Can You Really 'Tone' Your Body? Why toning is a myth
mrsyac2
Posts: 2,784 Member
Can You Really 'Tone' Your Body?
Why toning is a myth
By Paige Waehner
"I really need to get toned up." I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that. You've probably said it a million times...heck, I've said and I even know better. What I'm talking about is the idea of 'toning' your body. Most people think that toning means getting more definition and firmer muscles. And how do you get more definition? By doing more reps with lighter weight, of course! But what you may not know is that this idea of toning the muscles is only a myth.
What 'Toning' Really Means
So what is toning? The word tone simply describes the state of your muscles. When at rest, your muscles are in a constant state of partial contraction in order to be ready for action. The 'tone' of your muscles is involuntary, so you can't change it by lifting weights a certain way.
Over the years, people have taken the word 'tone' and redefined it to mean how lean we are--how defined our muscles appear. In fact, it's even a gender specific word sometimes--women go to the gym to 'tone up' while men go to the gym to lift weights. Know what? Those are the exact same things!
The truth is, you're limited as to what you can really change about your muscles. In a nutshell, this is what your muscles can do:
1. Grow larger and/or stronger
2. Shrink smaller and/or get weaker
You can't make a muscle longer (without surgery) and you can't etch it into a certain shape or look. If your goal is to see your muscles, your goal isn't toning--it's losing body fat. And, whether you're a man or woman, wanting to bulk up or slim down, you'll do the same kinds of exercises and training methods. The difference lies in the weights, reps and sets you'll do, as well as how many calories you take in (more if you're building muscle, less if you're trying to lose fat).
You may be wondering why it matters if you believe in toning or not. The problem with the idea of toning is that it leads to that other stubborn myth...
Spot Training
The myth of toning is often tangled up in the myth of spot training. Someone might say, "I want to tone the back of my arms, so I'm going to do some tricep exercises." Fine...you can (and should!) work your tricep muscles, but that isn't going to get rid of the fat around your triceps, which is what keeps you from seeing that muscle. If you reduce your calories, lift weights and do some cardio, you CAN lose body fat. Can you lose it over your triceps? Sure you can...but only your body will decide when (or if) the fat over that particular area will go.
So, What's the Point?
If I've convinced you that toning doesn't exist and that you can't spot train, you might be wondering why you should even bother lifting weights. If a bicep curl isn't going to make your biceps more visible, why do it? This is where a shift in perspective needs to happen. Instead of focusing on individual body parts (i.e., I need more defined shoulders!), you need to focus on the whole body (i.e., Working my whole body--with cardio and weights--will help in my overall goals). To make this shift in perspective, it helps to know what strength training will do for you:
You'll build muscle, which helps with fat loss in the long-term. A pound of muscle burns about 60 calories a day. A pound of fat burns about 5 calories a day. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn all day.
You'll strengthen muscles and connective tissues which helps you perform better (whether in daily activities or physical activities) and reduces risk of injury.
You'll preserve muscle mass as you age. We naturally lose muscle over time, unless we lift weights.
You'll build stronger bones.
You'll improve your flexibility, stability and balance.
You'll feel better about yourself.
Getting More Definition
After all you've read here, you may be wondering exactly what to do to get more definition in your body. The answer is simple: lose body fat. To lose body fat you need 3 key elements: regular cardio exercise, consistent strength training for all your muscle groups and a healthy, low-calorie diet. Check out these Weight Loss Resources for some tips on getting started.
One last note: Whatever your goal or gender, don't be afraid of heavy weights! It takes a lot of hard work to bulk up--even men can find it difficult, never mind women (who don't have enough testosterone to get huge muscles).
Why toning is a myth
By Paige Waehner
"I really need to get toned up." I wish I had a dollar for every time I heard that. You've probably said it a million times...heck, I've said and I even know better. What I'm talking about is the idea of 'toning' your body. Most people think that toning means getting more definition and firmer muscles. And how do you get more definition? By doing more reps with lighter weight, of course! But what you may not know is that this idea of toning the muscles is only a myth.
What 'Toning' Really Means
So what is toning? The word tone simply describes the state of your muscles. When at rest, your muscles are in a constant state of partial contraction in order to be ready for action. The 'tone' of your muscles is involuntary, so you can't change it by lifting weights a certain way.
Over the years, people have taken the word 'tone' and redefined it to mean how lean we are--how defined our muscles appear. In fact, it's even a gender specific word sometimes--women go to the gym to 'tone up' while men go to the gym to lift weights. Know what? Those are the exact same things!
The truth is, you're limited as to what you can really change about your muscles. In a nutshell, this is what your muscles can do:
1. Grow larger and/or stronger
2. Shrink smaller and/or get weaker
You can't make a muscle longer (without surgery) and you can't etch it into a certain shape or look. If your goal is to see your muscles, your goal isn't toning--it's losing body fat. And, whether you're a man or woman, wanting to bulk up or slim down, you'll do the same kinds of exercises and training methods. The difference lies in the weights, reps and sets you'll do, as well as how many calories you take in (more if you're building muscle, less if you're trying to lose fat).
You may be wondering why it matters if you believe in toning or not. The problem with the idea of toning is that it leads to that other stubborn myth...
Spot Training
The myth of toning is often tangled up in the myth of spot training. Someone might say, "I want to tone the back of my arms, so I'm going to do some tricep exercises." Fine...you can (and should!) work your tricep muscles, but that isn't going to get rid of the fat around your triceps, which is what keeps you from seeing that muscle. If you reduce your calories, lift weights and do some cardio, you CAN lose body fat. Can you lose it over your triceps? Sure you can...but only your body will decide when (or if) the fat over that particular area will go.
So, What's the Point?
If I've convinced you that toning doesn't exist and that you can't spot train, you might be wondering why you should even bother lifting weights. If a bicep curl isn't going to make your biceps more visible, why do it? This is where a shift in perspective needs to happen. Instead of focusing on individual body parts (i.e., I need more defined shoulders!), you need to focus on the whole body (i.e., Working my whole body--with cardio and weights--will help in my overall goals). To make this shift in perspective, it helps to know what strength training will do for you:
You'll build muscle, which helps with fat loss in the long-term. A pound of muscle burns about 60 calories a day. A pound of fat burns about 5 calories a day. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn all day.
You'll strengthen muscles and connective tissues which helps you perform better (whether in daily activities or physical activities) and reduces risk of injury.
You'll preserve muscle mass as you age. We naturally lose muscle over time, unless we lift weights.
You'll build stronger bones.
You'll improve your flexibility, stability and balance.
You'll feel better about yourself.
Getting More Definition
After all you've read here, you may be wondering exactly what to do to get more definition in your body. The answer is simple: lose body fat. To lose body fat you need 3 key elements: regular cardio exercise, consistent strength training for all your muscle groups and a healthy, low-calorie diet. Check out these Weight Loss Resources for some tips on getting started.
One last note: Whatever your goal or gender, don't be afraid of heavy weights! It takes a lot of hard work to bulk up--even men can find it difficult, never mind women (who don't have enough testosterone to get huge muscles).
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Replies
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toning might be a myth but that is what i call my body when it dose not have this jelly fat basicly it just is a nother way of saying lean not a lot of muscels no fat just toned my body dose that when i am at a lighter weight like 110 pounds to a 115 i was at that weight in my twenty but i like more muscels and my weight at 120 im going theri again even close to fifty and i have a 100 pounds to lose0
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Question for you--- this is something I've been struggling with to try and establish my ideal caloric intake for losing weight.
I'm extremely active and while I've noticed inches lost within the last year of 5-6 weekly workouts and weight training, I've only actually lost 5 pounds. My guess is this is because I've been building muscle and losing fat, however I'm still at least 15 pounds over a healthy BMI for my height/weight.
In your post you say to lose body fat, to take in less calories and to build muscle to take in more. But ideally we'd like to build muscle because that will burn the fat, no?
So the question becomes...do you eat more or less calories to lose weight? I hope my question makes some sort of sense and I'm not the only one suffering out there with this dilemma.
Thanks
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The standard rules hold true: Eating less than you use/burn will allow you to lose weight and 3,500 calories = 1 pound. However, too many times, people (like me, formerly) try to take it to extremes and sabotage themselves. If you do not eat enough to maintain basic bodily functions adequately, your metabolism slows down. To lose weight effectively, eat enough to keep yourself going efficiently, but not so much that you aren't in a deficit position.
A lot of fitness experts that I've studied say that your body fat % is much more important than what your scale says. If you are working out, looking better, feeling great, and have replaced fat with muscle, that is a thousand times more desirable than feeling lethargic, being 'skinny fat', but having the scale move down, is it not?0 -
Yes, it is better
Thanks stormieweather!0 -
yes. you want alot of lean muscle, you dont have much to lose . so just buy gaining muscle it can make you look tiny stay at the calorie you should be thought ,about six years ago i was at the gym because i had went up to 140 pouds .wish i was theri again . but the trainer theri was my height and look like she waid 120 pounds . she got on the scale and it floored me she weight 155 pounds. she rode her bike every where .she wasnt much on the other exercises mostly just the stationary bikes and her bike at home.she looked good0
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I could be wrong, but you cannot build muscle unless you have a calorie surplus. Building muscle while at a calories deficit is a scientific impossibility.0
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The standard rules hold true: Eating less than you use/burn will allow you to lose weight and 3,500 calories = 1 pound. However, too many times, people (like me, formerly) try to take it to extremes and sabotage themselves. If you do not eat enough to maintain basic bodily functions adequately, your metabolism slows down. To lose weight effectively, eat enough to keep yourself going efficiently, but not so much that you aren't in a deficit position.
A lot of fitness experts that I've studied say that your body fat % is much more important than what your scale says. If you are working out, looking better, feeling great, and have replaced fat with muscle, that is a thousand times more desirable than feeling lethargic, being 'skinny fat', but having the scale move down, is it not?
fat % says alot more than what the scale says- take me for example I am 174lbs and am at 26% body fat (the last time I was checked) I know a lot of people that weigh less than me but have higher fat percentages- thats called skinny fat.
My goal isn't just weight loss its decreasing my fat % to below 20 % I would really like to be around 16-17%. My scale doesn't move much but I also wear a size 8-
Gotta love what lifting weights does to my body. I look smaller than what I am and people are always surprised when they find out how much I actually weigh since I look smaller0
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