The most common reason women give for wanting to start an exercise routine is to "lose weight and tone up". Toning up by default becomes solely about losing weight, watching the number on the scale go down. But there is actually a two-part process to being toned and firm.
Burning body fat
Most of us call it losing weight, but what we really want to see happen is to lose body fat. Weight refers to the number on a scale. This number is affected by several factors that are not always relevant to the goal of being toned and firm.
For example, fluid fluctuations can change the number on the scale by several pounds in one day. How much fluid you retain can be due to water intake, salt intake, and sweating among other factors. Therefore, although the number on your scale may go up or down due to fluid fluctuations, this doesn't reflect any true, long-term changes in your physique.
Body fat percentage is a more accurate reflection of your progress. In order to tone and firm up you need to burn off body fat, resulting in a lower body fat percentage. This will not always reflect on the scale as explained above, but over the long-term, as you lose body fat, your overall weight will generally decrease.
Gain muscle
Losing body fat is only one half of the equation to getting toned and firm. Stripping away body fat allows you to show off your physique, but what gives you that toned, sleek, sexy look is muscle.
This isn't the same as “bulking up”. The majority of women can't bulk up even if they wanted to simply because we don't have large enough amounts of the hormone testosterone which is responsible for building muscle. This is the reason men tend to have more muscular physiques than women.
However, with a proper fitness routine, women should and will gain small amounts of muscle. Again, this is a good thing. Without proper muscle mass, you will end up with a stringy, mushy physique, even at a low body fat percentage.
Muscle gain on women provides that sleek look popularized by some big celebrities such as Madonna and Janet Jackson.
How-to basics
Losing body fat and gaining muscle will give you a smaller, tighter physique. But how do you get there? Follow these three simple steps to a toner, firmer you.
Step 1: Strength train
Proper strength training is what will allow you to gain muscle and get that sleek, sexy look once you strip away the body fat. A full-body strength routine performed 2-3 times per week is a great place to start!
Step 2: Interval cardio training
Interval cardio training is a more intense, more effective form of training than standard, steady-state, hour long cardio. An interval training session is shorter, but much more intense than traditional cardio. A high intensity activity is alternated with a low intensity activity over a period of 20-30 minutes. These intense sessions will burn calories and ramp up your metabolism.
Step 3: Eat right
Proper nutrition will be 80% of your success in getting toned and firm. You cannot out-exercise a bad diet. A solid nutrition plan goes beyond counting calories. Simple nutrition strategies such as eating 4-6 small meals per day and preparing properly balanced meals for before and after your workouts is effective.
Being toned and firmed requires gaining muscle and losing body fat, as opposed to simply getting the number on the scale to drop. The steps you need to take to get these results are simple and straight-forward. It's not always easy, but it is simple. All it takes is action. Start today. Start now!
