Headed into 2020, I've had so many women ask for fitness programs to tone up, BUT they don't want to lift weights because they don't want to look like Arnold (meaning Arnold Schwarzenegger the classic body building icon).
Most of these women have some interest in a lot of cardio, but they don't have time, and they've tried different weight loss plans and diets, often in the 30 day challenge variety.
If you're wondering how to tone up, but you're worried about getting too muscular, I'm here to share how to get started.
- Let's dispel the myth that you might turn into Arnold. First, he is a male. Males naturally have more testosterone. Second, he is open that he had utilized steroids which can help people gain muscular size. Third, your weight lifting and nutrition program need to be incredibly strict and dialed into the sport of peaking for bodybuilding. People don't accidentally become bodybuilders by lifting weights or eating protein. So, if you start weightlifting and increasing protein, your changes of turning into Arnold are still about zero.
- For my cardio queens: Let's talk about cortisol, which is a stress hormone. You're running around crazy busy between work, kids, life . . . so cortisol is already elevated. Now you want o add physical stress of working out, which can actually be wonderful and really help you de-stress if it is the right kind of exercise. However, when you jump on a treadmill, spin bike, or whatever it is you are drawn too, guess what happens after 45 minutes or so? Your cortisol starts to rise. If you are pushing through fatigue to keep going, it goes up even more. Prolonged cortisol elevation starts breaking down the muscle you have. Muscle burns calories. Muscle is metabolically expensive. Having muscle is one of the few ways you can raise your metabolic rate, even when you aren't working out. I'm not saying don't do cardio, but if you want to tone up and you're not an endurance athlete, keep it to 20 minutes a day then spend 20-30 minutes of your muscle toning efforts specifically.
- How do weights tone? When you want to get started with weights to boost your lean muscle and metabolism, start with 5-6 major muscle group exercises. What does that mean? Here's an example: Squats and lunges for your lower body, push ups and rows for your upper body, and finish with a plank to fatigue. If you're saying "oh no, push ups, I can't do those," sure you can. You can do them on your knees, or start standing with your hands on a wall and as you build strength start moving to having your hands on a counter or weight bench so your upper body is higher than your lower body. What about sets and reps? If you are completely new to the gym, start with 1 x 10. If you have some gym experience, work up to 3 x 12-15 reps over your first 1-2 months of training before moving to more advanced programs.
- Tempo matters. Good changes you are super busy, and sometimes that carries over into your weight lifting too. Tempo does matter, and you need to slow it down if your goal is muscle toning. There's something called time under tension; it means how long are you keeping the muscle loaded for, as that affects how much the muscle works. You need to work your muscle to build tone. Start with 2 seconds up and 2 seconds down on your weight lifting program.
- You don't need to be the queen of crunches. So many times, women tell me they workout by doing cardio and 100 crunches, but they are frustrated that their clothing size isn't going down, their weight is the same or increasing, and they still don't have 6 pack abs even after months of all out cardio, a daily commitment to crunches, and trying every diet they've heard of. If you've heard "abs are made in the kitchen," it's true. Your total body weight lifting will elevate your metabolism, but if you want the 6 pack abs and weight loss results, it really is tailoring your nutrition plan to you. Start with the basics:
- Are you drinking at least half your body weight in ounces of water? For example if you weight 180 lbs, are you drinking 90 ounces of water a day? That's about 11-12 cups of water a day.
- Are you getting at least 5 servings of non-starchy veggies each day? Go look at anything green in the vegetable section. Grab 5 different ones and find ways to stick those greens into your plan every day. I'm often asked about powdered greens to throw in shakes. Those have many benefits, but start with whole food first, b/c the supplements are going to leave you hungry if you're missing your whole food first.
- Are you getting enough protein, meaning at least half your body weight in grams? Let's say you weight 180 lbs, so you want 90 grams of protein. There's about 15 grams of protein in a 3 oz serving (size of your palm), so you would want 6 servings spread throughout your day. Here's an example of how I get servings in: For breakfast, I make a protein shake with spinach and protein powder, with a side of quinoa cereal and berries. For snack, I eat greek yogurt with fruit. For lunch, I have 3-5 oz of chicken, fish, or lean beef. For afternoon snack, I have another protein shake with purred veggies in it. For dinner, I have another 3-5 oz of chicken, fish, lean beef, or cottage cheese. I also keep hard boiled eggs on hand, and often eat 1-2/day between meals as a snack. While you don't have to eat meat to get your protein in, you do need to include protein to achieve muscle toning goals. Not to mention, the thermic effect of food. Protein makes the body work to break it down, so the body burns calories trying to process it.
- Finally, sleep is a priority. That is the time all of our hormones re-set. If you're functioning on less than 7 hours of sleep per night, try even 15 minutes more as you gradually work toward teaching your body to re-set over several months. Be patient with yourself, as sleep patterns can be tricky to change, especially if you're used to running in survival mode on 2-5 hours/night.
I hope that these tips to get you started on your muscle toning journey help give you the strategy you need. I'd love to hear from you with your questions and experiments along the way. Use the contact form on MeredithButulis.com, or you can message me on Instagram or Facebook.
Let's make 2020 the year of fitness!
