Toning up

Tom|Nbk

Tom|Nbk

Tom|Nbk

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Joined
12 Mar 2006
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N.E England
Basically I just want some advice on where to go from here, I know this forum has a lot of helpful people so hopefully get some golden advice here :)

I started swimming/cycling and running for weight loss 5 months ago so a mixture of heavy and steady state cardio. This worked wonders I am now pretty much happy with my size (I'm 12.25st and 6ft 1 from 16.2st) but I want some advice on toning up. My only problem is I seem to have a little bit of stomach fat and little bits of fat here and there maybe because I was large before?

I'm not currently at a gym but am signed up to a leisure centre but purely sauna/swim use only. I go swimming almost every day and run about 10 miles a week but now I feel I've reached the point where I have got most of the benefits from cardio

Swimming is helping tone me up more but how can I really see a difference is it a case of losing even more weight? I wouldn't want to be much slimmer than I am now tbh otherwise I'll start to feel like a rake or shall I just get to the gym and if so what sort of excercise for cutting bodyfat % down?
 
As far as I'm aware toning doesn't really exist. If you want to look more "toned" then you either have to reduce bodyfat in the desired area or shift some weights. I seem to remember that have a 6 pack you need basically no fat in that area at all.
 
So basically I should be cutting even more weight off and perhaps start lifting a few times a week. I do situps now and then but these things aren't really part of my main cardio regime :/
 
Lifting weights will generate more lean body mass, which in turn improves your body's fat burning capacity. You won't turn into arnie though doing it so don't worry. However if you're simply not interested in lifting weights (I can't understand why nobody wouldn't be interested! :p) then just keeping up the exercise ensuring you're in the fat burning zone would be beneficial. The initial weight loss is always quicker than the last bits from experience. If you have no muscle to show under the fat then you're never going to look that sculpted. Even olympic swimmer like michael phelps don't have a rippling 6 pack. They're slim, and have bulky shoulders and flat stomachs but they have little definition (of course some do, but some have different training - swimming alone won't achieve that).
 
bibalasvegas said:
As far as I'm aware toning doesn't really exist. If you want to look more "toned" then you either have to reduce bodyfat in the desired area or shift some weights. I seem to remember that have a 6 pack you need basically no fat in that area at all.
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You also can't just reduce fat in certain areas, only as a whole. It depends on how your body dustributes the fat as to how much you would need to lose for defined abs etc.
 
Mr-White said:
Doesn't toning just mean loosing body fat and gaining muscle on a small scale ?

MW
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Sort of.

What people mean when they say 'toned' is just low b/f with usually a little mass. Muscle tone itself is actually the natural level of constant tension within the muscle, which *I think* helps its shape in a relaxed state.

The difference between 'toned' and 'ripped' is merely the amount of lean muscle mass.
 
Mr-White said:
Doesn't toning just mean loosing body fat and gaining muscle on a small scale ?

MW
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that's what I'm wanting, think brad pitt physique in fight club but obviously not as extreme as 5 percent bf :p.

My biceps are a reasonable size as i used to weight train a bit and my legs aren't too bad from the running.

Is it worth adding protein shakes whilst cutting and doing mainly cardio based exercise for now?
 
Tom|Nbk said:
Is it worth adding protein shakes whilst cutting and doing mainly cardio based exercise for now?
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I'm not sure. Shakes are extra calories and if you're trying to create a defecit then it's a step back. However if you are regulary doing resistance training then it would be benefical post work out to help recovery and muscle growth and repair.

This doesn't mean stop doing cardio but if you were doing one very light resistance training session a week then it's probaly not worth it. If you're going to do something worthwhile (not dumbell curls, sit ups and press ups) then I would suggest getting hold of some.
 
Benny06 said:
I'm not sure. Shakes are extra calories and if you're trying to create a defecit then it's a step back. However if you are regulary doing resistance training then it would be benefical post work out to help recovery and muscle growth and repair.

This doesn't mean stop doing cardio but if you were doing one very light resistance training session a week then it's probaly not worth it. If you're going to do something worthwhile (not dumbell curls, sit ups and press ups) then I would suggest getting hold of some.
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Hmm this was my thoughts, I just don't want to lose any muscle mass whilst cutting is this likely?

I'm possibly going to go down to the leisure centre today and extend my membership for the gym to add a few light weight sessions to my cardio regime.
 
I'd probaly be looking to do H.I.I.T or some form of 'hill' training on a x-trainer which is another form of interval training which will burn more fat and less calories. Unfortunatley it's near impossible to loose no muscle what-so-ever but we can do our best to keep what is lost to a minimum.

Without going down the supplementation (BCAA's/EAA's) route I'm not really sure what else to recommend.

I forgot to mention protein shakes aren't essential with weight lifting. Providing you have a good well balanced diet you should be fine. However whey protein is fast digesting which is why it's favoured PWO by many.
 
Haha it's bloody complicated this looking after yourself lark.

I guess I should keep on with my cardio and then move onto some weight training when I'm at a reasonable bodyfat percentage. This is the way to a lean cut figure?

Annoying how I am slim but still have slight pockets of fat despite exercising daily. It's like how much more do I need to do?! :p

You mention supplements?
 
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It is complicated. The first thing you need to learn is how your body responds to fats, carbs and proteins in different ratios. You have to perform experiements as everyone is different. For example Benny and I have a a lot of knowledge and probably close to a decade of training experience between us, however any advice we give may be generic and not work for you. However there are some cold hard facts that cross over across everyone. The problem is the lack of willingness to learn, put the effort in, or understand why the advice is being given.

The pockets of fat can be numerous reasons. Insulin resistivity, oestrogen imbalance, cortisol levels, as well as a myriad of other hormonal issues, or it could just be that your body hasn't been stimulated enough to use that fat up. One trick is to build more muscle, which in turn will improve your metabolic function and could potentially rid you of that fat, alternatively it will also dissipate the look of fatty storage owing to the mass of muscle. If you want to rid yourself of the last bits of fat, high intensity interval training, hardcore compound lifting, and a good diet will, when combined give you the best chances of getting rid of the last bits. Maintaining it once gone is the hard bit!
 
Freefaller said:
The problem is the lack of willingness to learn, put the effort in
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I appreciate the advice and I don't want to sound arsey or anything so I hope this doesn't come across that way but I am at the baths daily. I run 3 times a week at mixed intervals and lost 4 stone in weight. I do have the dedication and I do take in a lot of what is said here.

It's just hard to get my head around when I do work so hard and it feels like there is a way to go yet to rid these last bits.

Appreciate everything you've said as always though mate it was your advice initially that spurred me into cardio training :)

As for HIIT currently I run about 3 miles at a time on the treadmill this is bursts of sprinting, jogging, fast walking. (normally 7.5MPH, 6MPH, 4MPH) is this what you mean?
 
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Quick picture to show where I'm at

Late November roughly a stone heavier

16632_103128629705080_1000002383061.jpg


Present

25012010734-1-1.jpg
 
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You've not got much further to go there Tom.

I'd recommend starting with a full body split twice a week to begin with and eventually upping this to three times, or perhaps switching to a upper/lower.
Performing in a 3 day cycle 'cardio, resistance, rest' should work well as trying to perform cardio the day after a resistance session (especially legs as I did today :eek:) is demanding.

I'm assuming you've read GordyR's sticky to bodybuilding? if not read it, even if you don't want to be built like a brick ****house.

I'm also assuming you're a novice when it comes down to lifting/free weights.

I wrote my first plan as an official gym instructor :p:) for a friend today. I think it might be useful for getting you into the swing of things:

Leg Press/Squats: 3 x 12 reps
Shoulder Press/Military Press: 3 x 12 reps
Lateral Pulldown/Assisted Pull ups: 3 x 12 reps (also rotate with chin ups/chin grip pulldown)
Leg Curl/Stiff Legged Deadlift: 3 x 12 reps
Chest Press/Bench Press: 3 x 12 reps
Seated Row/ Bent Over Rows: 3 x 12 reps

Barbell Curl: 3 x 12
Cable Tricep Pushdown: 3 x 12

It's a basic routine consisting of at least one compound per bodypart.

There's also some optional arm isolation if you feel the need.

Exercises to the right of the '/' are progressions to free weights or more advanced exercises. After about 4-5 weeks once you're used to how you respond to training and familiar with activating the correct muscles you can move on to the free weights.

Learning to deadlift is probaly a good idea before trying to SLDL as my friend had done neither though she did a pritty good job on the SLDL even if she isn't particulary flexible.

There's not really much isolation eg. flyes, raises etc but depending on how you get on you can add these in as you wish.

Whilst there doesn't seem to be a lot to you (not meant in a negative way :)) you should find this starts to build up a good base. Plus also increasing your MBR and helping to shift those stubborn last bit of fat.

I'm a big fan of H.I.I.T on the rower. Most people find it tough and tend to dislike it for CV longer than 10 minutes. It's tough for a reason because it's bloody hard work! and worth the effort. If you wan't some rowing tips just shout.

Hope this helps.
 
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