Want to be Toned but Not Ripped

0110Charlotte
0110Charlotte Posts: 26 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey Everyone!
Hoping someone would be able to give me a little advice. I am currently working towards a weight loss goal. I would ultimately like to be toned, but not ripped. (Think pageant girl instead of body builder). Do I lose the fat before I start lifting weights or do both simultaneously? I don't want to have huge muscles once I've lost the weight.
Thanks :)
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Replies

  • askeates
    askeates Posts: 1,490 Member
    In for the answer, I've been wondering the same thing.... :happy:
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Thinking you can gain a significant amount of muscle by accident is silly when you consider a natural pro bodybuilder would be happy with 5lbs of clean muscle a year.

    Anyway, start lifting now. You can't get big and muscular without the dedication or drugs to do so. By the way, toned isn't a real thing; it's a term created by women's media because it sounds sexier than lose bodyfat. Which is what you want to do.
  • T_X_L
    T_X_L Posts: 140 Member
    Don't worry, even men need to prepare specifically to look as "ripped" as you've probably seen. It's called "cutting" in bodybuilding parlance. Just eat right, get a good workout routine (I'm partial to HIIT myself). Here's a good place to start:

    http://rachelcosgrove.com/

    And check out Gerry http://rachelcosgrove.com/testimonials/

    Would you be happy with her after picture?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Thinking you can gain a significant amount of muscle by accident is silly when you consider a natural pro bodybuilder would be happy with 5lbs of clean muscle a year.

    Anyway, start lifting now. You can't get big and muscular without the dedication or drugs to do so. By the way, toned isn't a real thing; it's a term created by women's media because it sounds sexier than lose bodyfat. Which is what you want to do.

    QFT!
  • eevincheezburger
    eevincheezburger Posts: 163 Member
    Thinking you can gain a significant amount of muscle by accident is silly when you consider a natural pro bodybuilder would be happy with 5lbs of clean muscle a year.

    Anyway, start lifting now. You can't get big and muscular without the dedication or drugs to do so. By the way, toned isn't a real thing; it's a term created by women's media because it sounds sexier than lose bodyfat. Which is what you want to do.

    This.
  • scottaworley
    scottaworley Posts: 871 Member
    It is all about body fat. Just keep your body fat around 20 - 24% and you will be "toned". Get down to 10-12% you will be ripped. Definitely start lifting now, because, as the previous poster said, you will not get bulky by lifting.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Personal preference, really.

    To reach your goal you'll have to lift and you'll have to lose weight. Doing them simultaneously simply shortens your timeline. To reach body-builder physique will require years of dedicated, on-point training. You won't get to that point by accident.

    .
  • mrmagee3
    mrmagee3 Posts: 518 Member
    Hey Everyone!
    Hoping someone would be able to give me a little advice. I am currently working towards a weight loss goal. I would ultimately like to be toned, but not ripped. (Think pageant girl instead of body builder). Do I lose the fat before I start lifting weights or do both simultaneously? I don't want to have huge muscles once I've lost the weight.
    Thanks :)

    Metabolically, it's pretty damn near impossible for females to put on enough muscle to look bulky/ripped, without years and years of hard work...and tons of drugs.

    Start lifting now. Do compound lifts and lift heavy. Continue to eat well. Look and feel awesome.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Strength training now will help you retain muscle as you lose weight, so start now. And unless you are dedicating a couple hours a day to training and following a rigid diet plan designed to bulk and cut, it is doubtful that you will develop "huge muscles". Bodybuilders, male and female, get that way because they are spending hours and hours in the gym working their *kitten* off, not 40 minutes in the gym 3 times a week.
  • Graceious1
    Graceious1 Posts: 716 Member
    High Intensity Interval Training is surely the way to go for toning or fat loss.
  • Jodycnd
    Jodycnd Posts: 56 Member
    Do both! I alternate cardio and weights to get the best of both worlds. The weights definitely helped make everything tighter and look better while I still try to lose the weight. A woman at work was amazed that she and I weighed 3lbs different and I really feel that a lot of it was because I was tighter all around, whereas she doesn't have any exercise in her life.
  • FrankiesSaysRelax
    FrankiesSaysRelax Posts: 403 Member
    Thinking you can gain a significant amount of muscle by accident is silly when you consider a natural pro bodybuilder would be happy with 5lbs of clean muscle a year.

    Anyway, start lifting now. You can't get big and muscular without the dedication or drugs to do so. By the way, toned isn't a real thing; it's a term created by women's media because it sounds sexier than lose bodyfat. Which is what you want to do.

    This
  • moonshine_betty
    moonshine_betty Posts: 169 Member
    Getting that ripped look is an issue of how much body fat you're carrying. Lifting weights, even heavy ones, will not make you look "ripped" unless you are able to get your body fat percentage really low. And believe me, that's no easy feat. I would not wait until you lose weight to start lifting weights; instead, I'd start now as it will only make you look better when you reach your goal. You will not get "huge muscles"...it takes a really, REALLY long time to build significant muscle mass even for guys and they have heaps of testosterone you don't have.

    Plus, building muscle requires a caloric surplus and since you will be eating at a deficit you will not be able to put on much muscle. Doing cardio and dieting without lifting is the best way to ensure you lose lots of muscle and end up looking flabby and "untoned" so unless that's your goal, eat at a reasonable deficit, do moderate cardio and lift them weights! By doing so you will be able to preserve your existing muscle mass and when you lose fat you will have the "toned pageant girl" look you're after.

    FYI, this is a very sensitive topic around these parts and I can pretty much guarantee your thread is going to wind up in a not very nice place.
  • delicious_cocktail
    delicious_cocktail Posts: 5,797 Member
    The difference between "toned" and "ripped" is just body fat percentage. When you see someone with extremely cut-looking muscles, it's because they've worked hard for a long time to drive their body fat low. You will be able to stop anywhere on the spectrum between fat, toned, and ripped.

    If you start to think that your muscles are looking too well-defined you can just eat a donut or two.
  • ami5000psu
    ami5000psu Posts: 391 Member
    Do both.
  • Mslmesq
    Mslmesq Posts: 1,000 Member
    What celebrity body impresses you? Or what kind of athletic body do you like? Start there and then see what they do. For example, Jennifer Anniston does a lot of yoga/pilates exercises with a personal trainer. Ballerinas are very lean, but muscular thin on the upper half with very muscular legs.

    Most importantly, ignore the people that are about to stand on their heads screaming that body building won't make you muscular and it is the only way, and do what makes you feel good, makes you happy, and what you will continue woth for a prolonged time period.
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
    Thinking you can gain a significant amount of muscle by accident is silly when you consider a natural pro bodybuilder would be happy with 5lbs of clean muscle a year.

    Anyway, start lifting now. You can't get big and muscular without the dedication or drugs to do so. By the way, toned isn't a real thing; it's a term created by women's media because it sounds sexier than lose bodyfat. Which is what you want to do.

    Truth.
  • thrld
    thrld Posts: 610 Member
    Simultaneously. And lift heavy.


    There is absolutely no way that you could unknowingly overdo it and end up looking like a body builder. That would be like not paying attention when you bake and making a wedding cake by accident. It just doesn't happen.
  • infamousdrew76
    infamousdrew76 Posts: 176 Member
    I want to be Ripped, but not Toned!
  • 0110Charlotte
    0110Charlotte Posts: 26 Member
    Thanks for all the advice, everyone! I will be investing in some dumbells this week! Yay! :)
  • justdoit2322
    justdoit2322 Posts: 32 Member
    High Intensity Interval Training is surely the way to go for toning or fat loss.

    This.. .for an example Jillian Michaels workouts or total body workout classes! <---I do this and see a difference in weight and physique :)
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    Do both. Lifting while on a deficit, you will not "grow" muscles. You will preserve the muscle that you do have.
    Make sure you're eating enough!

    I've been doing Stronglifts for almost a month. It takes quite a bit of work to lower body fat %.. If you don't like what you're seeing, stop lifting (but I bet you will love it!)
  • ladyark
    ladyark Posts: 1,101 Member
    Short answer.....DO BOTH!
  • ladyark
    ladyark Posts: 1,101 Member
    I want to be Ripped, but not Toned!

    LOL I couldnt agree more!!
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Thinking you can gain a significant amount of muscle by accident is silly when you consider a natural pro bodybuilder would be happy with 5lbs of clean muscle a year.

    Anyway, start lifting now. You can't get big and muscular without the dedication or drugs to do so. By the way, toned isn't a real thing; it's a term created by women's media because it sounds sexier than lose bodyfat. Which is what you want to do.

    /thread
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    Do both and check your mirror at least once a week. It's impossible to "get ripped" on accident or "all of a sudden."
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    I want to be Ripped, but not Toned!

    I want to be shredded, not ripped.

    OP: you will not wake up ripped.
  • curvygirl77
    curvygirl77 Posts: 769 Member
    I'm not an expert by any means, but I used strictly cardio first (turbo jams/turbo fire). After the first 15 or 20 pounds came off I started including weights. I'm still working on reducing my body fat. I started at 180 and I'm down to 144. I use a scale similar to the one used at walgreens wellness center to track my body fat and muscle.

    ---either way I don't think you will get body builder big, Its kind of hard to build muscle (at least this is what I'm experiencing), those women who are building such mass are doing way more than we are doing. There are plenty if women on this Site who lift heavy and none of them look like men, I have ladies on my friends list who lift and they look great, I get advice from them all the time

    ----Take total body pic every six weeks to monitor your progress/physical changes
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    Do both and check your mirror at least once a week. It's impossible to "get ripped" on accident or "all of a sudden."

    It's hysterically laughable at how difficult it is to ACTUALLY get "ripped" or "bulk"... and what women (mostly women because occasionally men have this random thought too) think will get them there.

    It's hard enough to get someone to EAT PROPERLY and put down the godramn twinkies much less pick up a black colored dumbbell and do some real work.

    laughable. it's simple laughable. It makes me want to punch people- I've been trying to get cut for months- and I'm still not there.. seriously.. I wish this magical world of where "I picked up a heavy weight and it made me accidentally bulky" would happen- I need to find this place.

    Really. i'd love to live in this fantasy world- because doing it the old fashioned hard- lift heavy and then eat at a deficit... it
    s really tedious and boring. seriously.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    I've been lifting really heavy weights for 8 months now and there's no "ripped" in sight. Everything's a bit firmer and tighter, though.

    People get mad at people saying you should lift heavy, but I've tried it all and have gotten the best results by far from picking up heavy weights. And being committed to picking them up 3-4 times a week.

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