Darn hit. Heavy lifting left me "toned".

Actually, it isn't the same as your hair analogy at all. Maybe you guys that don't like the word "toned" will like the medical dictionary definition better.

The normal state of elastic tension or partial contraction in resting muscles.

This is the only accurate and viable definition when applied to muscle tissue from a biomechanical viewpoint. Just because it appears in layman's dictionaries due to a gross and repeated misunderstanding does not make it applicable in the world of kinesiology. The "toned" look you keep harping about is actually more about the "firmness" of the skin due to a combination of increased lean muscle mass and lower body fat percentage.

The definition of "toned" is firmness....so um yeah.....:laugh:

I'm going to jump in here an attempt an analogy to explain why so many of us dislike the term tone. Let's pretend the term we are actually talking about is "broad" As in, "check out that broad". In the sense of being a noun, broad is defined as a woman. Now at one point in time, broad was a fairly vogue term to describe a woman, though it was still used in a derogatory manner, but it was used to get a certain point across. Now, I don't know about you, but I don't particularly like being called a "broad", it rubs me the wrong way and has a negative connotation to it. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Am I a woman? Why yes, yes I am. Why shouldn't I want to be called broad, then, it's in the dictionary. Because I don't like it and I don't like the negative effects it has upon society.

This also happens to be how I feel about "tone". The word is used irresponsibly in the fitness industry, and it has a negative effect upon society.

Its a loose analogy, I'm sure there are as many holes as Swiss cheese, but there you go. It's how my mind works...

I think you should be mad at the fitness industry then, not a word with a specific meaning. I think it's hilarious that so many people get their panties in a wad over it. It's like refusing to use the word hamburger because that's what McDonald's calls the crap they sell. :laugh:

and it has a negative effect upon society

Apparently you didn't finish reading my post. Let me help you out there.

I think you should be mad at the fitness industry then, not a word with a specific meaning. I think it's hilarious that so many people get their panties in a wad over it. It's like refusing to use the word hamburger because that's what McDonald's calls the crap they sell. :laugh:

ETA: (And for the record: the word "broad" as applied to a female is slang. The word tone is not slang.)

I'm shocked!!! You disagreed with something??? No, say it isn't so...

I blame the fitness industry and the people that continue to use it in ignorance.

I think you should be mad at the fitness industry then, not a word with a specific meaning. I think it's hilarious that so many people get their panties in a wad over it. It's like refusing to use the word hamburger because that's what McDonald's calls the crap they sell. :laugh:

ETA: (And for the record: the word "broad" as applied to a female is slang. The word tone is not slang.)

I personally despise how the fitness industry uses it. Rather that tell females they are resistance training to encourage muscular fitness and endurance, they bullsh*t them with "toning" because it sounds more feminine. It's an insult to think that by disguising actual weight lifting with a word, that they feel they "dumbed" females into actually doing it. That's why it irks me.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

You look great! Congrats on your success. What kind of workouts did you do? Did you have a book, or videos? Trainer?

I'm going to modify what I wrote earlier because there were some typos and I left out that I did/do do cardio...




My blog has more photos (and the photos includes my legs, which shows there's more work to be done):

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Rae6503

For the first year after my kid was born (orange shirt was shortly after) I just watched what I ate, nursed, and worked out sporadically. This brought me from about 180lbs to 161lbs. Last summer I did Turbo Fire (a Beach Body video program, heavy cardio including HIIT), and MFP, eating around 2000 calories net (and yes, eating exercise calories so 2300 total or so). This brought me down to 150lbs.

I started "heavy lifting" in October. I started with New Rules of Weight Lifting for Women. In about mid-October I started eating at a calorie surplus. First starting around 2600 net, then moving to 2800 net, so over 3000 a day total. In December I switched to an upper/lower body split designed for hypertrophy containg both compound moves and isolation. This brought be back up to 160lbs. I did do low-moderate intensity cardio 2-3 times a week for about 30 min.

From Jan until July I did StrongLifts5x5 and ate around maintenance (so yeah, not a whole lot of difference). Since then I've been doing a modified version of StrongLifts, 3x5 with biceps and triceps added to workout B, and abs and calves added to A. I've also been doing 2 hour mountain bike rides once or twice a week this summer. I also stepped up cardio a bit to help with mountain biking. I still only do cardio 2-3 times a week but I now include fasted HIIT sometimes, and sometimes go for 45 minutes.