If we had a dollar for every time we have heard the reason as to why someone wants to join the gym as “I would like to tone up”…

Well, sorry to crush any toning goals you may have but the term “toning” is simply a myth.

Okay. So you can pick your jaw back up off the floor now and let us explain!

 

We have all heard that certain workouts and exercises specifically “tone” up your body right? *cues late night informercial*

It is a pretty common misconception in gyms across the globe. Often, it will be females who are using this word. They will go to the gym to tone up while men will go to lift weights and build muscle. However, they are realistically both going to the gym to do the same thing.
But the truth is, if you are looking for that “toned” look, in truth you are generally actually chasing just to look lean without the added bulk. There are no specific exercises that tone you up – there is simply building muscle and losing fat. And there is a much more logical and time-efficient way to achieve this look than through that “toning” workout from the fitness magazine or the trainer trying to sell it to you.

 

First up, we want to address a common myth we hear all too often: YOU CAN NOT SPOT REDUCE OR TONE SPECIFIC AREAS!

One thing we always get asked is “Can I lose my tuckshop arms?” or “Can I tone my butt up?”. Well, you can but you won’t be able to “tone” up in just these areas alone nor target them specifically. Essentially, “toning” up means that you will be decreasing your body fat allowing your muscles to appear more define. This means, that if you are carrying around excess body fat, it does not matter how much you train at the gym, you will not appear to have a defined physique. Too much body fat means your muscles are blanketed with fat and any muscle definition you do have, will be hidden.

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Abs are trained in the kitchen. This is 100% true. You can not out-train a bad diet and no amount of reps, workouts, specific exercises or sweat will get you that truly defined physique you are chasing. While we are at it, you cannot “tone” your core. You are wasting your time and you are more likely to be able to “eat yourself” to some abs. The only way to truly get a six-pack is to harden your muscles with the correct type of training and eat keeping in mind you want to decrease your body fat (seek the help of an accredited dietician to assist you with an individualised diet if required). 

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Again, if you want to tone your triceps, you can work the tricep muscles but this will not strip the fat off this area. If you do decide to alter your diet, lift weights and do some cardio training, you can lose body fat. But you cannot choose where this fat will be lost from. Sorry but that is your bodies decision, not yours!

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Will lifting weights change my muscles?

 

First up, muscles can do two things - shrink and they grow. That is it. They don’t “tone”.

When muscles grow, atrophy it is called hypertrophy and when they shrink it is called atrophy.

 

Hypertrophy allows the muscle to thicken due to muscle fibres responding to a certain training stimulus. This essentially allows our body to look harder and more ‘full’ as opposed to looking soft and squishy (this also includes that ‘skinny-fat’ look). Essentially, those who want to look ‘toned’, need to perform some form of hypertrophy training but are often too scared to do it for the fear of looking too bulky.

Atrophy is when muscles shrink and the muscles fibres thin out due to storing less intracellular contents. Atrophy can be caused by both a change or lack of training stimulus as well as biochemical signals being sent to the receptors of muscle cells to change the way the cells react and store nutrients. The latter is common when an injury occurs or stop training. Following this, the muscles will begin to look flabby and soft.

The bottom line is… you can’t lengthen your muscles nor can you make it a certain shape. If your goal is to tone up, your goal is actually to lose body fat. Essentially, the theory of “toning” doesn’t exist so don’t buy into something (or someone) just because they use the word.

 

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So what do you do if you want to achieve that ‘toned’ look?

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1. Undertake Strength Training
   So now you have to shift your perspective a little. Yes, doing bicep curls will not specifically make fat fall off your biceps and make you Popeye. But you do need to undertake strength training to build the muscles so that when you do lose body fat, there is something underneath to give you this proposed lean physique. Plus, it is known that muscle burns fat so the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn!
   Seek the advice of an Accredited coach to assist you in planning a strength training program that help you reach your specific goals.
    

2. Follow an appropriate Nutritional Plan
   As mentioned previously, nutrition plays a vital part in decreasing body fat so it is suggested that you look at your food intake and analyse what could be improved in your diet. This could involved cutting down on the calories you consume, the types of foods you are having and whether your diet is meeting your nutritional and workout needs.