<On the topic of “getting toned”!>
What people really mean is they want to build muscle and take down body fat. That is how a muscle or a person looks “toned”, marked in quotes from what is commonly said.
And it’s quite an intentional process!
Building muscle takes repetition of resistance training over time. I reinforce the word •repetition• because it is a slow, consistent process. You can’t go the the gym one, two, or three times and then expect to see a change in outcome. Think years, not weeks!
Once there is a base of muscle mass, then in tandem with increased activity and attention to nutrition to be in a calorie deficit, in theory, body fat may lower and then more muscle is often revealed. This is the state of being lean or leaning out, not being “toned”!
If body fat drops OR scale weight moves down <meaning the calories are too low and cardio is too high and muscle mass is decreasing too> and one does not look “toned” or as I would prefer to say, lean, it comes from the simple fact that there is not a lot of muscle mass as a base on the body.
One may weigh less, but muscle needs to first be built to be lean.
So what is the best method of attack? Keep building that muscle, lifting those weights. This is the process of “looking toned”. But again, muscles don’t tone up…they build!
Quick tips:
Eat quality and quantity of whole foods. Sleep. Train consistently over time. Then the muscle builds. In time, systemic inflammation pulls back and hopefully so does body fat, all while salvaging the hard-earned lean mass.
Happy training!
To Your Wellness,
-Mindy
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