Toning Up

[Jonny_H]

hi,

i want to get toned (not very muscular as if i was on steroids lol, just toned)...upper body mostly i.e, chest, arms and abs

i am slim so wont have the prob of losing the weight 1st

just wondering if anybody knows what types of weights i should be doing... and how many rep's per set and how many sets etc

i have got a weight bench and weights at home so have access ( have had these for years just neva used them)

also food i should eat and food i should aviod.

also do things like promass etc help ??

also how long before i would see a big improvement..?

Sorry about all the questions but i want to start toning up, and i want to do it properly and not watse my time.

REP WILL B GIVEN FOR ANY HELP

[saxovtrcrazy]

hiya mate for you chest and shoulders id
( Lie on your back and grasp your weights with the palms of your hands facing up, and your arms outstretched above your head. Grip your weights and bring them over your head and down to your hips, by your sides - a semi-circular motion. Lift back to starting position and repeat.)

amd for your abs id use crunchies look at the abs thread that adsayer started, sum good tips on there

[saxovtrcrazy]

and you want alot of protain mate look on the maximuscle website it has tips eating routines everything

[Leo]

Hi! first thing you need to understand is that you cant just choose what muscles you want to tone... (upper body as you said) - it can be done but id advice you to also work the legs (this helps massivly elsewhere, belive it or not).

As for food as you dont want to get big, just eat well (forget sweets n crisps n pop) drink alot of water and u will need protien, eggs, chicken , steak etc. (maybe even get some whey protien)

big mistake people make is just doing random weights when they feel like it.

Try this:

Monday: chest and triceps

Wednesday shoulders and biceps

Friday back and legs

I'll leave you to search google for some "working out at home" exercises.

Good luck

[WestyVTR]

Read the stickys i put up,

for tone your looking at aaprox 4 sets of 20 reps ( excluding abs & low back exercises) include exercises for all major muscle groups remembering to work all pairs of muscles ie. chest & back, abs & lower back... cardio exercise should include interval work at approx 70% of your MHR

there are lots of myths around so keep your eyes pealed & choice wisly....

[bul69]

firstly mate depending how skinny you are you may want to put a little weight on, as this adds to the supplys you can burn, the for arms chest shoulders abs and lats press ups, pull up, sit ups are something you can do every night at home ( which i do ) then if you are a member of the gym ask for a personal program, these will be given to you depending on exsactly what you want to achieve.. hope it helps

[bigandyh]

these lads have got it pretty much summed up. ^^

ive been body building for a year or so.

people are under the impression if you keep maxing out and working to failure, you end up like arnold swarzenegger, and if u do 1000 reps, u end up like brad pitt.

not so.

there are rules..

1. ( as someone above said ) MAKE A PLAN ! or ask someone at the gym to help you make one. ( reccomended )

this will revolve around when you can work out, if you can do it 4 or 5 times a week, great, but it means having to spend money on protein shakes and/or creatine ( speeds up recovery ) try maximuscle shakes, and 'greenbulge' creatine ( ebay )

2 ) get a partner, even if its jo spaztik at the gym, get a partner who pushes you, this has to be done. even if just 'toning up' , what you in effect doing is ripping and straining the muscle, so it grows back harder,bigger and stronger, and your mind will allways stop you going the extra mile, get a friend to spot you. this isnt as essential with just toning, but it REALLY helps.

3) warm up.. its essential... say its monday and and ur doing your chest ( my plan ) do everything on your chest. dont just hit the bench machine and think thats ur chest done. get the bench out and do your dumbell presses from flat, from an incline, and from a decline, before hitting the bench ( with someone spotting you ) you want to find a weight that you can estimate you could probs do 100 straight reps with, something light, say 5 kg dumbells. do 20 reps, twice. then get the weights you can probably do 15 with.

do 20 reps with a friend spotting you... shake it off while he does his, then do it again, and again, preferabbly 4 times. if you fail, thats great, just move onto your next excercise. many people will think this is a body building tactic ( training to failure ) but you cannot tone muscle you do not have,this will build you a tiny bit and tone you. after those, hit the bench machine, alternate grips, tafter, hit the mats, do press ups alternate hand width. again, sets. you will need to bust your balls and give it your all. the desired effect is that you will not be able to steer properly the day after.

after youve warmed up and done your sets, hit the treadmill and the rower, weather or not you want to lose 'weight'. after working out, your body would have used all the protein in your body, and the cardio after will burn the fat imbetween muscles. cutting and toning you.

if you ask someone in the know, an instructor or sumone, tey will happily draw up a quick plan for you, eg shoulders tuesdays etc etc.


go home after, have a nice protein shake, promax from maximuscle will do. you could try taking creatine, see how it goes. if you do, buy the tablets, as they are more for recovery, where as the droplets for under the tongue are for increased working out.

you wont be bodybuilding as such so foods arent going to control your life, just try not to have too many carbs.

things like fish, eggs, most meats espesh chicken, are all great. the more muscle u build, the quicker ur metabolism will be going.

if you do this and stick to the plan, and work your fucking arse off you will see results after a fortnight ( if u said ur skinny anyway )

find a decent gym where you dont feel under pressure to look good. fuck everyone else. but id reccomend waiting for the new year to get a membership as all the gyms will have special offers to get the fat christmas people in for a 12 month contract they will never use.


whats the need for the quick results?? u got a date in a week or so lol?

hope it helps, im me if u want.

rep me to0, as im a no0b lol.

andy.

[2klthor]

nice andy rep given for all of that mate :)

[Apz1]

but you cannot tone muscle you do not have,this will build you a tiny bit and tone you.
QUOTE]

You cant actually Tone muscles, To get a Toned look normally meens having an ok amount of muscle and low body fat.


[QUOTE=bigandyh;729931]

after youve warmed up and done your sets, hit the treadmill and the rower, weather or not you want to lose 'weight'. after working out, your body would have used all the protein in your body, and the cardio after will burn the fat imbetween muscles. cutting and toning you.



I would definatly not advise any taxing cardio after a weights session (although warm downs are beneficial), as your fuel from food is likely to be pretty depleted and you risk going catabolic.


hi,

i want to get toned (not very muscular as if i was on steroids lol, just toned)...upper body mostly i.e, chest, arms and abs

i am slim so wont have the prob of losing the weight 1st

just wondering if anybody knows what types of weights i should be doing... and how many rep's per set and how many sets etc

i have got a weight bench and weights at home so have access ( have had these for years just neva used them)

also food i should eat and food i should aviod.

also do things like promass etc help ??

also how long before i would see a big improvement..?

Sorry about all the questions but i want to start toning up, and i want to do it properly and not watse my time.

REP WILL B GIVEN FOR ANY HELP

My advise is look to build muscle with a good routine and a clean diet so you can build muscle without gaining too much body fat.
I recommend Useing a set/rep scheme of something like 4x6 or 5x5 for most exercises, as it is great for building muscle on many natural BBers, and structure your routine around exercises like, Bench, Dips, Squats, Deadlifts, Rows, Shoulder press. You might think this sounds to hardcore for someone just wanting to 'Tone up' but it takes alot of time and effort to build up enough muscle to look like the steriotypical image of someone on steroids, so dont worry about suddenly becoming a muscle monster lol, so try build an OK amount of muscle with gaing as little BF as possible. through Clean diet and a good routine.

[vtrrallygod]

How toned up u wna be similar to this lad?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/vtrmat/SP_A0011.jpg

[gall34]

if u want to get a bit of muscle before you tone it up, always lift heavier weights than you usually would doing bicep curls, bench press and same with most other exercises, even if you can only do say 5 reps, when you lift heavier weights than you can normally manage it tears the muscles and when it heals it makes them bigger. always keep your back straight