What does everyone do for toning?
SharonBrobst
Posts: 62 Member
I recently met my goal weight loss and now realize I need to tone up. I am not interested in building muscle mass but just toning up the flab that is left after losing 30 lbs. :-) Any suggestions?
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What does that mean? You don't tone muscle. Muscle has tone but you can't change it's tone.
Strength training in maintenance will help with your body composition. The situation you are in is why strength training in a deficit is typically recommended.
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What you're looking for here is to condition the muscle. That would usually be resistance training (lifting weights). Muscle mass is built with progressive overload resistance and calorie surplus. You can get stronger without adding muscle as long as you're not surplusing calories.
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So I asked the wrong question....I am new at this. Is lifting weights the only way? The reason I ask is I have disk issues in my neck and lower back and need to be careful what I do etc... I realize I may need to get a personal trainer but trying to check out all options. Thank you.0
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SharonBrobst wrote: »So I asked the wrong question....I am new at this. Is lifting weights the only way? The reason I ask is I have disk issues in my neck and lower back and need to be careful what I do etc... I realize I may need to get a personal trainer but trying to check out all options. Thank you.
Lifting and body weight training. What does your doctor say about either of these?
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Body weight, resistance bands, TRX, lots of ways to strength train.0
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You can still resistance train. Your program would just have to be designed so that it doesn't cause issues with your issues.SharonBrobst wrote: »So I asked the wrong question....I am new at this. Is lifting weights the only way? The reason I ask is I have disk issues in my neck and lower back and need to be careful what I do etc... I realize I may need to get a personal trainer but trying to check out all options. Thank you.
As to your issues to your neck and low back, have you been assessed by an orthopedist? Or was it just a GP?
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You can try things like Pilates, too. I think you get more bang for your buck if you do it with heavy things instead, but doing a lot of reps of exercises like Pilates does help tighten. Ballet-based ones are even better, imho, because you are lifting your (heavy) legs.
I do weights (heavy as I can), some Pilates moves, yoga for both stretching and strength, ballet-based moves, and one of my absolute favorites to get a bit of cardio, too: belly dance! I have a schedule for the weights+yoga and add my choice of the others as the mood dictates
The ballet moves can double as cardio, too, if you do them quickly.0 -
Do a search for body weight exercises. Your body is your gym, you can do them anywhere, anytime and you don't need to spend anything for equipment. (Perhaps a yoga mat).0
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I do various body weight exercises, with 20 lb kettlebells....long lean muscle happening here!0
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I previously did a lot of high intensity body weight, TRX and kettle bell strength exercises. During pregnancy I had to cut back on a lot of that and I started doing Barre3 you tube videos. I was very skeptical at first, I'm a intense push it till you bleed kind of person, but was very surprised by the excellent toning results I got from the Barre, especially glutes, thighs, shoulders and back. It is very low impact but effective (not really for weight loss but for toning). I still do some general weight lifting/TRX, like rows and presses and squats and lunges too, it's just more difficult now that I'm in the third trimester.0
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don't worry about the toning semantics people
yoga, pilates, body weight, resistance training, barre0 -
JustMissTracy wrote: »I do various body weight exercises, with 20 lb kettlebells....long lean muscle happening here!
No such thing as long lean muscle.
Muscle has two set attachment points, between your shoulder and elbow for example. There is no lengthening of muscle.
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SharonBrobst wrote: »...I am new at this. Is lifting weights the only way? The reason I ask is I have disk issues in my neck and lower back and need to be careful what I do etc... I realize I may need to get a personal trainer but trying to check out all options. Thank you.
I have lower back problems and use weight machines that give back or chest support depending on the type of movement involved. Some of the equipment in the gym I use, is identical to my physio's and I also got two sessions with a personal trainer in the gym on how to use suitable equipment properly.
I dont use heavier free weights and do plenty of stretches beforehand and some afterwards.0 -
don't worry about the toning semantics people
yoga, pilates, body weight, resistance training, barre
The reason the semantics matter, is that people jump straight to "I don't want to gain muscles, so I'm not going to do those things that lead to gaining muscles; I just want to tone". But, that thinking can prevent them from getting where they need to be. People need to understand that they get the toned look by having an appropriate amount of muscle under a smaller layer of fat. The amount of body fat usually will be the determining factor. People who lose too much muscle mass usually end up flabbier than they want even at lower weights. Maintaining (and for some people gaining) muscle mass is usually the answer.
OP, I'd give this a good read as it may be what you are looking for: http://bretcontreras.com/how-to-attain-a-slender-look-like-jessica-alba-zoe-saldana/0 -
Correct terminology is okay to learn. You ever hear of a "toning" squat, curl, bench press, plie, etc? Probably not. They are just called squats, curls, bench presses, plie, etc.don't worry about the toning semantics people
yoga, pilates, body weight, resistance training, barre
If the OP doesn't want to gain muscle while doing these, I gave her the correct information on how not to do consume a calorie surplus while including resistance training in her program.
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Thanks all. There is a lot to learn I know. @ninerbuff I have been to my GP, Ortho, PT, Pain Management, Chiro etc.. in the end there is nothing they can do, unless it gets worse. I just have to learn to manage my pain as best as I can because I refuse pain killers.
I already have resistance bands and exercises from my time in PT, perhaps I will start there. I don't mind gaining some muscle...I am currently pretty weak from little to no exercise in the last 8 years since my car accident. I just started walking 15 miles a week in May of this year which have been great for the legs...I just need to work on the rest of the body now.0 -
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Compound lifting is very slimming. These types of free-weight moves work your entire body. Ask your orthopedic surgeon or PT for a specific program for your goal.0
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If you lift weights you CANNOT build muscle overnight if you are a man with loads of testosterone and eating at a surplus hitting your macros. It can take years!
As a woman, likely eating at maintenance or a deficit with a teeny fraction of the testosterone, building muscle and getting bulky will not happen. What DOES happen is that you preserve what muscle mass you have left after yoyo dieting has eaten away at least half of it. *
@auddii said it best, toning is the appropriate amount amount of muscle with a thin layer of fat.
*NB noob gains are an exception, but even they won't make you bulky.0 -
SharonBrobst wrote: »I recently met my goal weight loss and now realize I need to tone up. I am not interested in building muscle mass but just toning up the flab that is left after losing 30 lbs. :-) Any suggestions?
I try and eat less crap. Not a joke, that's really part of my strategy.0 -
Sam_I_Am77 wrote: »I try and eat less crap. Not a joke, that's really part of my strategy.
I eat whole, non-proceed, foods. And cut out foods without added sugar or white carbs...
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I like the term 'conditions' used above. It's good to have a term that doesn't involve adding more muscle mass that still describes that the muscles can change when you work them well. Maybe that happens less often with men, that they don't often have disused-acting muscles until they get old?
I know lots of women who could 'tone up' their triceps or inner thigh muscles, for example, and I don't mean putting on mass (although that works, too, obviously). I don't mean losing fat on top of the muscle, because disused muscles are often seen in skinny (skinny fat) folks.
'Conditioning' the muscle works fine as a term for me. But I don't think it's particularly helpful to act like someone has to put on mass or lose weight to show the existing muscle and those are the only two choices. Unless conditioning the muscle counts as putting on mass? But it's easy enough to do in a deficit, so I don't think it could mean that. Maybe they just hold more glycogen, etc. In any case, they get tighter and look better, so I do think it's a real thing.
I do think heavy weights are the quickest way to do it, too But lots of activities work out a muscle enough to have it not lack good muscle tone (see what I did there 
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This is from the link you posted: Research and basic anatomical knowledge implies that the notion of specific exercises to improve tone is unfounded.0 -
Whatever exercises you've learned, then only thing you have to do "tone-up" your muscle more, is to just increase the resistance. If you're doing body weight exercises, change the angle. One piece of equipment I would consider is a Suspension trainer. TRX is popular, but I purchased a knock off brand for $30 that does the same thing and is decent quality (WOSS suspension).SharonBrobst wrote: »Thanks all. There is a lot to learn I know. @ninerbuff I have been to my GP, Ortho, PT, Pain Management, Chiro etc.. in the end there is nothing they can do, unless it gets worse. I just have to learn to manage my pain as best as I can because I refuse pain killers.
I already have resistance bands and exercises from my time in PT, perhaps I will start there. I don't mind gaining some muscle...I am currently pretty weak from little to no exercise in the last 8 years since my car accident. I just started walking 15 miles a week in May of this year which have been great for the legs...I just need to work on the rest of the body now.
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Lol, how about Journals of Medicine, strength and conditioning, kinesiology, physiology, etc. instead? Search in those and link "toning" squats, curls, rows, etc.
Wiki can be written and edited by anyone.
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Many times I just let clients know that if they stick with the exercises we put together for them, their muscles will end up firmer and "harder". Most understand that.cafeaulait7 wrote: »I like the term 'conditions' used above. It's good to have a term that doesn't involve adding more muscle mass that still describes that the muscles can change when you work them well. Maybe that happens less often with men, that they don't often have disused-acting muscles until they get old?
I know lots of women who could 'tone up' their triceps or inner thigh muscles, for example, and I don't mean putting on mass (although that works, too, obviously). I don't mean losing fat on top of the muscle, because disused muscles are often seen in skinny (skinny fat) folks.
'Conditioning' the muscle works fine as a term for me. But I don't think it's particularly helpful to act like someone has to put on mass or lose weight to show the existing muscle and those are the only two choices. Unless conditioning the muscle counts as putting on mass? But it's easy enough to do in a deficit, so I don't think it could mean that. Maybe they just hold more glycogen, etc. In any case, they get tighter and look better, so I do think it's a real thing.
I do think heavy weights are the quickest way to do it, too But lots of activities work out a muscle enough to have it not lack good muscle tone (see what I did there ?).
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@ninerbuff or you could read what it said, which said it likely isn't a real thing but it does give a good definition of what people mean connotatively. or you could be snarky. w/e. and the webster dictionary clearly says "having or showing strength or firmness" so it kinda is denotatively as well
rather than worrying about semantics, people could say what she needs to hear. which is the same as if she wanted to improve her strength. she just uses a different word. in conversation, it's not a big deal
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This whole thread kind of makes me laugh. Sometimes people can get so caught up in the semantics of words. It's like talking to my husband (who talks in a blue language) and I talk pink! LOL We laugh about it all the time.
But even so...I have gotten a lot of good information.0 -
Snarky? I just stated that having the correct terminology isn't a bad direction to learn.@ninerbuff or you could read what it said, which said it likely isn't a real thing but it does give a good definition of what people mean connotatively. or you could be snarky. w/e. and the webster dictionary clearly says "having or showing strength or firmness" so it kinda is denotatively as well
rather than worrying about semantics, people could say what she needs to hear. which is the same as if she wanted to improve her strength. she just uses a different word. in conversation, it's not a big deal
If you didn't know it, "toning" was an invented word by the fitness industry to deceive females that they were doing something other than lifting weights. In other words, they feminized it, when in truth they were still just lifting weights. There's still misinformation being passed around that weight lifting will make females bulky.
This was done because females spend more than males when it comes to personal improvement. Personally I don't think people have to be deceived to buy into a system if it's merits are good.
So I'm not cool with a word that that basically insinuates that women weren't smart enough to figure out weight lifting doesn't cause excessive muscle gain.
Semantics to you, probably, but I don't teach my clients or others that way.
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