Toning trouble - top tips needed!

htinsley1 · June 2018

Looking for some top tips or advice on muscle toning/core strengthening.

I'm disappointed that after a lot of training I am still not seeing any muscle definition, especially around the waist and hips. I have lost 17lbs since February this year and am in moderately good shape anyway however I am not getting the overall conditioning that I want.

I'm 5'5 and weigh 131lbs and work out around 5 times per week.

A normal week for me is 2/3 gym sessions focusing on weights and some cardio
A 45 minute body combat class for overall fat burn
I run approx 4-5 miles per week (sometimes more depending on gym time)

I do casual weights at home as and when I feel like it and I have a dog who I walk 4-5 times per week for 45-60 minutes, and when I say walk I mean power walking over rough rural terrain, hills, etc. We live in a valley so you don't get much of a choice about hills!

I eat a 1200 calorie a day diet but to be fair I probably don't hit that much most days, although I eat 3 meals a day and very rarely feel the need to snack. I realise I might need to up my calorie intake but I find that when I do I get lazy, sluggish and don't feel as good. I also put on weight very rapidly.

I don't eat a lot of junk food and have reduced my alcohol consumption dramatically (I now get drunk from one glass of prosecco).

On average my diet is 45% carbs, 25-30% fat (good fats) and 25-30% protein

There's definitely a lot less of me now, it's just still really squishy.

Give me your top tips people (I'm desperate)

mom23mangos · June 2018

When you do weights, do you follow any sort of progressive program or do you just kind of do your own thing? Are you squishy all over or just your stomach? Are you an apple shape?

You are at a perfectly normal weight so you have a couple of options. If you wanted to, you could still lose a few pounds of fat and see if you are any happier with how you look. You could stay where you are and start eating at maintenance and up the progressive resistance training. Or you could concentrate on adding muscle and eat in a small 100-250 surplus and hit the weights hard. A lot of it depends on how you feel about further dieting and how much patience you have.

Edit - and core strengthening is a whole different animal than getting leaner on your stomach and having some visible muscle definition. While you do need a decent muscle base to show through the fat, people with really strong cores tend to have wider/bigger waists from the increased muscle mass. If you are really looking for core strengthening exercises let me know and I can suggest a few.

htinsley1 · June 2018

Thanks for the feedback.

Measurements are 34-27-37 so not quite sure what shape that would make me?

I tend to carry fat/softness around my hips, stomach and middle - I've got no muscle definition in my legs however when I actually touch them they are pretty solid (mostly from running as until recently wasn't doing much longer distances). My stomach is a lost cause really as I have excess skin (not loads but enough to cover any visible muscle) so its more about having a toned waist line and losing the love handles.

I don't have a specific progressive program but I try to increase either the number of reps or the weights used each time I work out to make it a bit more challenging.

Currently I do about 12-20 reps (2-3 cycles) on each machine (ones used depends on the day of the week) and currently I manage with 90-100lbs on legs (extensions for example) and around 40-60lbs for arms and upper body.

Freeweights I use a mixture of dumbells at 1-2.5kgs and medicine ball at 3-4kg.

With those though I don't really know what I'm doing so I just do my usual routine (plank, crunches, lunges, etc) and add the weights in as an extra.

I'd like to maintain my weight, certainly don't want to increase it, but find my metabolism basically gives up if I start upping my calorie intake. I went out with friends for a chinese meal not long ago and within two days I had put on 3lbs despite not changing anything else in my diet for the days running up to or after going out.

I'm pretty well commited to this and can be patient provided I know I will get results.

mom23mangos · June 2018

You can increase your weight while still looking smaller, so don't be afraid of gaining. And the reason you gained 3lbs from eating chinese was because of water retention from the huge amounts of sodium in chinese food. You didn't gain 3lbs of fat, just 3lbs of water. It may help you to use a weight trending app if you don't have one so those fluctuations don't scare you.

Since you are committed and patient, keep on doing what you are doing, but increase your weights until you are in the 4-6rep range. Currently you are doing more muscular endurance levels. You can cycle every few months with sets in the 10-12rep range. It sounds like you are already progressing by adding weight/reps, but it may benefit you to pick a program written by an expert. I'm a big fan of Body For Life. It's old, but solid.

boehle · June 2018

I recently bought the new rules of lifting for women and it starts with a six week program of doing weights 3 days a week. I completed w1d1 yesterday and def feel it. I am hoping to see some change in 6 weeks. Then onto the next session. It has 7 stages.

htinsley1 · June 2018

I will check it out thanks, I guess I just need to be patient and keep going with it

boehle · June 2018

I will share workout A.
It rotates 2 times the 1st week and 1 time the second week.
So this week, this is workout on Monday and Friday.
Next Week, it is Wednesday.
If it helps, Id highly suggest the book. It isnt expensive and I downloaded to my google books.

htinsley1 · June 2018

That is great thank you

Toning trouble - top tips needed!

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