Muscle Toning, any advice?

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Muscle Toning, any advice?
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flag freeriderGBR
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 2:13 Quote
Hi all,
Basically I’m looking into trying to tone up and have more definition in my muscles. Though I don’t want to Bulk up and look disproportionate to my body size as I don’t want it to affect my cardio side of working out. At the moment I do a lot of cardio, so physically I'm pretty fit, I try to aim at going to the gym 4 times per week, and my usual routine is
Treadmill - 5km in 25 minutes
Bike - 10 km in between 15 and 20 minutes
2 spinning classes per week - 45 minutes
As well as approximately 30 miles a week riding to work and back, mixture of road and off road
1 hour a half MMA with sparring and pad work at the gym as well
On top of this I do weights as well so certain muscles like my calves and quads are toned, however although my chest and arms feel like I’ve gained more muscle the definition is lacking.

Any advice on how I can achieve this? Without becoming overweight with muscle and putting on a belly from drinking fatty protein shakes like some people I’ve seen. Like I said I do plenty of cardio so just want to look as physically fit and strong as i feel. Are protein shakes the answer to it? And if so which aren’t full in calories and fats?
Any advice is appreciated
flag neilrjd
O+
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 5:29 Quote
Hey

The fact that you are doing tones of cardio is awesome. It will help to keep you lean which is the easiest way to look and stay "toned". If you would like to add more definition to your chest and arms you simply need to work them more. Make sure to work them at least once a week on separate days. Spend 30-40 mins per muscle and roughly 4-5 exercises. As for the protein shakes they will not make you fat as long as you purchase the right type of shake. Stay away from anything that has "mass building". Your best bet is a company called CNP nutrition. The shake is called Propeptide. Make sure to eat a balanced healthy diet and only use the shakes to supplement a protein source. If you keep up with your cardio there should be no reason you gain weight. Make sure to measure your stomach and if you are adding inches revisit your diet and figure out were the extra calories are coming from.

Hope it works

Cheers
flag James-Carey
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 5:41 Quote
do some digging, wait strike that, do lots of digging Salute
flag manicmastiff
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 6:00 Quote
To tone muscles and make them a little more prominent just remember that the first thing your body will get rid of is excess muscle fiber. Doing cardio is great, but if you are looking for that "men's health front page look" you will have to approach your diet and workout differently.

I suggest weights 4 times a week, different groups per day in 45 minute - 1 hour sessions for example:
Day one - Dead lift, Chest, Triceps, Calf raises, Weighted sit ups, dips.
Day two - Box squats, Lat pull downs, Shoulder presses, Bicep curl and Isolation, Core work including Russian twists.
Break day, then repeat the above followed by two rest days. Remember this is just a quick example as to what you can include in your training.

With adding lean protein to your diet to help the muscles work, repair & hold their stature. Weigh Protein is the best way to go, just a shake a hour before the gym and immediately after your training is all you will need. If you mix the powder (recommend Chocolate) with 300ml Soya milk you are only consuming around 150 calories with 25g of protein which is all you need. Your body can only absorb so much protein, eating more than what I recommend will give you a cake shelf!

Lay off pasta & white rice and white bread, replacing such with brown rice and brown bread. Apples have way too much sugar, apricots are a good replacement. Replace sugar with sweetener also.

At the gym on your 4 weight training days, warm up on cardio for no more than 10 mins, cross trainer is best. What you are aiming for is definition, not large mass gains so really you are looking at longer reps and more sets. I recommend that you start off with a weight that you can manage 12 reps of comfortably, then up the weight for your second set by 2.5kg - 5kg for 10 reps and then add another 2.5kg - 5kg for 8 reps. If you take this approach to bench press, lat pull downs, bicep curls, tricep dip's and presses etc, you will get on great as you are actually training your muscles. Your legs always carry your body weight and get a good workout on cardio, there are calf raises etc that would be useful to do in your work out also. Make sure you do core training, I can't stress this enough, all of your strength comes from your core. Doing safe deadlifts, box squats and dips will help you and give you the edge you need.

After your weights, do 20 - 30 mins cardio and stretch properly. Have your shake as soon as you can after training as your muscles will need the almino's to help them recover. This only applies to weight training days..


With all the cardio that you do, this will make a huge difference to your overall physique.
flag fortune
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 6:36 Quote
4days of lifting is overkill - you need to give your muscles time to recover.

You should look at doing 3day split - one days back and biceps, one day shoulders and triceps and one day chest and legs.

You should be aiming for doing 3-4sets of 8-12 reps - just do whatever works for you.

5-10minute warm up - rowing or cross trainer so it works your whole body.
Weights
20-30minutes Cardio
- You should include 10-15minutes of core work during each gym session

Also do cardio after weights so your putting your energy into the weights, then the cardio will burn into your fat reserves.

For weights, you should try and use free weights instead of machines whenever possible.
Use lifts such as dead lifts, squats, clean and press, bench press, military press etc. as much as possible, but also use isolation exercises - such as bicep hammer curls, to see better results.

For your muscles to look more 'toned' you will probably have to increase there size so that they have some more definition.

The amount of Cardio you do might also be limiting your muscle toning - have you ever seen a marathon runner who looks ripped?

To be honest, most information you get here - I say most because I'm sure some guys here really know there stuff - but a lot of it, including mine, is just regurgitated information that they've read online. Look around on body building websites etc. to try and find some more accurate advice.
flag manicmastiff
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 6:55 Quote
fortune wrote:
4days of lifting is overkill - you need to give your muscles time to recover.

You should look at doing 3day split - one days back and biceps, one day shoulders and triceps and one day chest and legs.

You should be aiming for doing 3-4sets of 8-12 reps - just do whatever works for you.

5-10minute warm up - rowing or cross trainer so it works your whole body.
Weights
20-30minutes Cardio
- You should include 10-15minutes of core work during each gym session

Also do cardio after weights so your putting your energy into the weights, then the cardio will burn into your fat reserves.

For weights, you should try and use free weights instead of machines whenever possible.
Use lifts such as dead lifts, squats, clean and press, bench press, military press etc. as much as possible, but also use isolation exercises - such as bicep hammer curls, to see better results.

For your muscles to look more 'toned' you will probably have to increase there size so that they have some more definition.

The amount of Cardio you do might also be limiting your muscle toning - have you ever seen a marathon runner who looks ripped?

To be honest, most information you get here - I say most because I'm sure some guys here really know there stuff - but a lot of it, including mine, is just regurgitated information that they've read online. Look around on body building websites etc. to try and find some more accurate advice.

Great advice there.

Sorry I should have made myself clear, I ment four days of weight training, obviously targeting different muscle groups on each day, I will edit my post to include this. My information is based on training that I have been doing over the last year under guidance from top weight trainers, although what I do now is far from what I posted as I train for muscle mass & strength gains.
flag fortune
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 7:42 Quote
The two day break down you gave in your above post is a good one!

Should for the OP, body weight exercises shouldn't be overlooked for weights - they both have there place.
Also, try to superset some exercises to place more stress on your body and see better results.(can also help to reduce your time in the gym Razz )

Full body workouts are also very effective - very good for mixing things up occasionally.

What Bungalowbill said about core training is completely accurate, a strong core is the basis for everything you do and really shouldn't be neglected no matter what your trying to improve. A weak core can be the downfall for a lot of people when lifting, as it can hinder the amount you can lift.

An example of a good Core work out would be - Each of the below being 3 sets of 10
Pike, Plank push ups, Leg raises, v ups (with arms reaching up to touch toes), Russian twist, and cross overs. (optionally you can do these weighted)

Then 100 sits up - sounds like alot, but with this routine it goes really quickly and gives a good burn.
10reaches -reaching left and right at the top on rotation. e.g. - sit up, then reach as far as you can do the left with your right hand .
10tops - doing a sit up, while at the top reaching as high as possible
10reaches
10tops
10reaches
10tops
10feet - doing a situp and touching the toes of your feet
10tops
10feet
10tops

Also while working your abs dont neglect your back - throw in some back exersise's and stretches.
flag freeriderGBR
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 11:07 Quote
This feedback is really helpful, maybe like you say alter my cardio and increase it, I’m just worried that by doing that I will lose my fitness, personally I’d rather be fitter than look super strong and still be as un fit as a fat bloke, though my ideal physique is not to be that of a men’s health magazine, more a footballers physique like Ronaldo. Like I said my calves and quads are defined.

In terms of protein shakes, I’ve looked at Maxi muscle cyclone? as what I’ve been advised I’m just curios it seems really fatty with its ingredients, though I guess you need that to put muscle on, what weigh protein would you recommend then ? I don’t want to go spending £50 per tub if it’s not for me and won’t work. In terms of my diet I’m pretty strict and take in mostly water, just orange juice in the morning and milk on my cereal but I’ve started increasing my consumption of protein, eating plenty of chicken and tuna. Though I’ll be sure to cut back on the pasta.

Information so far has been helpful and it’s a step in the right direction with training, anything else would be appreciated cheers
flag manicmastiff
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 11:29 Quote
freeriderGBR wrote:
This feedback is really helpful, maybe like you say alter my cardio and increase it, I’m just worried that by doing that I will lose my fitness, personally I’d rather be fitter than look super strong and still be as un fit as a fat bloke, though my ideal physique is not to be that of a men’s health magazine, more a footballers physique like Ronaldo. Like I said my calves and quads are defined.

In terms of protein shakes, I’ve looked at Maxi muscle cyclone? as what I’ve been advised I’m just curios it seems really fatty with its ingredients, though I guess you need that to put muscle on, what weigh protein would you recommend then ? I don’t want to go spending £50 per tub if it’s not for me and won’t work. In terms of my diet I’m pretty strict and take in mostly water, just orange juice in the morning and milk on my cereal but I’ve started increasing my consumption of protein, eating plenty of chicken and tuna. Though I’ll be sure to cut back on the pasta.

Information so far has been helpful and it’s a step in the right direction with training, anything else would be appreciated cheers

Whey protein from Holland & Barret, £19.99 and will last you a month if you stick to two shakes a day. Each serving has 18g of protein, 1.9g of carbs, and only 2.2g of fat, 99 calories. Your body needs fats to help proteins do their job. Also there is a term called a "carb Bullet", this is for your post workout shake, basically add some glucose powder to the protein shake and it works so much better sending the almino's in a frenzy to your muscles. Do not use this as a excuse for a Mars bar! lol!!!
flag James-Carey
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 11:40 Quote
I was not joking when i said do some digging, it is productive, and works just like weights, as well as working pecs and forearms, and biceps and triceps all in the one process of laying a slab, or filling a barrow, also you have the chest and upper arm workout that is pushing a barrow up a hill or landing
flag freeriderGBR
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 14:08 Quote
ok then I'll have a nosey on down there, cheers for the information bungalowbill, though im highly doubtful digging a hole will help achieve my goals pal,
flag James-Carey
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 14:24 Quote
you never see a fat trail builder, but you often see hench ones
flag manicmastiff
Posted: May 9, 2011 at 14:35 Quote
freeriderGBR wrote:
ok then I'll have a nosey on down there, cheers for the information bungalowbill, though im highly doubtful digging a hole will help achieve my goals pal,

I never said anything about diggin no hole? lol
flag tsquared89
Posted: May 13, 2011 at 0:47 Quote
Question is what do you do for weights ?
on the tread mill ? Do you run at 0% for 25 mins?
Educate yourself about Protein Shakes I reccomend Vega by Sequel it was formulated in Vancouver by a Marathon runner. I am a Personal trainer in Vancouver I Train a few Mtn Bikers Professional and Rec, a few are Up and coming DH racers http://www.tsquaredvancouverpersonaltraining.com/




freeriderGBR wrote:
Hi all,
Basically I’m looking into trying to tone up and have more definition in my muscles. Though I don’t want to Bulk up and look disproportionate to my body size as I don’t want it to affect my cardio side of working out. At the moment I do a lot of cardio, so physically I'm pretty fit, I try to aim at going to the gym 4 times per week, and my usual routine is
Treadmill - 5km in 25 minutes
Bike - 10 km in between 15 and 20 minutes
2 spinning classes per week - 45 minutes
As well as approximately 30 miles a week riding to work and back, mixture of road and off road
1 hour a half MMA with sparring and pad work at the gym as well
On top of this I do weights as well so certain muscles like my calves and quads are toned, however although my chest and arms feel like I’ve gained more muscle the definition is lacking.

Any advice on how I can achieve this? Without becoming overweight with muscle and putting on a belly from drinking fatty protein shakes like some people I’ve seen. Like I said I do plenty of cardio so just want to look as physically fit and strong as i feel. Are protein shakes the answer to it? And if so which aren’t full in calories and fats?
Any advice is appreciated
flag freeriderGBR
Posted: May 13, 2011 at 15:42 Quote
Benchpress 25kg - 3 sets 15 reps
Flys 14 kg- 3 sets 15 reps
chest press - 18kg 3sets 15 reps
Repeat on exercise ball for core
squats 22kg 6 sets 15 reps
cable machines various
treadmill set on jogging speed of 11.0 alternate to sprinting speed of 15.5 every 2 mins
opossing session run solidly on 13.0 for 25 each racks up 5k or just over in 25 mins
I'v been looking at this PHD whey protein? i want to be lean but toned not bulky and unfit with just a lot of muscle
how can i alter my gym routine to define my pecs arms and abs? do i need to do heavier weights and less reps, ive herd about bulking up before you can tone your body? i find this hard to believe like i said a footballer (soccer) player is my ideal physique and you dont see them putting on weight and bulking up to achieve their physiques any ideas? cheers

tsquared89 wrote:
Question is what do you do for weights ?
on the tread mill ? Do you run at 0% for 25 mins?
Educate yourself about Protein Shakes I reccomend Vega by Sequel it was formulated in Vancouver by a Marathon runner. I am a Personal trainer in Vancouver I Train a few Mtn Bikers Professional and Rec, a few are Up and coming DH racers http://www.tsquaredvancouverpersonaltraining.com/




freeriderGBR wrote:
Hi all,
Basically I’m looking into trying to tone up and have more definition in my muscles. Though I don’t want to Bulk up and look disproportionate to my body size as I don’t want it to affect my cardio side of working out. At the moment I do a lot of cardio, so physically I'm pretty fit, I try to aim at going to the gym 4 times per week, and my usual routine is
Treadmill - 5km in 25 minutes
Bike - 10 km in between 15 and 20 minutes
2 spinning classes per week - 45 minutes
As well as approximately 30 miles a week riding to work and back, mixture of road and off road
1 hour a half MMA with sparring and pad work at the gym as well
On top of this I do weights as well so certain muscles like my calves and quads are toned, however although my chest and arms feel like I’ve gained more muscle the definition is lacking.

Any advice on how I can achieve this? Without becoming overweight with muscle and putting on a belly from drinking fatty protein shakes like some people I’ve seen. Like I said I do plenty of cardio so just want to look as physically fit and strong as i feel. Are protein shakes the answer to it? And if so which aren’t full in calories and fats?
Any advice is appreciated
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