Is it possible to get toned without going to the gym?

pandabear_
pandabear_ Posts: 487 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, sorry if this ends up being a stupid question or one that's already been answered... I just wanted clarification that some of the exercises I am doing may help me.

___________
Background:

I'm a student so I don't want to buy a gym membership. I also travel a lot, sometimes I live with my parents, sometimes in London at university, sometimes abroad studying. So it's unrealistic to buy a gym membership if I don't live in the town. I have been on MFP for a long time now and I have lost about 27 lbs. I have gone down 2 dress sizes and now weigh about 125-127lbs, I'm 5'6. I go running every other day for around 30 minutes.

Despite losing all this weight, some areas of my body remain the same. For example, I haven't changed trouser/pant size since I started, I'm still a UK size 12 pant size despite being a size 8 in dresses, skirts and t-shirts. My stomach below my belly button is also very round and sticks out through my clothes.

I know you can't choose where you lose weight, but I cannot bear to go down another bra size, there won't be much left. I thought toning might be answer.

____________________________
What I have been doing each day:

Either running for 30 minutes or using an exercise bike for 30 minutes every day.
Doing 20 crunches.
Doing 20 side crunches (one leg over a knee, crunching across my body).
Doing 20 reverse crunches (lifting my legs in the air with my back on the ground).
Doing 20 lunges with bicep curl with two 3 lb dumbbells
Doing 10 squats with 3 lb dumbbells.


Do you think this might work for toning up my lower stomach/bum? Or is there anything else I can add in that I should be doing?

Replies

  • BigT555
    BigT555 Posts: 2,067 Member
    toning is just lowering the amount of fat surrounding muscles so they are more exposed. building muscle has a little bit to do with it too but its mostly fat loss, so exercise isnt even necessary at all to tone.

    that being said it is still important to exercise in order to maintain muscle throughout the weight loss process, what youre doing looks good for a core workout. look into your university gym, many times membership is included with tuition
  • MelAb8709
    MelAb8709 Posts: 140 Member
    In addition to looking into what fitness center your university might offer for free, many park districts offer discounted student rates for abbreviated amount of time, so you might be able to get a cheap summer membership.

    Another idea is to purchase a set of fitness bands and incorporate them into your workout. They're easy to travel with. Better than nothing, in addition to bodyweight exercises. Planks, burpees are good. Hip raises. Pushups. Box jumps, jump squats.

    If you run, add hill intervals once a week.
  • runner475
    runner475 Posts: 1,236 Member

    Doing 20 lunges with bicep curl with two 3 lb dumbbells
    Doing 10 squats with 3 lb dumbbells.

    Do you think this might work for toning up my lower stomach/bum? Or is there anything else I can add in that I should be doing?

    Lowering the body fat requires calorie deficit such that you burn a lot more calories than you would consume.

    Also some wise man once said "Abs are made in kitchen".

    The exercise you listed are great but when it comes to lunges and squats with 3 lb dumbbells - that may not be as helpful. You'll eventually have to progressively overload i.e. start adding weight and squat with heavier weights. Don't stick with 3 lbs for long.

    Good Luck.
  • pandabear_
    pandabear_ Posts: 487 Member

    Doing 20 lunges with bicep curl with two 3 lb dumbbells
    Doing 10 squats with 3 lb dumbbells.

    Do you think this might work for toning up my lower stomach/bum? Or is there anything else I can add in that I should be doing?

    Lowering the body fat requires calorie deficit such that you burn a lot more calories than you would consume.

    Also some wise man once said "Abs are made in kitchen".

    The exercise you listed are great but when it comes to lunges and squats with 3 lb dumbbells - that may not be as helpful. You'll eventually have to progressively overload i.e. start adding weight and squat with heavier weights. Don't stick with 3 lbs for long.

    Good Luck.

    Thank you... I will take note of the squats not with the dumbbells, as once I have finished with the 3 lb ones, I will have exhausted my collection!

    I was just wondering what you meant by burning more than I consume. I eat maybe around 1500ish calories a day each week, when I exercise I burn maybe 300. Is this burn too little? I'm guessing I also burn calories anyway from every day activities, but I don't take them into account.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
    Sure. Look into "You Are Your Own Gym" or "Convict Conditioning". What you want is body weight routines. I think there's one on Nerd Fitness too.

    However, does your university have a gym for students?
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    I would invest in a pull-up bar you can fit through a doorway and buy a couple of resistance bands if you need a little bit of assistance doing pullups initially.
    Look up a bodyweight manual called You Are Your Own Gym (or the female version of the same manual called Body By You) and use that as a base for your workouts and you don't need to lift more weight doing squats necessarily - you can switch to one-legged movements which will in effect double the bodyweight you are lifting and challenge your balance which will engage your core more.
  • pandabear_
    pandabear_ Posts: 487 Member
    Sure. Look into "You Are Your Own Gym" or "Convict Conditioning". What you want is body weight routines. I think there's one on Nerd Fitness too.

    However, does your university have a gym for students?

    There's a gym, but my university is in Central London. It's for students and also members of the public. It's not included in tuition and it's very expensive and very small. I went once during my first year but it was so overcrowded and there were queues for machines. There's other gyms in London of course... But I am living in a small town with my parents now and may be moving to Germany to study, so I don't want to get into a gym contract right now.

    Thanks for the tips though, I will look into the things you mentioned.
  • runner475
    runner475 Posts: 1,236 Member

    Doing 20 lunges with bicep curl with two 3 lb dumbbells
    Doing 10 squats with 3 lb dumbbells.

    Do you think this might work for toning up my lower stomach/bum? Or is there anything else I can add in that I should be doing?

    Lowering the body fat requires calorie deficit such that you burn a lot more calories than you would consume.

    Also some wise man once said "Abs are made in kitchen".

    The exercise you listed are great but when it comes to lunges and squats with 3 lb dumbbells - that may not be as helpful. You'll eventually have to progressively overload i.e. start adding weight and squat with heavier weights. Don't stick with 3 lbs for long.

    Good Luck.

    Thank you... I will take note of the squats not with the dumbbells, as once I have finished with the 3 lb ones, I will have exhausted my collection!

    I was just wondering what you meant by burning more than I consume. I eat maybe around 1500ish calories a day each week, when I exercise I burn maybe 300. Is this burn too little? I'm guessing I also burn calories anyway from every day activities, but I don't take them into account.

    Sorry about the confusion.
    You are on 1500 Food Calories.
    You earned 300 Exercise Calories that day.
    1500 + 300 = 1800 Calories.

    Try to stay inside 1800 Calories such that you create a deficit.

    3500 calorie deficit = Got rid of 1 pound
    3500 calorie surplus = 1 pound gain

    Hope this helps and again sorry about that confusion.

    Good Luck.
  • pandabear_
    pandabear_ Posts: 487 Member
    I would invest in a pull-up bar you can fit through a doorway and buy a couple of resistance bands if you need a little bit of assistance doing pullups initially.
    Look up a bodyweight manual called You Are Your Own Gym (or the female version of the same manual called Body By You) and use that as a base for your workouts and you don't need to lift more weight doing squats necessarily - you can switch to one-legged movements which will in effect double the bodyweight you are lifting and challenge your balance which will engage your core more.

    I just found the book online... It looks really good so far and seems perfect for someone reluctant to go to the gym! Thanks!
  • yogicarl
    yogicarl Posts: 1,260 Member
    Yep - reluctant like me! It's a great starter and now I have the confidence and experience to build my own bodyweight routines.
  • EmmiDahling
    EmmiDahling Posts: 104 Member
    Sure. Look into "You Are Your Own Gym" or "Convict Conditioning". What you want is body weight routines. I think there's one on Nerd Fitness too.

    However, does your university have a gym for students?

    I second this! Also, if you have an iPhone there is YAYOG app that makes the program super easy to follow. I've seen a really nice increase is my upper body definition after a round and a half. I'm still working on my bottom half, but my body stores significantly more body fat in this area, so it'll take longer for the muscle to show.
  • Fit_NYC_
    Fit_NYC_ Posts: 1,389 Member
    totally... there are tons of resources on the net for at home workouts, body weight exercises, even make your own equipment.
  • PrincessMissDee
    PrincessMissDee Posts: 183 Member
    If you download the Nike Fitness app, it has SO many workouts on it.. I do go to the gym a lot and these workouts really do work your body. You can choose between cardio, toning, fitness and the more you do them, the more it opens up new workouts to you.

    Alternatively do you have space to do a fitness DVD? Or something like Insanity which you can find free on YouTube?

    Did you say you're in London? Groupon always has super cheap fitness offers.. I got 10 Bootcamp sessions for £10 in the local park. Also try Gumtree for this.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member

    I know you can't choose where you lose weight, but I cannot bear to go down another bra size, there won't be much left. I thought toning might be answer.

    'toning' is essentially losing bodyfat... so you may well lose more off your boobs if you want to lower the amount of fat you have.
  • pandabear_
    pandabear_ Posts: 487 Member
    If you download the Nike Fitness app, it has SO many workouts on it.. I do go to the gym a lot and these workouts really do work your body. You can choose between cardio, toning, fitness and the more you do them, the more it opens up new workouts to you.

    Alternatively do you have space to do a fitness DVD? Or something like Insanity which you can find free on YouTube?

    Did you say you're in London? Groupon always has super cheap fitness offers.. I got 10 Bootcamp sessions for £10 in the local park. Also try Gumtree for this.

    Hi thanks, yes.. I have space for a fitness DVD. I did Jillian Michaels' 30 day shred, so maybe I can do Insanity.. Although from what I have heard it sounds pretty intense.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
    In the US, free weights (dumbbells) are dirt cheap at the discount stores and it's amazing what you can do with them. If you can't afford those, it's amazing what you can do with can's in an old sock for exercise. Other cheap alternatives can be found by googling "weight training without equipment"
  • rejectuf
    rejectuf Posts: 487 Member
    I agree with everyone suggesting the body weight conditioning resources. If you're looking for a more structured program, a lot of people (my wife among them) have success with P90X, Insanity, etc. They're all solid programs that require minimal equipment.

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