How You Can Look More “Toned”
If you want to look more toned, more beefy and have a radically ripped abs for life then read this article.
People (largely women) say that they want to be more “toned”. In other words, they don’t necessarily want to build extra muscle mass, yet they want the muscle that already have to look more in shape, toned, and defined.
How most people screw up making an effort to get “toned”
A number of people completely screw this up. They make an effort to get in shape by “going for the burn” when training. They do this for the reason that
1. Somebody told them heavy weights make you hulking…
2. Their muscles feel and look toned as soon as they “Feel the burn” when training with high reps.
Here’s why you shouldn’t “go for the burn” when exercising if you want to get in shape
The Burn is lactic acid buildup
The reason you feel hard during and after the ‘burn’ is the same reason a corpse is stiff. Your muscle fibers are akin to mouse traps-they go off by themselves, but need energy to be reset to contract once again. A dead body is out of ATP, the energy compound that relaxes the muscles, that’s why their muscles are permanently contracted.
An elevated rep training wears out ATP in your muscle and leads to a momentary stiffness extremely similar to what happens to a dead body. But you probably don’t want to be dead, and in spite of that you still want to be toned. The solution?
Real Muscle Tone: Tension
To get lasting tone, you need to exercise your nervous system to keep your muscles half flexed when you are calm. This is what muscle tone is-residual tension in a relaxed muscle! The kind of tension that comes from neurological activity, and not energy fatigue.
Increased muscle tone is not a physical change of your muscle. It is the result of the nervous system being more on the ball. It keeps the muscles somewhat contracted the whole time.
Strength – Tension – Tone
Strength and tone training is the same thing. If you learn to create tension to acquire strength, instead of building more muscle, then the stronger you are, the harder you will be. This means you need to come to grips with strength training to sculpt a lean, hard, athletic physique you dreamed of. Max tension: max strength.
For Women
* Want buns of steel? Extreme, high-tension deadlifts work your butt WAY more than butt squeezes, ‘fire hydrants’, or similar silly moves popular in ‘muscle sculpting’ classes
* Sculpt rock-hard abs? Extreme, high-tension deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, ab wheel routines, planks, and all that force your abs to cause high tension
* Want chiseled, sleek, sexy hips and thighs? Deadlifts, squats, and other full body movements done with high tension, heavy weights are the ticket.
For guys:
* Want a Big Chest and Shoulders? Heavy, High Tension Overhead Presses and Bench Presses will get you there
* Crave for a barnyard back? Weight Pullups and Bent over Rows to build those lats
* Lean chiseled abs? Squats, Deads, Overhead Squats, Overhead presses, Ab Wheels and planks like the ladies
* Want firm, sculpted arms? Heavy presses and other overhead work.
You Can Strength Train and Not “Get Hulking”
Here’s how you strength train without getting bigger: keep the volume low. And you will get stronger, harder, and more toned without getting any bigger. Keep the total number of reps low per workout. A general rule is 10 reps or less. So two heavy sets of 5 would work with the major exercises.
If you desire to build bigger, more robust muscles: Lift extra volume during your training. Keep the reps low though so you’re still able to lift with maximum tension and build more strength. 5 sets x 5 reps as an example for every major exercise.
So there you go. If you want to get more toned, more ripped, more “hard” then you need to build strength.
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