Hello YMCA and exercisers! It’s certainly been awhile since I have blogged, but at the same time, have certainly missed talking fitness and exercise, and the opportunity to get feed back from you all on articles and topics I discuss. The last couple of personal training months have been busier than what I could have ever imagined, and virtually every last drop of extra time to blog, was spent preparing workouts and keeping them fresh for clients. Some people would say that that’s a “good” problem to have. So to all my former clients whom I have trained and whom I am currently training, I want to say thank you for making this all possible; giving it your best through every workout, brings the best out of me as a personal trainer. So again, thanks a million for all your efforts and hard work! Nevertheless, I have missed blogging all the latest fitness and exercise info, and giving listeners all the latest every chance I get– in hopes of making your exercise programs all that they can possibly be.
With that being said, lets talk fitness! One of the latest topics that I have came across that seems to be an issue of concern regarding exercise, is how to tone and firm the muscle in those desired target areas. Or should I say, “the not so desirable areas!” You have often times heard people say (or maybe you have said), “I want to firm and tone my arms… legs…or abs, etc. Well, let’s talk a bit about what that means. To firm and tone simply implies that a particular muscle on the body becomes tighter or harder (firming) underneath the surrounding skin and fat tissue, thereby causing the outer structure (which is what we see) to become more lean and sleek looking (toning). So what’s that mean for those of you who wish to be firmer and more toned? A couple of things come to mind: first, we need to do resistance exercises that promote a firm muscle, such as lifting light weights at a high repetition and tempo with very little rest between bouts, jumping with light weights, and circuit workouts. These are all exercises that will contract the muscles at fast rate, thereby causing them to become tighter. The second thing that comes to mind for me when toning and firming the body, is how much tissue is covering the area we are trying to target. There are several individuals out there who are very “firm”, but are not “toned” simply because they still possess the surrounding soft tissue around the muscle. For this reason, this is why I suggest cutting saturated and trans fats out of your diet, and going for longer runs or walks on roads or treadmills to help rid some of any excess calories directly responsible for surrounding tissue around the muscle. I often term this concept, “burning the candle stick at both ends.” This concept simply promotes muscle firming and toning by incorporating dietary measures AND exercises that target both the muscle and surrounding fat tissue, in order to accomplish the overall goal of becoming both firm and toned. Once again, firming and toning are two separate attributes within their own rights and both must be recognized to receive those results you are looking for. This holds true for any targeted area on the body.
One other topic that I want to discuss, and often associated with firming and toning, is body shaping. Understand that any muscle can be firm and toned, and has everything to do with firming the muscle while removing the excess surrounding tissue, while body shaping is associated with muscular development: building or rebuilding the muscle itself. For example, if a particular individual lacks muscular development and tonality, he or she’s arms and/or legs may lack the “roundness” and definition that gives our body its shape. So if I have an individual whom I feel may not only need to firm, but also “shape,” then I’m going to focus on putting a lot of resistance on the target area through weight training and post workout stretching. My final take-home message is that body shaping only had its merit when and if (1) the targeted muscle(s) are lacking in shape and form, and (2) if some degree of tonality (as mentioned earlier) has already been achieved.
Well, there it is! I hope this information has shed some light on firming, toning, and shaping, and possibly how to apply those principles to your own exercise programs. Once again, thanks for being patient with me and remaining tuned in on all the latest YMCA programs and fitness info. Until next time, God bless and happy exercise and fitness!