about it (which I wasn't when I first started), you can retain and tone the muscle you have while losing the fat, thus ending up with a nice toned body.

Right but your not building new tissue, which is what the OP meant.

So what I said was entirely true.

Wonderob

can i ask a add on question here please too... :blushing:

How long before it starts to build muscle? if you do the wieghts daily?

Well for one, you shouldn't be doing weights daily (If you are doing a full body program... Split body programs are a different story)... each muscle group needs at least a 24 hr rest period between workouts.

Two, you don't build muscle in a calorie deficit.. you need a surplus of calories before you can build muscle. Even then, for a female, it's quite hard to build muscle as we don't have the hormones for it.

that's not entirely true. You can "build" muscle while on a relatively low calorie intake if you're on a really high protein level. Well, actually what happens is that you don't lose any of the muscle tissue you already have because the protein helps to build it up but instead you lose the fat. though, too much protein can also cause problems for the kidneys, i hear so... everything in moderation

ETA: I put "build" in quotation marks because you're not actually gaining muscle, but the muscles youhave become more visible. Heavy people actually have a LOT of muscle that's needed to carry all that weight around; so if you're smart about it (which I wasn't when I first started), you can retain and tone the muscle you have while losing the fat, thus ending up with a nice toned body.

Right but your not building new tissue, which is what the OP meant.

So what I said was entirely true.

Yes

Maintain the muscle you have whilst losing fat and you are almost certain to end up with a strong, lean, defined phisique

Easier said than done of course as hard, heavy lifting is tough!

agthorn

My arms LOOK better after heavy lifting despite a calorie deficit. Don't really know (or care) if I built any muscle (newbie gains) or what, but it's probably looks that you're going for anyways. Shoulder presses, squats with an overhead press, lat pulldowns until I could do chinups (now I do 3-4 chinups in a set), bicep curls, lateral raises, pushups, bench dips, and rows. I did 50-65lbs for the presses (65 on a barbell or two 25lb dumbbells), 40 or 2x20 on the curls, 10-12 on the lateral raises, 30lb dumbbells on the rows. 3 sets of 6.

geebusuk

If you're putting a lot of focus on arms, maybe it's that there's now more muscle underneath, but it's still got some fat on top.
The classic one is people that are going for toned abs so do a lot of core-work; however because they haven't lost enough fat, they are just bulking up under the fat, making a bigger belly!

Wonderob

My arms LOOK better after heavy lifting despite a calorie deficit. Don't really know (or care) if I built any muscle (newbie gains) or what, but it's probably looks that you're going for anyways.

Yeah that's exactly right - doesnt matter if you're not building muscle so long as the results are right

Looking at your stats (hope you don't mind)

Starting Weight 149
Current weight = 126

Current BF = 20.4% so your lean muscle mass = 100.3 lbs

If your lean muscle mass was the same as when you started then:
Starting weight = 149
Lean muscle mass = 100.3
Body fat = 32% (obese!)

I would have said something more like
Starting weight = 149
Lean muscle mass = 112
Body fat percentage = 25%

Losing about 10lbs of muscle

agthorn

My arms LOOK better after heavy lifting despite a calorie deficit. Don't really know (or care) if I built any muscle (newbie gains) or what, but it's probably looks that you're going for anyways.

Yeah that's exactly right - doesnt matter if you're not building muscle so long as the results are right

Looking at your stats (hope you don't mind)

Starting Weight 149
Current weight = 126

Current BF = 20.4% so your lean muscle mass = 100.3 lbs

If your lean muscle mass was the same as when you started then:
Starting weight = 149
Lean muscle mass = 100.3
Body fat = 32% (obese!)

I would have said something more like
Starting weight = 149
Lean muscle mass = 112
Body fat percentage = 25%

Losing about 10lbs of muscle

I don't know what my body fat was when I was 149. I started MFP at 142 and 25.5% which would have put my LBM at 106. There's some variation in the body fat measurement though (I've measured as low as 19% which would put me at 102 instead of 100).

Not to say, though, that I couldn't have build a little muscle in my arms while losing it elsewhere (like my legs, since I was running quite a bit the past year too) and having a net loss of a couple pounds of LBM. I did increase my biceps measurement by about half an inch.