It's January! It's time to revisit, tweak, or set new fitness and wellness goals for the New Year.
Here's one that might sound familiar: 'I just want to get toned'. As a fitness leader for more than 20 years, I can tell you that this goal that has been top of the list for at least two decades. Unfortunately this simple statement is rooted in misconception, which doesn't say much for its attainability. There is no such thing as toning. Tone is a state of partial muscle contraction at rest. All muscle has tone all of the time. It's the reason we don't fall over while seated or standing during our daily activities.
'I just want to get toned' has nothing to do with tone. The speaker usually means two things. First, 'I want to melt away fat so the muscles underneath are visible through my skin'. Second, the speaker is fearful that working hard or lifting heavy weights will cause bulkiness. Increased girth is not desired by anyone wanting to fit into those 'once upon a time' jeans. Let's clear up this mess and dispel a few myths so that you can get down to the business of improving your physical fitness level for overall health.
Spot reduction is the hope of burning fat from a certain part of the body by performing a strength training exercise using that specific body part. Spot reduction is 100% impossible, despite every issue of every fitness magazine in every supermarket lineup splashing spot reduction promises on its front cover. Ab crunches do not whittle your waistline. Jane Fonda-style leg lifts do not trim your thighs. It's basic physiology. Your body's fuel of choice for all strength exercises is carbohydrates, not fat.
So how do we burn fat? Cardio, cardio, cardio. Cardiovascular exercise, such as jogging, cross-country skiing, and rope jumping, get into the body's fat stores once carbohydrates aren't enough. However, you cannot control where in the body the fat comes from. For example, jogging uses the legs, but leg fat isn't necessarily the fuel used. Don't give up your strength training just yet. Muscle is a metabolically active tissue, and you want to have as much of it as possible. More muscle in your body means more calories burned while exercising and at rest. More muscle means more fat burned during your cardiovascular exercise. Strength training is an essential component of all weight loss endeavors.
There's the truth of the muffin top meltdown. Now let's get you over the fear of lifting heavy weights. Bodybuilders lift very, very heavy weights for very, very few repetitions (6 or less). This results in muscle hypertrophy (bulkiness). If you lift a weight so heavy that by repetition number 6 your limb almost falls off, and you have a genetic predisposition to bulking up, yes, you may get yourself some muscle hypertrophy. Testosterone is the hormone makes hypertrophy happen. Some females have more testosterone than other females, but in general females have very little testosterone compared to men. On the opposite end of the spectrum, lifting very, very light weights for very, very many repetitions (more than 25) will not cause a training effect and may actually stress the joints. So, not only is this a waste of time, it can be harmful.
For whatever exercise you are doing, a sufficient weight load will cause complete fatigue after 8 to 15 repetitions. Fatigue means that you can't perform another repetition without sacrificing technique. This 8-15 repetition range will result in muscular strength and endurance without hypertrophy.
Get the idea of just toning out of your vocabulary. Lose your jiggly bits with whole body strength training and regular cardiovascular exercise. Challenge yourself to lift challenging weight loads with good technique for 8-15 repetitions, 1-3 sets for all major muscle groups. Better yet, get some help from a certified personal trainer to make sure that your valuable time spent at the gym is taking you on a direct path to your fitness and wellness goals.
Happy New Year!
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