Toning

One of the most common things that people have said to me, when losing weight is that they also want to tone up.

But what actually is “toning up”?

What people mean when they say tone up is that they want to have less fat, and therefore be able to see their muscles a bit more so they look nice and lean and well toned.

And what has typically been sold to people as the optimal toning workout method is something like – light weights, high reps, in circuit type workouts, or exercise classes.

It is important to understand that all being toned is, is having less fat covering your muscles so they are more visible, which starts to give you the shape and definition that you want to see in your arms, legs, stomach, whatever it may be.

So the first step to “toning” is simply to lose body fat. The less body fat you have, the more pronounced your muscle definition will be.

The second part, and most important aspect when it comes to your training however is the fact that actually the more muscle you have, the more toned you will be.

So the best method of training to get “toned” is actually to train to build muscle.

Training to build muscle, lifting weights, is something that for the average joe population has historically been an unattractive prospect because of its association to bodybuilding

For women its often they don’t want to get bulky, and for guys they aren’t interested in trying to get massive.

It is important to recognise that these people train 5 to 6 times a week, for years on end, with the sole intention of getting as big as possible. So, trust me when I say – there is a 0% chance that you will accidentally end up looking like a bodybuilder.

So, if you are wanting to tone up, then creating a calorie deficit to lose body fat, alongside doing resistance training, and lifting weights is going to be the best method to help you achieve your goal.