The people who are not really into bodybuilding but still visit the gym occasionally will tell you that they simply want to get more toned. There are many recreational lifters who aren’t necessarily looking to get jacked like a competitive bodybuilder – if you ask them what their main goal is, they would often answer that they simply want to get ‘toned’. This is an abstract word for many and it needs some clearing up.
The word “toned” comes from the Latin “tonus” or the Greek “tonos” and means tension. Muscle building, toning and increasing definition are all fitness goals that are similar in the implication of strengthening the muscles to achieve that tension-filled look through exercise.
In reality, there is no such thing as “toning your muscles.” Toning up essentially revolves around losing enough body fat so that the definition and shape of your muscles becomes visible, given that you’ve put some effort into increasing their size. And since muscles can either shrink or grow in size, they themselves can’t really “tone up” – that’s not in their modus operandi.
What “Getting Toned” Actually Means
Getting “toned” actually means having a body with a pronounced musculature and a low percentage of body fat. What many people have in mind when they are talking about toning their muscles is burning enough fat so that the separation between their muscles becomes evident – making their muscles hard and visible through training. Considering that muscle size can fluctuate depending on the stress they are exposed to over longer periods of time, the muscles themselves cannot “tone up” – that’s not how they work.
And to get there, you need to engage in strength training that will stimulate your muscles to grow and become stronger, and allow you to burn more calories by elevating your metabolic rate. Exercises that target more muscle groups at once or target larger muscle groups – such as the legs and back – will burn more calories than isolated exercises.
But regardless of how much you work out, if you don’t adjust your diet accordingly, you will not get the body you want. Let that sink in for a while. Being toned requires both of these things:
- Fat loss
- Muscle growth
And there’s no way around it. You either do it, or you don’t. If you are serious about this, you’d better start working on it as soon as possible. There’s no need to follow some professional bodybuilder’s training or diet plan, but you will have to make a customised training and nutrition program to get that toned look you are after.
Bad news: there is no easier way around it. But it may sound a bit scary, and in reality, toning up isn’t all that hard and it doesn’t require any special supplements or a specific body type to get there. First, let’s get rid of the most common misconceptions surrounding the “mystical” process of toning.
Myth #1: Spot Reducing Fat
This is an oft-repeated misconception that refuses to be exterminated from the fitness world. There is no way you can lose fat in specific parts of your body by doing exercises that isolate those parts directly – because the exercises stimulate the muscles in those areas, not the fat tissue above the muscles. It’s simply not the same tissue.
Fat loss mostly depends on your genetic makeup, overall hormonal activity, and other factors. You will be more likely to lose fat faster in some parts than others – however, there is no way you can directly influence which specific areas go first.
This means that doing sit-ups months on end will in no way help you get a slimmer waist. So no, endless crunches are not the way to achieve a flat midsection. The solution is to stop targeting specific areas and start doing exercises that stimulate multiple and larger muscle groups, which will burn fat all over your body faster. Don’t worry – if you stick with your training and calorie restriction for long enough, even the most stubborn pockets of fat will start melting.
Related: The 9 Rules of Getting Super Lean
Myth #2: High Reps and Light Weights Will Tone You
Many beginners believe that high repetitions performed with light weights will tone the body and add definition to the muscles. Aside from the fact that training with lighter weights and many repetitions can become very terribly boring, it is also utterly useless for toning. Simply going through motions without significantly stressing your muscles won’t challenge them to grow, nor will it help you burn fat.
Here’s exactly why. High reps cause sarcoplasmic hypertrophy – an increase in the volume of non-contractile fluid in the muscle, called sarcoplasm. This fluid makes the muscle look bigger, but won’t give your muscles any real definition or meaningful strength. Sarcoplasm accounts for only about 25% of total muscle mass – in other words, you’ll get a little bigger and bloated but not toned or defined.
Myofibrillar hypertrophy, on the other hand, is a result of mechanical tension – training with heavy weights. It happens when the number of myofibrils (actual muscle fibres) increases, causing muscles to increase in strength and density. Myofibrillar hypertrophy makes the muscle harder, stronger and more dense. This is what creates the “toned” appearance people are actually after.
The tone and definition that people desire is not a product of high reps and low weights. It is a product of hard training with heavy weights in combination with a sensible diet and cardio training.
Bodybuilders are right when they say that you should keep the repetitions of one set within the range of 8–12. That is the sweet spot for creating enough stimulus to make the muscles grow. If you can get more reps than that, you probably need to go heavier. Instead of focusing on the number of reps, simply keep your workout challenging enough to make you give your maximum.
Related: Muscle Hypertrophy – Everything You Need to Know
Here’s Exactly What You Need to Do
1. Build muscle with a resistance training program. Three times a week should suffice to start – if you have more time, increase the frequency. Do full-body workouts. Always choose compound exercises like the deadlift, squat, overhead press, bench press, lunges, pull-up variations and rows. There are many ways to progress – the most important being progressive overload. Always strive to make your workout sessions more challenging in some form.
2. Lose fat with a controlled calorie deficit. Start decreasing your daily caloric intake slowly. That way you will be able to lose fat at a steady pace while preserving the muscle tissue you’ve built. If you do it too quickly, the body will think you’ve gotten yourself into a situation where you are forced to starve and will go into defensive mode – it will start storing more fat than it’s burning.
A good starting point is to cut 300–400 calories from what you would otherwise consume on a daily basis. Test out various amounts and see which works best for you. Related: How Much Protein to Eat to Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle
It’s really that simple. If you lose the fat covering your muscles, they will become visible and you will appear toned. If you want to look bigger, you will need to build more muscle. If you want to get toned, you should lose more fat. Follow these rules and you will get the body of your dreams.
You might also like:
- How to Build Lean Muscle
- 40 Things You Can Do to Start Losing Weight and Get Leaner
- 12 Reasons Why You Should Start Cutting Fat as Soon as Possible
