If I have this right, there is no such thing as toning???

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PerfectSize

0
Hi All,

First I love reading here and there is great info here. The best I think u guys & gals r really inspiring to get my crap together again. I actually made it to the gyn at 5:00am this morning.

I have been reading a lot here and I have to say I am surprised at what I read and want to make sure I have this correct.

1. Toning is really just body fat reduction exposing your muscles.

2. Building muscle will only happen w/ excess calories, above your maintenance level.

3. When I do squats/lunges, I happen to notice after about a month, my glutes are a little higher and protrude outward somewhat. Due to this, My skirts will fit a little tight in the arse but the waist and thighs r fine

4. Lastly, read about muscles being surrounded by(man what was it called) the fiber that knots up and hence the look of bulky muscles. Meaning if I stretched my arse, that my glutes wouldn't get rounder and lift??? How the hell do u stretch ass muscles? never mind, don't want to know.

So, then if I don't change my diet, meaning eating crap, and start working out w/ wts & intense cardio 80% - 90%, what will the results be?

When u r wt. training in the above example, what exactly is going on w/ my muscles? I mean I am not "Building" more muscles than what I have, so I always thought I was toning them - making them more pronounced, but now according to what I've been reading here, that ain't the case??? I thought muscle building or maybe strength training was the process of the muscle tissues/fibers tearing and repairing themselves, hence stronger, bigger muscles??? Isn't that the reason u need to wait the 48 hrs before working on them again, so they can heal?

Have always, well except for the last couple of yrs., did wts w/ high cardio, loved the definition in my arms and my legs, but my diet was probably never, never that healthy.

Anyway, so if u r working out w/ wts and not building muscle, what exactly r u doing to your muscle if u r not toning it?

Thanks all.
 
First of all #2 is only half right. Yes you build muscle with eating excess calories above your maintenance level, BUT if you only eat you will gain body fat. Those excess calories are going towards more energy during the workout which will cause you to gain more muscle mass then body fat.

The answer to your last question is: Strengthening your muscles, just because you workout doesn't mean you're going to get big. It's just taking the muscle you already have and making it stronger.
 
Lift hard and heavy --> eat enough food -> Body uses extra energy to build more muscle, and help existing ones get stronger -> After a while, bigger muscles.
 
Thanks Hard & Phate.

Yes, that is what I meant about #2.

But now I know I read in the newbie post that strength training happened by lifting heavy and not necessarily that many reps and muscle building worked along w/ diet plus lots of reps.

I am not worried about building "big" muscle. Just always thought any type of resistance training (key resistance) would build or tone muscles making them more pronounced but now after reading here, doesn't seem that way.

hence my question about then what the heck is happening during wt training as to me, my muscles have always looked more defined by wt training.

Thanks
 
Lift hard and heavy --> eat enough food -> Body uses extra energy to build more muscle
Click to expand...

But, it's protein that the body needs to build, not the energy that it or carb's or fats can provide. Not being picky, I just want to clarify!
 
but all the protein in the world won't do you any good if you're not in a calorie surplus. It's better to be in a calorie surplus and being a bit too low on the protein, than being in a calorie deflict and being high on protein.
Also, there's no reason to consume more protein than your body really needs.
 
dephela said:
But, it's protein that the body needs to build, not the energy that it or carb's or fats can provide. Not being picky, I just want to clarify!
Click to expand...

Read what Karky says :)

You'd build more muscle with little protein, calorie surplus. Than more protein calorie deficit.
 
PerfectSize said:
Hi All,

First I love reading here and there is great info here. The best I think u guys & gals r really inspiring to get my crap together again. I actually made it to the gyn at 5:00am this morning.

I have been reading a lot here and I have to say I am surprised at what I read and want to make sure I have this correct.

1. Toning is really just body fat reduction exposing your muscles.

2. Building muscle will only happen w/ excess calories, above your maintenance level.

3. When I do squats/lunges, I happen to notice after about a month, my glutes are a little higher and protrude outward somewhat. Due to this, My skirts will fit a little tight in the arse but the waist and thighs r fine

4. Lastly, read about muscles being surrounded by(man what was it called) the fiber that knots up and hence the look of bulky muscles. Meaning if I stretched my arse, that my glutes wouldn't get rounder and lift??? How the hell do u stretch ass muscles? never mind, don't want to know.

So, then if I don't change my diet, meaning eating crap, and start working out w/ wts & intense cardio 80% - 90%, what will the results be?

When u r wt. training in the above example, what exactly is going on w/ my muscles? I mean I am not "Building" more muscles than what I have, so I always thought I was toning them - making them more pronounced, but now according to what I've been reading here, that ain't the case??? I thought muscle building or maybe strength training was the process of the muscle tissues/fibers tearing and repairing themselves, hence stronger, bigger muscles??? Isn't that the reason u need to wait the 48 hrs before working on them again, so they can heal?

Have always, well except for the last couple of yrs., did wts w/ high cardio, loved the definition in my arms and my legs, but my diet was probably never, never that healthy.

Anyway, so if u r working out w/ wts and not building muscle, what exactly r u doing to your muscle if u r not toning it?

Thanks all.
Click to expand...

1. When most people say "toning" they usually refer to using high reps to build nice lean, not bulky looking muscle. This offcource, is false. high reps won't tone, and you won't be bulky just because you lift heavy.

2. That's the basic rule of thumb. It is possible to build muscle on a calorie deflict, but it's hard, and it's usually better to just eat a surpluss.

3. you could be talking about an anterior pelvic tilt. You will get a bigger curve in your back, and your butt will kind of stick out. This is a postural flaw, and is caused by tight hip flexors, and overreaching glutes (the glutes are too "long", and need to be strenghtened). This doesn't have anything to do with squatting and lunging though, so I can't see the connection there. Squats and lunges are good exercises for your glutes, and would help with an anterior pelvic tilt.
Here's a pic of what I'm talking about:

4. Muscles are surrounded by fascia. Fascia can have knots, and it's a good idea to sort them out. However, knots in the fascia won't make your muscles look more bulky. And if you have an anterior pelvic tilt (which I suspect from your post) you should focus on stretching your hip flexors, and not so much your glutes.

what do you mean your not building muscle? You should set a goal. Do you want to cut (lose weight and make your muscles more visible) or bulk (make your muscles bigger). Then you should work towords that goal with your diet and training.
 
Stretching: If I conducted an actual poll at least 80% of the women I talk to want the body of a dancer. Long, lean and very good “tone”. If I told you what those dancers did to get those bodies and what you would have to do to get them your response to me would be see you later, don’t have the time. Just like their talents are achieved over time, the same goes for their bodies. It also doesn’t hurt that their genetics and height play a nice role. Still this doesn’t mean that a 5’3 35 year old woman can’t have long lean muscle. This doesn’t mean your posture can’t be so perfect that it gives you the illusion of extra height. If you haven’t gathered by now and from this selections title the key lies in stretching. Ever heard this “stair climbers make my calf’s bulky!”…”I have been working out for 3 weeks and my thighs are bigger!” Well I hear it all the time. Mostly it is because these woman ignore stretching. Surrounding your muscle tissues is Fascia. There are different functions and layers but two such functions are flexibility and movement. Doing the proper amount of post workout stretching and incorporating a daily stretching regime will cause less injury, relieve stress and yes elongate your muscles.

I never had the problem w/ the calves as being a runner always stretched, which is probably why I always had great legs. Not a runners bod, more of an athletic bod.

Read the above in the Bulky muscles & women The Truth thread. I think in the newbie section within a sticky.

So, am i correct in my assumption about toning? Then according to Karky or was it Phate, that I am strength training my muscles regardless if I do a few reps w/ heavy wts or more reps w/ lesser wt?
I always thought any resistance training meant building muscle, but I think when I say building, really meant strengthening my available muscle which to me, meant defining it, which again to me, meant toning it. Never worried about bulking as a woman as I realized that wouldn't just happen by lifting wts. alone.

Okay, have a question for ya. How come everytime I go back to the gym and start working out w/ wts, talking literally, about the first week, I gain wt.?
I am eating the same, crappy food, but not more food. I know muscles weigh more than fat cells, but within a wk? Is it because muscles hold water? But again, would that happen w/in a week? Oh, maybe that's a run on question???:D No, I didn't measure myself, so can't compare that. But again, we are talking w/in the week or the next day for that matter.


By the way, have to wait 5 days before i can pm.

Thanks Der,
Maggie.
 
Reply to Karky

Hi Karky,

In using your pics, look at pic 1. If that person was to do squats and lunges (by the way, I love those two exercises, love working my legs, always have)the muscle, the glutes, would become more defined, yes? so, then they would protrude out somewhat, fine with me, don't mind a round arse. That's what I meant.

what do you mean your not building muscle?

That was my question, if the only way to build muscle is to be in a surplus of calories of which I am not doing, then what the heck am I doing when I wt train as one of the experts said that there is no such thing as toning, as you only are seeing your muscles due to fat loss. I've always thought I was building - maybe I really should say defining and strengthening the current muscles I have. I don't need, I think imo, to build, mean add additional muscles but to build or strengthen the ones I have.

Man, I really wish I knew about fat, body fat % when I was so into working out. At my best, 5'7" 126 - 130, athletic build (soccer player thigh muscles), always ate and drank pretty much what I wanted. Even though my arms and legs were pretty solid, my middle was always imo somewhat soft.

But now, that I am learning here, ready to change my diet as it has really gone to hell. So, I am just reading here and trying to understand what is really happening when I workout. make sense?

Thanks Karky.
 
when you are not in a surplus,you are maintaning the muscle you have,while losing fat thats why you lift,if you dont lift you will lose the muscle so you wont have the "toned" look.
that doesnt mean you wont gain strength its possible to be in a defecit and still get stronger.
also as a woman you have less testosterone so building muscle is a lot harder,read somewhere 5times as hard not sure about how accurate that is thiough.
 
Hey Der,

Then get the cobwebs out of your ears. :D

Actually it's me, you know I have so much crap going on in my head and trying to write it down, aint exactly coming out right.

Look at my post about the bulky muscles, couldn't even remember what the heck I read about the fascia.


If u r confused now, wait until I start posting in your other thread and hit u up for diet information???? Can u block a person from posting in a thread?
u might wanna think about it w/ me. lol

Don't worry I'll go easy on ya. (gees, u will be the first)

Thanks Buzz. I think u finally nailed it for me.

U guys & gals and all your posts are really getting me back into this fitness thing. At one point, I was actually signed up to take the aerobic test. But something happened where I had to cancel and never go around to it again. Was really, really into it but didn't not have the knowledge anywhere close to what I am finding on this forum.

So a big thanks to all of yas.
 
People who generally begin weight lifting are able to lose fat, or gain muscle even while not being in a surplus. These are newbie gains, and dont last long.
 
Hey Phate,

Care to elaborate on that?

After what iI have read on this forum, sounds like u don't increase muscle but strengthen muscle whether u r a newbie or not.

Thanks
 
PerfectSize said:
Hey Phate,

Care to elaborate on that?

After what iI have read on this forum, sounds like u don't increase muscle but strengthen muscle whether u r a newbie or not.

Thanks
Click to expand...

no as a newbie it is possible to do both,but as has been said this phenomonem doesnt last long.
 
also when you're a newbie, the very frst gains are usually from the CNS, I think that's what you're refering to with not gaining muscle in the beginning. The body will learn the new movements you are doing and get better at them. The CNS is always important to gain strenght though, not just when you're a newbie, but when you're a newbie the CNS is very unconditioned for the exercises, but quickly adaps, and you gain strenght quickly without gaining as much muscle as you'd think with that strenght. However, you are still gaining muscle, and the CNS thing doesn't last for very long.

So in shot, the CNS thing with gaining a lot of strenght without gaining that much muscle is true, but the thing about gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time is also true. But this will depend on how many cals you take in.
 
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