Toning???

Strong lifts 5x5. lift heavy.

Definitely try Jillian Michaels Killer Buns & Thighs! It also has 3 levels like 30 day shred does...so I did it for 30 days too, 10 days at each level. I have noticed a huge difference in my butt and my thighs.

Strong lifts 5x5. lift heavy.

I second this. Jillian is not going to help you lift your child. Heavy weights will

My son (9) has ADHD and can get pretty out of control. I started lifting heavy for myself, but it has helped tremendously for the times I need to deal with him.

Why do people wait until they've lost weight to start "toning"??

Try "The Butt Bible". It's toning only and you don't need a lot of equipment. It's on YouTube. The workouts are divided by upper body + abs and lower body. There are three levels for each. Of course, they get progressively more difficult, so start at level 1.

I don't know anything about Shred, but I agree. Looking "toned" is all about body fat %, and the size/shape of your muscles. If you want to tone your thighs and butt, it will be a mix of lowering your body fat % and actually building more muscle... that is, making the muscles larger. (Read: You're a woman, you don't have enough testosterone to get bulky without making it a full-time job, so don't worry about building muscle.)

Do both until you're satisfied, but be careful to take care of yourself. Eat enough to sustain a healthy weight and to give you enough energy for your exercise.

To make the muscles larger, I would say do between 6-8 repetitions of *heavy* weight per set, and 3 sets per exercise. You want to be lifting enough weight that you can at least complete 6 reps, and at most complete 8 reps. If you can comfortably do more than 8, up the weight by 5-10 lbs and see how that feels.

Important: For the first couple weeks you might want to start off slow and lighter to get a feel for the exercises, avoid getting too sore, and get a feel for what your body is capable of. Always be mindful and safe, and keep good form!

I talk to my girl friends about this all the time, don't get in the mindset of lifting light weight if you want to look toned. It's not going to help, it's a total myth. Lifting light weight with high repetitions is basically just weighted cardio, you're burning calories this way but it's just inefficient and won't help with the size of your muscles. Just do regular cardio in that case and you'll probably last longer and burn more.

Another important point is that you won't have much muscle gain while you're dieting. You actually have to overeat by a few hundred calories a day to maximize that (for men, it's recommended +500 of maintenance). It's important to do your weight lifting and eat right while dieting though so you don't loose the muscle you have.

I'm still new to all of this myself, and I'm in the beginning stages of reaching my goals, but I've done a lot of reading and practice. If I can help more, let me know!

Strong Lifts 5x5 or New Rules of Lifting for Women. two amazing programs.

Hi,

I'm pretty sure that if you've got down to that weight at that height that you've probably got most as far as you can on the fat loss side without changing to a body you're really not happy with.

'Toning' actually comes with 2 things - 1. you have to get to a lowish level of body fat. 2. you need to increase your muscle.

I'm sure you've heard of 'skinny fat' which refers to those people who clearly are not fat - in fact they are quite skinny - but they still don't look that great as their skin and what fat they do have still just seems to hang limply.

The solution for this is an increase in muscle. Some people, particularly women, don't like the idea of building muscle or 'bulking' as they imagine themselves turning all masculine with bulging muscles and veins, with a bit of a strong chin (and 5 o clock shadow).

This is not how it goes at all. Building muscle takes a hell of a long time and is hard work, even for those of us who are a) male and therefore have much more testosterone and b) tailor our diets and lifestyles to facilitate maximum amounts of growth. So you are never going to get too big just by accident.

As suggested above, a programme called 5x5 is excellent for beginners and I can highly recommend it. It is based around 'compound lifts', working your whole body 3 times a week. Compound lifts being the main sort of lift that use many different muscles at a time and are generally regarded as most beneficial for most people.

If 5x5 is something that sounds of interest then a quick google will probably get you the info, but if it's confusing then as I've actually done it myself I have the whole plan drawn up ready to go and can easily cop/paste it. If you want that then just PM me.

Why do people wait until they've lost weight to start "toning"??

Because they don't realise until they hit what they thought was their goal weight that their body doesn't look how they expected/hoped.

Right now, I am happy with the number on the scale. I am ready to get some muscles going. I have a son who has cerebral Palsy, and he is getting heavy, and Momma isn't getting stronger. HE is my motivation right now. So Yes, I need to get the fat off and get the muscles going. I plan to up my calories when I hit 115 just to maintain that weight.

If you weigh 116 and your goal weight is 115 and you want to tone, you are going to gain weight my adding muscle.

You need to build muscle in order to have anything to 'tone'. That only happens with heavy lifting. I would suggest looking up a good weight training routine. Bodybuilding.com has plenty of begginer programs. A lot of women like Jamie Eason's livefit program on there.

Toning doesn't exist. You either grow muscle or burn fat - tell me what would you be toning exactly?

Simple lose more body fat whilst lifting weights or similar and you will 'tone' as you shed the fat and show the muscle you have off underneath.