Strength Training- Toning

When I transitioned to maintenance I started Mark Lauren's strength training program for women, from his book Body By You. The guy develops exercise programs for military special ops groups, like the Navy Seals and the Green Berets. His first book, You Are Your Own Gym, is looked at as the 'bible' in the body building community. The guy knows his stuff and is highly respected.

I've been doing it for 5 weeks-

-My arms have muscle definition for the first time and my 'chicken wing' flap underneath is almost gone
-My upper back and shoulders look amazing-I can't believe they belong to my body lol.
-My dh says my butt is much better looking, which is great because that was one of my problem areas.
-I'm stronger-I can pick up my 40lb son with little effort-5 weeks ago I'd have dropped him lol.

Best part-you only do it three days a week, for 30 minutes a time. There's also no extra equipment needed besides things like a chair (no dumbbells etc).

Absolutely love this program!

Since you're mostly a runner and competing in that, I'd treat strength training as secondary so three days a week is fine. Consider programs that focus on compound lifts, full body each time, rather than split programs. Look at programs like NLRFW, Starting Strength, or All Pro's. The first two in particular is good for beginners. Look them up and see which one seems to work for you.

I am a runner who has been strength training for the past four months and it's done more than tone my arms-- it's made me a better runner! I love FitnessBlender.com-- loads of great exercise options and you can search by difficulty, length of workout, body part focus, etc. Chances are that you'll get hooked and want to start into heavier weights eventually!

You need a caloric deficit to drop body fat (what you are calling "toning"), and you need heavy, compound strength training and plenty of protein to maintain your lean body mass. Biceps curls and triceps kickbacks will work those muscles, but they aren't going to get rid of the fat on top of them. Stronglifts, Starting Strength, New Rules ... these are good places to start.

Hi MFP world!!

I am getting close to my goal weight (Yay!!) and I do a lot of cardiovascular exercise every day. Mostly running, as I am training for a half marathon. But I want to add some strength training into my routine to help tone my new body. There's nothing more annoying than your arm fat flapping in the wind during a long run...

So, I know what I want to do, but I'm not sure how to do it. I have never really lifted weights and I'm not sure what to do to effectively tone my muscles. I'm mostly looking for upper body moves, but I like doing things like squats as well. I have most of the equipment that I think I will need, kettlebells, dumbells, resistance bands... but I need a little guidance.

Anyone have a lifting routine that they would be willing to share?? What exercises are most effective? How many reps and sets do I do? How often should I work lifting into my 6-day/week running rountine? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! :happy:

~Brenda

You have a couple options, neither is really any better than the other, just what you may prefer.

one is doing weights, keeping it basic & compound movements. You don't have to spend hours or do tons of isolation exercises. (starting strength, 5x5, etc)

The other is a body weight based routine if you don't want to or can't go to the gym. Do not underestimate body weight stuff. there are variations that make the moves very difficult nad as effective as free weights. (yayog & it's spin off program, nerdfitness, gold medal bodies, etc)

Depending on which program you follow or how you choose to structure the program and break it up, you could lift anywhere from 2-4x a week. I would hit each muscle group 1-2x per week.