How You Can Look More “Toned”

by Caleb Lee

If you want to look more “toned” more muscular and more “ripped” every day then read this article.

People (women mostly) say they want to be more “toned”. Meaning they don’t necessarily want to build more muscle mass, but they want the muscle that already have to look more in shape, toned, and defined.

How most people screw up attempting 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. Someone told them heavy weights make you big

2. Their muscles feel and look toned when they “Feel the burn” when exercising 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.

The reason you feel hard during and after the ‘burn’ is the same reason a corpse is stiff. Your muscle fibers are like mouse traps-they go off by themselves, but need energy to be reset to contract again. A dead body is out of ATP, the energy compound that relaxes the muscles, that’s why their muscles are permanently contracted.

A high rep workout exhausts ATP in your muscle and leads to a temporary hardness very similar to what happens to a dead body. But you probably don’t want to be dead, and yet 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 generate tension to gain strength, instead of building more muscle, then the stronger you are, the harder you will be. This means you need to focus on strength training to get that hard bod you want. Max tension = max strength.

For Ladies

* 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 abs of steel? Intense, high-tension deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, ab wheel routines, planks, and the like force your abs to produce 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 males:

* Want a Strong Chest and Massive-looking Shoulders? Intense, 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

* Ripped Abs? Squats, Deads, Overhead Squats, Overhead presses, Ab Wheels and planks like the ladies

* Want big arms? Heavy presses and other overhead work.

You Can Strength Train and Not “Get Hulking”

Here’s how you strength train without getting huge: keep the volume down. After that you will get stronger, harder, and more toned without getting any bigger. Keep the total number of reps at a low level each workout. A general rule is 10 reps or less. So two heavy sets of 5 would work with the major exercises.

If you want to build a hard body with mega-muscles of steel: Lift additional volume during your exercise. Keep the reps minimal though so you’re still able to lift with maximal tension and build more strength. 5 sets x 5 reps as an example per major exercise.

So there you go. If you want to build a hard body with muscles of steel – lean, hard, energized physique. As well as sculpt a killer six-pack, then you need to build strength.

About the Author:

For more fitness info, on things like core muscle strength and core muscle strengthening, see the expert’s website.