You’ve got the eating healthy and exercise down but, you’ve hit a plateau and you’re having trouble getting to that magic number. Have you considered toning? Cardio is great for burning fat but did you know that toning sculpts your body? Think of it this way. If you pull on the strings of your hooded sweatshirt, your hood begins to conform to your head sculpting to the size of your head. Toning is the same. Pulling back on the arms of the rowing machine will sculpt your biceps when you make a muscle.
Let’s look at the below picture. The yellow item is what fat looks like in your body and the purple-red item is what muscle looks like in your body. Both weigh five pounds.
Now that you’ve examined the photo, what do you think? Would you rather your body be full of muscle, or full of fat?
If you’ve been working out and the scale reads the same number continuously, don’t worry. The number on the scale isn’t everything. Try instead measuring the amount of inches you’ve lost with a tape measure. For one month, measure your inches on the first of the month and then on the last of the month. See if there is a difference. If so, then the number on the scale doesn’t mean anything. You’re toning and sculpting your body the way you want it to feel and look. Here’s my measurement tracker for you to begin tracking your success.
Ready to begin toning?
Here are my favorite toning exercises!
Abdominals/Core
- Many variations of the plank
- Many variations of crunches including lying on my back and putting legs on a couch and holding a medicine ball while doing side twists
I cannot stress how important your core is. If you don’t know where to begin, begin here. An apple has its core. Without an apple’s core, which is where its seeds are and where the apple grows from, the apple wouldn’t exist. Our cores are extremely important because our core is what helps our bodies stay strong and centered. It keeps us balanced. Our cores also protect our body’s important organs stored behind our core walls. Without our core, we would fall over all the time and our organs would not be well protected.
Arms
- Bicep curls
- Triceps extensions
- Reverse Flyes
Legs
- Leg press
- Calf raises
- Squats
Butt/Thighs
- Stairs/Stepper
- Squats (I specifically like to do wall squats.)
- Lunges
Chest/Back
- Bench press
- Dumbbell row
- Wide-grip lat pulldown
Get creative!
Just because you go to the gym and there are weights there doesn’t mean you must use them to tone. My nephew and I played tennis on the Wii one day and my arms hurt after a while. You can always plant a garden during warmer months to get your squat quota in. Waiting at the bus stop for your son or daughter is a great time to step on and off the curb to tone your butt. Why not bench press your little ones? It’ll help you spend some quality time together while setting an example for them to be healthy. No little ones at home? No problem! I saw a video the other day of a woman using toilet paper to get her work outs in. Whatever you choose, make sure you have fun!