The fitness industry is rife with misconceptions.
Even when there is a reputable knowledge base to dispel erroneous notions; many people still cling to "conventional" wisdom.
One of the misconceptions out there is the concept of "toning".
I think we all have a general idea of what that is: having a sculpted look without an inordinate amount of muscle mass.
That concept has forever-been associated with using lighter weights with more repetitions.
Somehow this entire physique ideal has led many women to believe that lifting heavy weights simply isn't for them.
That's analogous to buying a brand new sports car and refusing to exceed fifteen miler per hour on the highway for fear of being deemed a Nascar driver.
Speeding doesn't make you a Nascar driver anymore than lifting heavy weights turns you into a man.
The real mystery behind the concept of toning is that there is no physiological stimulus directly associated with it.
In other words "toned" is not a muscular adaptation that is formally categorized by exercise science.
There is however, a muscular adaptation known as hypertrophy.
Hypertrophy, by any other description, is simply an enlargement of the muscle.
This adaptation is directly associated with strength training.
The bigger your muscles the more toned they look.
It's really that simple.
Well, it's almost that simple.
Training can be manipulated to elicit different responses.
Strength, hypertrophy, endurance, and even fat loss, are all adaptations that can be induced via an appropriate training program.
For the sake of an argument let's assume that fat loss is the only adaptation that would make you looked toned.
The problem is that lifting weights for fat loss would also elicit some level of muscle hypertrophy.
Exercise physiologists, sports scientists, etc.
, tend to compartmentalize physiological adaptations for the sake of instruction.
We tend to categorize things in order to simplify them.
The notion that an exercise program will purely cause fat loss or muscle hypertrophy is sort of misleading.
There tends to be a crossover between all possible adaptations.
After all, muscles don't really know what the body's goal is.
They only know how to pull in order for movement to occur.
At some point, after enough confusion, muscles will do their best to adapt to whatever it is you're doing.
The safest thing to do from a muscle's point of view? Chuck in enough of each adaptation in order to preserve function.
Does this mean that an exercise program can't be geared towards a specific adaptation? No.
It simply means that your muscles will take on residual characteristics in order to yield optimal adaptation.
The takeaway here? There is no toning without some level of muscular growth.
Pick up the heavier weight.
- Andrew L.
Vazquez