Why don't people like the phrase "tone up"

n2thenight24
n2thenight24 Posts: 1,651 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Don't scream at me, I'm genuinely curious. Is 'toning up' something that doesn't actually happen? I'm really new to this, and am just curious as to why, in so many things I've read, people have expressed their distaste of the phrase.
«13

Replies

  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    There is only losing fat and building muscle.

    Call it what you like.
  • George1567
    George1567 Posts: 107
    In most cases it is poorly used or largely mis-understood. Many will say I just want to "tone up" but for this to happen the process is that of several steps. Anyone can workout and have a good level of muscle development and strength, but until the nutrition brings the body fat to a level where it can show its not complete. Tone is more of "how you look" than just something that comes from working out. Proper nutrition is still the biggest player in the game, even when all you want is to "tone".
  • katevarner
    katevarner Posts: 884 Member
    Women seem to prefer "tone" to "build muscle" because they are afraid that people will think they want to get bulky. It means essentially the same thing, call it what you will.
  • gertudejekyl
    gertudejekyl Posts: 386 Member
    What is it - it seems meaningless....:huh:
  • Cyclink
    Cyclink Posts: 517 Member
    Mostly because "toning" does not exist.

    You can do two things that affect what your muscle looks like:
    1) lose the body fat that covers it
    2) increase the muscle size

    You can't really control where you lose body fat, so working that area of your body will not necessarily make the muscle there more visible.

    Muscle either grows or shrinks. It's not something that you can control the way in which it grows.
  • Game8
    Game8 Posts: 442
    It's not specific enough, and when you don't have specific goals you tend to do many things at once and end up going nowhere.
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
    Because the term doesn't mean anything. Usually when people talk about "toning" they want to spend 40 minutes using 1 lb weights and expect to see some sort of a change in their body. By reducing body fat and maintaining or increasing lean body mass, you will get the look you want. To do this, your going to have to workout! Remember... if your workout doesn't CHALLENGE you, it doesn't CHANGE you.
  • juicy011
    juicy011 Posts: 200 Member
    I view "toning up" as looking more fit.....don't like to say bulky because it seems manly, lol. But to everyone who says you can't spot reduce, that's simply not true. I do alot of ab work to "tone up" the area and it works for me. And many women do this because after having children, there's a bulge that can only be tightened up with additional ab work.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Because it's a fairly meaningless word. I think most people know what is meant by a "toned" look - although everyone has different preferences as to how muscular or lean that look may be. When people start talking about "toning" muscles though, that's when it becomes meaningless. There is no such thing as "toning" a muscle; generally people mean making muscles bigger, or reducing the fat that is over the muscles.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    Cyclink: "Muscle either grows or shrinks. It's not something that you can control the way in which it grows."

    I tend to agree with you, but I do wonder why people who do yoga and bodystrength type exercises tend to have longer more lean looking muscles, whereas weight lifting tends to build the middle - the belly - of the muscle giving the body a more rounded bulky look?

    Not wanting an argument - just an observation.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    I view "toning up" as looking more fit.....don't like to say bulky because it seems manly, lol. But to everyone who says you can't spot reduce, that's simply not true. I do alot of ab work to "tone up" the area and it works for me. And many women do this because after having children, there's a bulge that can only be tightened up with additional ab work.
    If you do exercises that work your abs, and you lose fat over your abs, it seems as if you are spot reducing, but it's just coincidental that the fat over your abs is reducing at the same time that you're exercising them. It just means that you are at a calorie deficit and your body is ready to let go of the fat in that area. Someone else could do the exact same exercises, be in a deficit, and see their thighs become slimmer.
  • Angie__1MR
    Angie__1MR Posts: 388 Member
    I have yet to understand what "toning" means.
  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
    Cyclink: "Muscle either grows or shrinks. It's not something that you can control the way in which it grows."

    I tend to agree with you, but I do wonder why people who do yoga and bodystrength type exercises tend to have longer more lean looking muscles, whereas weight lifting tends to build the middle - the belly - of the muscle giving the body a more rounded bulky look?

    Not wanting an argument - just an observation.
    It seems to be a commonly held belief that yoga makes your muscles "long and lean". It's a myth. I do lots of yoga, but my muscles are still short, because my bones are. The "long and lean" thing is a good marketing gimmick.
  • Subowski
    Subowski Posts: 71
    Does anyone else remember those "toning tables" that were popular a few years back? They were these giant padded tables that people laid on and they kind of moved your limbs around a bit. Always struck me as a bit bonkers......

    I agree that the term seems meaningless. The closest I ever got to being "toned" was at my lightest about 15 years ago, when I worked with and rode horses full time....I saw a sports therapist for a lower back problem, and he said I had fantastic "muscle tone". Never knew what he meant, but I was 126 lbs at the time..... :(
  • n2thenight24
    n2thenight24 Posts: 1,651 Member
    Thanks for all the great answers, I get it now! I'm exercising my butt off (literally), and eating at MFP's recommended calories, so I guess the whole "tone up" thing doesn't even really apply to me. Sounds to me like I'm doing what I should be doing.
  • frank513
    frank513 Posts: 23 Member
    Thanks for all the great answers, I get it now! I'm exercising my butt off (literally), and eating at MFP's recommended calories, so I guess the whole "tone up" thing doesn't even really apply to me. Sounds to me like I'm doing what I should be doing.

    You did it again! You cant "exercise your butt off) thats spot reduction!

    Btw "toning up" can mean EVERYTHING the above people said.

    My gf is toning up and she works out 5 days a weeks, eats great and is very motivated. So is she stupid for using toning up. hell no, thats what she calls it and to her is what she is doing! They are all a penis in a vagina!

    Fornicating, having sex, f'ing, doing it, making love, ect ARE ALL THE SAME THINGS TOO. just different wording for it,

    And who the hell cares what you may or may not call toning up!
  • anemoneprose
    anemoneprose Posts: 1,805 Member
    It confuses the things you have to do to look 'toned', and reinforces unhelpful beliefs.

    (But really, everyone kind of knows what look people are talking about when they use it.)
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
    Cyclink: "Muscle either grows or shrinks. It's not something that you can control the way in which it grows."

    I tend to agree with you, but I do wonder why people who do yoga and bodystrength type exercises tend to have longer more lean looking muscles, whereas weight lifting tends to build the middle - the belly - of the muscle giving the body a more rounded bulky look?

    Not wanting an argument - just an observation.

    Because yoga and bodyweight exercises don't build much, if any muscle. So those people don't have much muscle, giving them a smaller, leaner look. People who do real weight lifting build muscle mass and get the rounded bulky look you're talking about. In general.
  • rebeccap13
    rebeccap13 Posts: 754 Member
    I view "toning up" as looking more fit.....don't like to say bulky because it seems manly, lol. But to everyone who says you can't spot reduce, that's simply not true. I do alot of ab work to "tone up" the area and it works for me. And many women do this because after having children, there's a bulge that can only be tightened up with additional ab work.

    Actually you CAN'T spot reduce. You can build muscle and then by eating at a caloric deficit lose fat but you can't pick and choose where that fat comes off. You're spot training, if that makes anymore sense.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    I don't like the words "tone" or "toning" because it's been used to pander to women who are afraid of large muscle. Women shouldn't be afraid of being muscular. Muscles are beautiful, healthy and empowering. And women won't build muscles of great size, and what they can build takes a great deal of effort due to lower testosterone levels. There is no reason women should fear muscles. Second, the low-weight, high-rep routines people have been promoting to "tone" don't do anything except maybe increase endurance. Women pay for classes, trainers, magazines etc and get very little benefit. These routines don't build strength, muscle size, definition, or even retain muscles. I think definition is what most women really want when they say "tone" but that's accomplished through fat loss and muscle retention. Fat loss is accomplished through calorie deficit and heavy weight lifting is most effective for muscle retention during a calorie deficit.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    Cyclink: "Muscle either grows or shrinks. It's not something that you can control the way in which it grows."

    I tend to agree with you, but I do wonder why people who do yoga and bodystrength type exercises tend to have longer more lean looking muscles, whereas weight lifting tends to build the middle - the belly - of the muscle giving the body a more rounded bulky look?

    Not wanting an argument - just an observation.

    <
    huh?
  • rebeccap13
    rebeccap13 Posts: 754 Member
    I don't like the words "tone" or "toning" because it's been used to pander to women who are afraid of large muscle. Women shouldn't be afraid of being muscular. Muscles are beautiful, healthy and empowering. And women won't build muscles of great size, and what they can build takes a great deal of effort due to lower testosterone levels. There is no reason women should fear muscles. Second, the low-weight, high-rep routines people have been promoting to "tone" don't do anything except maybe increase endurance. Women pay for classes, trainers, magazines etc and get very little benefit. These routines don't build strength, muscle size, definition, or even retain muscles. I think definition is what most women really want when they say "tone" but that's accomplished through fat loss and muscle retention. Fat loss is accomplished through calorie deficit and heavy weight lifting is most effective for muscle retention during a calorie deficit.

    Yes, all of that!
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Cyclink: "Muscle either grows or shrinks. It's not something that you can control the way in which it grows."

    I tend to agree with you, but I do wonder why people who do yoga and bodystrength type exercises tend to have longer more lean looking muscles, whereas weight lifting tends to build the middle - the belly - of the muscle giving the body a more rounded bulky look?

    Not wanting an argument - just an observation.

    <
    huh?

    <- example #2.
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    because it doesnt mean anything , different people mean different things when they use it .the thing i hate most is when people say yoga or pilates give you lean muscle or long muscles . muscle is muscle and your muscle length is determined by where it attaches to your ligaments when in turn attach to your bone. i think it annoys me so much because this is like fundamental human anatomy information that most of us should have learned in grade school.

    @dopeitup that's not exactly true. people say that madonna looks "bulky" and she does a *kitten* ton of yoga. the problem with terms like tone up, bulky, etc is that it's mainly about perception. madonna is teeny but because she has like -7% body fat people say she is bulky
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    because it doesnt mean anything , different people mean different things when they use it .the thing i hate most is when people say yoga or pilates give you lean muscle or long muscles . muscle is muscle and your muscle length is determined by where it attaches to your ligaments when in turn attach to your bone. i think it annoys me so much because this is like fundamental human anatomy information that most of us should have learned in grade school.

    QFT.

    Same reason I hate "Eating Clean". Vague language sucks.
  • _JR_
    _JR_ Posts: 830 Member
    Everyone else nailed the answer pretty dang good, so this is all I have to add....

    I had an old stereo that had a knob for "Tone". I could turn it UP or DOWN. Tone Up, and Tone Down.
    That's what I think when I hear someone say "Tone Up".

    I think most people think "get lean" when they say "tone up".
  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    this is really a thing?
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I have no problem with the term. The problem arises when someone suggests a toning program. It's invariably a bunch of super light weights done for super high reps. If someone wants to be "toned" i understand. But most things they do to get there is a waste of time and effort.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
    agreed - you gotta put some in to get some out.
  • n2thenight24
    n2thenight24 Posts: 1,651 Member
    Don't worry, I'm not spot reducing, or trying to, lol. I actually like my *kitten* just the way it is, It would be nice if it were a little perkier however... I work all my muscle groups along with cardio. I think when I get my body fat to where I want it, I will start incorporating the heavier lifting.

Categories