Toning Question~

If you want to have a low enough bodyfat percentage to show some muscle definition you need to be lifting, doing cardio and be on some sort of effective cutting diet (for the diet, I would recommend the carb nite solution)

Also, "tone" is a neurological function and cannot be changed. When you say "toned" what you mean is, "lean and muscular" since your muscle mass and bodyfat percentages are things which can be manipulated.

You won't gain muscle or bulk up on a calorie deficit. Yes, I believe you should be lifting challenging weights now in order to preserve as much muscle mass as possible making it even easier to burn fat. Even if you were purposely trying to gain muscle meaning, eating at a calorie surplus and concentrating hard on lifting weights it's still hard for women to build muscle meaning you won't get bulky. Really muscular women often take enhancement drugs and work extremely hard to get that look. Cardio and weight lifting would be a perfect mix to acheive your goals.

False on the 'cannot gain muscle in a deficit'. Since this person appears to be a total new jack to the lifting world, she can make some muscle gains with heavy lifting in a caloric deficit, assuming her macro profile is set up correctly, and that she has at least a fair amount of fat reserves. Am I saying she will? Nope. I don't know enough about her body. However the fact that my shoulder measurement has gone up by a few inches while my waist and weight has dropped significantly over my first few months of lifting (while in a 700-900 calorie deficit for most of the time) says that it is completely doable in the beginning.

You won't gain muscle or bulk up on a calorie deficit. Yes, I believe you should be lifting challenging weights now in order to preserve as much muscle mass as possible making it even easier to burn fat. Even if you were purposely trying to gain muscle meaning, eating at a calorie surplus and concentrating hard on lifting weights it's still hard for women to build muscle meaning you won't get bulky. Really muscular women often take enhancement drugs and work extremely hard to get that look. Cardio and weight lifting would be a perfect mix to acheive your goals.

False on the 'cannot gain muscle in a deficit'. Since this person appears to be a total new jack to the lifting world, she can make some muscle gains with heavy lifting in a caloric deficit, assuming her macro profile is set up correctly, and that she has at least a fair amount of fat reserves. Am I saying she will? Nope. I don't know enough about her body. However the fact that my shoulder measurement has gone up by a few inches while my waist and weight has dropped significantly over my first few months of lifting (while in a 700-900 calorie deficit for most of the time) says that it is completely doable in the beginning.

Ok, yes you got me there. Some people will have newbie gains. But as a woman myself that lifts heavy on a deficit (and I even have hormone issues and produce more testosterone than a lot of women and it's still very hard to gain true muscle). I know first hand how hard it is, that it won't be much of a gain and it won't last long. So I didn't bring it up as to scare her off or other women that want to get into weights but are afraid of "getting bulky".

Why do women always think that they'll accidentally get jacked? Men don't even accidentally get too big, you have to work, work, work for mass even when you are a guy who is naturally really big like me

You won't gain muscle or bulk up on a calorie deficit. Yes, I believe you should be lifting challenging weights now in order to preserve as much muscle mass as possible making it even easier to burn fat. Even if you were purposely trying to gain muscle meaning, eating at a calorie surplus and concentrating hard on lifting weights it's still hard for women to build muscle meaning you won't get bulky. Really muscular women often take enhancement drugs and work extremely hard to get that look. Cardio and weight lifting would be a perfect mix to acheive your goals.

False on the 'cannot gain muscle in a deficit'. Since this person appears to be a total new jack to the lifting world, she can make some muscle gains with heavy lifting in a caloric deficit, assuming her macro profile is set up correctly, and that she has at least a fair amount of fat reserves. Am I saying she will? Nope. I don't know enough about her body. However the fact that my shoulder measurement has gone up by a few inches while my waist and weight has dropped significantly over my first few months of lifting (while in a 700-900 calorie deficit for most of the time) says that it is completely doable in the beginning.

Ok, yes you got me there. Some people will have newbie gains. But as a woman myself that lifts heavy on a deficit (and I even have hormone issues and produce more testosterone than a lot of women and it's still very hard to gain true muscle). I know first hand how hard it is, that it won't be much of a gain and it won't last long. So I didn't bring it up as to scare her off or other women that want to get into weights but are afraid of "getting bulky".

Why do women always think that they'll accidentally get jacked? Men don't even accidentally get too big, you have to work, work, work for mass even when you are a guy who is naturally really big like me

Because that's what we're told by people who want to sell us their diet and high weights, low rep plans and manufacturers of pink 2 lb. weights!

Listen to these people they know what they are talking about. Don't be afraid to lift heavy. You won't look like she-hulk from doing squats.

But you will probably end up with an *kitten* to kill!

Because that's what we're told by people who want to sell us their diet and high weights, low rep plans and manufacturers of pink 2 lb. weights!

I think you meant high rep, low weight plans, at least that's what I gathered from the 2 lbs. dumbbell reference.

Relative to the 2 lb dumbbell, it is still low rep though.

Working to true muscle failure with a 2 lb DB would be one heck of an exercise in willpower. Marathon curling sessions with thousands of reps.....

Heavy lift - start now - you will be amazed.

If you don't know how or where to begin, I recommend the New Rules for Lifting for Women book. Best $14 I ever spent!

What are some Calisthenics I could do in addition to the the normal crunches, push ups, lunges, squats? I don't have access to a gym currently, but I do have two 5lb hand weights. I'm mainly concerned about the the abdominals, The upper arm muscles, and the butt.

Yes! Please, someone tell "us" the answer to this question. I've been wondering if I can get the same/similar benefits with calisthenics.

Regarding training the abs, the absolute WORST thing you can do are exercises such as crunches that specifically TARGET the abs. It sounds weird, I know, but the abs, as you know, are part of the core. The core's functional purpose of the human body is to a) protect the spine from being overloaded to the point of injury, and b) help the body stabilize when supporting off-balance loads and when in danger of losing balance. If you want to train it properly you should be forcing it to work hard in its natural role. In other words you shouldn't be doing exercises that target it. The proper way to train the abs is to train the whole body. Regardless of what area you WANT to focus on, you should be training the whole body. This is a fact. Pushups, pullups, dips, hanging leg raises, and doing lunges while supporting a weight above your head with arms fully extended are all GREAT core exercises.