Do You Know How You Can Be 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 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. 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 working out if you want to get toned

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 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 train your nervous system to keep your muscles half flexed when you are relaxed. This is what muscle tone is-residual tension in a relaxed muscle! The kind of tension that comes from neurological activity, and not energy exhaustion.

Increased muscle tone is not a physical transformation of your muscle. It is the result of the nervous system being more alert. It keeps the muscles partially contracted all the time.

Strength = Tension = Tone

Strength and tone training is the same thing. If you learn to produce tension to achieve strength, instead of building more muscle, then the stronger you are, the harder you will be. This means you need to concentrate on strength training to get that the body of your dreams. Max tension - max strength.

For Females

* 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

* Want toned abs? Heavy, high-tension deadlifts, squats, overhead presses, ab wheel routines, planks, etc force your abs to generate high tension

* Want toned, sleek, sexy hips and thighs? Deadlifts, squats, and other full body movements done with high tension, heavy weights are the ticket.

For men:

* Want a Big Chest and Shoulders? Heavy, High Tension Overhead Presses and Bench Presses will get you there

* Want a barnyard back? Weight Pullups and Bent over Rows to build those lats

* Sculpt a killer six-pack? Squats, Deads, Overhead Squats, Overhead presses, Ab Wheels and planks like the ladies

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

You Can Go Into Strength Training Without Getting "Huge"

Here's how you strength train without getting bulky: keep the number of repetitions at a low level. Then you will get stronger, harder, and more toned without getting any bigger. Keep the total number of reps short for every 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 get big, and build muscle: Lift more volume during your workout. Keep the reps low though so you're still able to lift with maximal tension and build more strength. 5 sets x 5 reps as an example for each 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. - 17273

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