Difference Between Toning and Building Muscles

sargeantt12
sargeantt12 Posts: 11
in Health and Weight Loss
Lately I've been wanting to slim down my flabby arms (Mostly my Triceps). But I'm afraid of doing weights due to those pictures you see of women with huge bulky muscles and I don't want to look like that. I want to look Petite in a way.
Whenever I put my arms down by my side, it looks 10 times bigger than it actually is and it really annoys me.

I have also looked online for arm toning exercises and I don't understand the whole 'Sets' 'Reps/Sets' thing, could anyone explain that for me?

I have done previously in the past 5 days Bicep Curls, I do 10 mins one hand, 10 mins on the other hand and 10 mins together. Don't know if Bicep Curls would do anything to get rid of my under arm fat and I don't know if that is too much?

Do you know any exercises to tone my arms up?
if you do:
How many should I do?
How long for?
How many days a week should I do it?
How many times in a day should I do it for?
How do you know if its working?
and How long does it take to see result?

Thanks in advance

Replies

  • Makoce
    Makoce Posts: 938 Member
    Id like to know this as well, Im a super noob.

    But as far as looking "bulky"..it takes serious commitment and hardcore professional training to look like that.
    Most women look toned when they lift..like youre describing.. not like men.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,201 Member
    Calories.
  • MakePeasNotWar
    MakePeasNotWar Posts: 1,329 Member
    Only total body fat loss can get rid of the fat on your arms. As far as bulking up from weights, that is extremely difficult for women to do. The women you see in magazines are in the gym for hours a week to look like that, plus they have to eat at a calorie surplus to gain muscle mass. A few bicep curls at a calorie deficit will NOT bulk you up

    Watch your calories in/calories out, and lift to get strong. You won't bulk up.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    It's about perception. People who are trying to show off muscles have tricks to make the muscles stand out. If you saw them in dressing room situation, you would admire them. Lift or look saggy is the way I see it. Strong is sexier than weak.
  • donjessop
    donjessop Posts: 186
    There are three ways to "tone" muscles:

    1) Lose fat so the muscles can be seen more easily
    2) Build up the muscle so that it can be seen through the fat
    3) Lose fat and build muscle at the same time

    There is no difference between "toning" and "building" muscles except in the world of marketing.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    The only way to slim down your arms is to lose body fat through diet. Bicep curls don't slim your arms. You will not get bulky arms from lifting weights.

    Reps are repetitions of an exercise, like if you do 20 bicep curls on one arm, that's 20 reps. A routine might tell you to do 3 sets of 20 reps, which means do 20 curls on each arm, rest, do it again, rest, do it again. So a set in that example would be 20 reps.

    Pushups and pullups are great for arms (and other muscles), much better than bicep curls.
  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    There are three ways to "tone" muscles:

    1) Lose fat so the muscles can be seen more easily
    2) Build up the muscle so that it can be seen through the fat
    3) Lose fat and build muscle at the same time

    There is no difference between "toning" and "building" muscles except in the world of marketing.

    What?

    There is a giant difference between achieving muscle definition "tone" and building muscle. Once can maintain muscle mass through strength training, and lose fat while in a deficit and achieve muscle "tone".
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    http://scoobysworkshop.com/toning/
    “I just want to do a toning workout”
    “What’s a good toning exercise for …”


    If I hear either of these phrases uttered again I will scream! There is no such thing as a toning exercise! ”Toning” is an imprecise and dangerous term and its not just an academic issue, its important to your success. The problem is that “toning” has no exact meaning and thus results cannot be measured or obtained. If you tell your trainer that you want to get a “toned body”, you are set up for failure from the start!

    When you grill people who are “toning” what it is they are trying to accomplish, most of them say they just want their muscles harder. Well, news for you. The way to make your muscles “harder” is not to lift weights but to remove that layer of fat under the skin and to do this requires cardio and reduced caloric intake – not weight lifting!

    Resistance training: makes muscles stronger and bigger

    Cardio and diet: makes you leaner, more defined, and harder (by removing squishy fat)

    If you don’t know exactly what you are trying to achieve, you will never achieve it. Here are some different things that people mean by “toning”:

    Goal: Example:
    increase strength power-lifting
    increase muscle mass bodybuilding
    increase endurance marathon
    increase speed swimming
    increase flexibility yoga
    decrease body-fat aerobic exercise
    increase coordination gymnastics

    If you can’t measure what it is you are trying to achieve, then you will never achieve it! You can see that all these goals are very different and your training regimen will be very different depending on how you define “toning”.
    If by toning you mean that you want to get a little stronger and a little leaner, then lift weights a little and do a little cardio :)
  • Ely82010
    Ely82010 Posts: 1,998 Member
    Lately I've been wanting to slim down my flabby arms (Mostly my Triceps). But I'm afraid of doing weights due to those pictures you see of women with huge bulky muscles and I don't want to look like that. I want to look Petite in a way.
    Whenever I put my arms down by my side, it looks 10 times bigger than it actually is and it really annoys me.

    I have also looked online for arm toning exercises and I don't understand the whole 'Sets' 'Reps/Sets' thing, could anyone explain that for me?

    I have done previously in the past 5 days Bicep Curls, I do 10 mins one hand, 10 mins on the other hand and 10 mins together. Don't know if Bicep Curls would do anything to get rid of my under arm fat and I don't know if that is too much?

    Do you know any exercises to tone my arms up?
    if you do:
    How many should I do?
    How long for?
    How many days a week should I do it?
    How many times in a day should I do it for?
    How do you know if its working?
    and How long does it take to see result?

    Thanks in advance


    Check these links

    http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/arms/exercises/best-arm-moves/
    http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/arm-workout-0
    http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20681364,00.html
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,219 Member
    I'm a natural bodybuilder. In clothes nobody knows that I'm a body builder. Even in cute little outfits nobody knows (I have visible abs in swimming suits, so it sort of gives it away). When I'm on stage flexing I look muscular. Just find a good strength training workout and lose body fat.
  • godsgrl33
    godsgrl33 Posts: 307 Member
    I second what others are saying about the body fat. Only a calorie deficit will lower the fat around the muscles. Aerobic exercise will make your heart stronger, and help your muscles get somewhat stronger, too. But, to "tone" as you call it, then you will have to do weight bearing exercises. Bicep curls will work the biceps, but not help the part on the back of your arms called the triceps. I would say pushups will work both, or you can do tricep dips or tricep extensions. Women do not get bulky with weight lifting, unless you want to look like a stick figure. Keep researching, and look at the sites other's have suggested. You'll find what's right for you.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    There are starving people in Africa who have little to no fat and no muscle. Losing weight does not reveal healthy muscles if the muscles do not exist.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    Toning means lowering body fat. No specific type of exercise will target your arms. Resistance training, when combined with adequate levels of protein will increase the amount of muscle you retain during weight loss. Also, weight training will increase your strength and improve composition.

    If you want, look into programs like starting strength or new rules of lifting for women. Set a moderate deficit (1 - 1.5 lbs per week), adjust macro's to around 40% carbs, 30% protein and fats and then weight train 3-4 days a week and 2-3 days of cardio. If you want to improve flexibility, replace a cardio day with yoga.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,426 MFP Moderator
    There are starving people in Africa who have little to no fat and no muscle. Losing weight does not reveal healthy muscles if the muscles do not exist.

    This is only usually an issue with those who are extremely underweight.
  • SrJoben
    SrJoben Posts: 484 Member
    Lately I've been wanting to slim down my flabby arms (Mostly my Triceps). But I'm afraid of doing weights due to those pictures you see of women with huge bulky muscles and I don't want to look like that. I want to look Petite in a way.
    Whenever I put my arms down by my side, it looks 10 times bigger than it actually is and it really annoys me.

    I have also looked online for arm toning exercises and I don't understand the whole 'Sets' 'Reps/Sets' thing, could anyone explain that for me?

    I have done previously in the past 5 days Bicep Curls, I do 10 mins one hand, 10 mins on the other hand and 10 mins together. Don't know if Bicep Curls would do anything to get rid of my under arm fat and I don't know if that is too much?

    Do you know any exercises to tone my arms up?
    if you do:
    How many should I do?
    How long for?
    How many days a week should I do it?
    How many times in a day should I do it for?
    How do you know if its working?
    and How long does it take to see result?

    Thanks in advance

    Muscle isn't bulky, fat is. A pound of fat takes up 4 times as much room as a pound of muscle. Seriously, your worry is completely backwards. I don't know how big you are, but It sound like you think you look bulky NOW. If you could magically trade all your current excess fat you would get smaller not bigger.

    Eat right. Work out. Don't freak out if you happen to gain a pound of muscle for every 10 pounds of fat you lose. You'll still look better.

    Putting on a lot of muscle takes serious work a lot of food and a lot of time. I don't mean just time in the gym, just time period. Muscle grows slowly. There is absolutely nothing you can do that will have you accidentally looking like a bodybuilder without realizing it.

    Worst case scenario you get to your goal look...and stop.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    Worst case scenario you get to your goal look...and stop.

    Yes! Don't worry about being too muscular until you are. Don't look for an excuse to quit!
  • bethannien
    bethannien Posts: 556 Member
    You have to try so hard as a woman to get bulky! You have to eat a surplus of calories, for one thing. Women who get bulky aren't doing it by accident, I promise.
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Toning means lowering body fat. No specific type of exercise will target your arms. Resistance training, when combined with adequate levels of protein will increase the amount of muscle you retain during weight loss. Also, weight training will increase your strength and improve composition.

    If you want, look into programs like starting strength or new rules of lifting for women. Set a moderate deficit (1 - 1.5 lbs per week), adjust macro's to around 40% carbs, 30% protein and fats and then weight train 3-4 days a week and 2-3 days of cardio. If you want to improve flexibility, replace a cardio day with yoga.
    This exactly! I've lowered body fat with a small to moderate calorie deficit, and maintained the muscle I had with body weight and dumbbell exercises (my weights are 8-20lbs), always using the heaviest weight I could handle for each exercise - check my arms in my profile pic - bulky? Absolutely not! But much more shapely now than they were under the fat I was carrying before!

    If I had access to a gym or room & money for heavy weights, I'd be all over that. I have plenty of pals here on my friend list who lift the big stuff, and they are NOT bulky at all - just lean, fit and awesome!
  • binkyb00
    binkyb00 Posts: 81 Member
    I believe this is how it works:

    Eat at a deficit + weight lifting = lose weight/fat and tone up
    Eat at surplus + weight lifting = gain muscle
    Eat at a maintenance + weight lifting = body recomp

    Spot toning does not work. Your body chooses on its own which fat it wants gone first.
  • charlotteklapp
    charlotteklapp Posts: 1
    Women have a fraction of the testosterone that men have which makes it very difficult to "get too big" as many women fear.

    Two things need to happen for you to have the "toned" look. First, you need to have a solid foundation of muscles. I suggest lifting weights and doing plenty of push ups and body weight exercises such as planks. It's important that you lift heavy weights. You see women in the gym lifting 5 lb dumbbells thinking they will build muscle. Their purse is probably heavier than that! You should be sweaty and struggling on those last reps. Spend some time researching weight lifting form and technique. Don't be intimidated by the weight room, but be informed.

    Second, you need to burn the fat covering those muscles. This is about diet. I suggest tracking your macro nutrients and calories. I've had a lot of success eating 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat and I eat around 1200-1400 net calories. Myfitnesspal is a great tool for adjusting nutrition. Cardio really increases your calorie out put up so you can eat more, but it needs to be balanced with strength training.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    Here for the links.

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