If you’re looking for tips for toning up, you’ve come to the right place. Here at FORM, our one-to-one personal trainers have years of experience in helping our clients get the body that they’ve always dreamed of. Ready to find out more about getting toned arms, legs and a washboard stomach? Read our top toning tips and start making those small changes that will get your body beach-ready for summer.
Tips for toning up
What is meant by toning? Simply put, it’s losing body fat and gaining muscle mass at the same time. Muscle itself cannot actually become more ‘toned’ but we appreciate what most people mean when they come to us and want to improve their muscle tone. Basically you want to lose body fat and want to increase a small amount of muscle mass so that they show just a little without looking bulky.
Although getting a toned body will take a bit of work, there are lots of small, simple changes you can make and some bits of data you must track to get the body of your dreams. Our four key toning tips include:
- Eating in a calorie deficit
- Eating a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables
- Drinking at least two litres of water a day
- Incorporating weights and cardiovascular exercise into your workout routine
- Aiming for a minimum of 10k steps per day.
Let’s take a look at these toning tips in more detail to find out exactly how you can make small changes in your daily habits to become fitter, healthier and more toned.
Eating in a calorie deficit
This is the single most important rule when it comes to getting that toned body you are after. If this rule isn’t adhered to then all the other rules don’t really matter.
With this rule being so important, yet so simple, why is it that everyone isn’t walking around with that Hollywood body? Well, annoyingly your body will do its best not to be in a calorie deficit and stay in what is called homeostasis.
To be in a calorie deficit, you need to consume less calories that you burn or burn more calories than you consume. Without tracking either calorie consumption or calorie expenditure, your body will do its best to ensure calorie expenditure will be matched with the food you consume. There are many studies which show that when we increase our calorie expenditure the body will naturally increase its calorie consumption and vice versa, so with this in mind it is key to track these two things. It is important to have a good idea of roughly how many calories you are consuming in a day / week and how many calories you are burning during a day / week.
Our personal trainers would recommend setting up a food plan that you enjoy and is easy to stick to but you know roughly how many calories are consumed or counting calories for a week or so, until you are able to gage this from sight. We would then also recommend using some type of FitBit or iWatch to help you track your daily steps (tip number 5). If you are not losing weight simply either increase your expenditure or decrease your calorie consumption.
Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit and vegetables
You are what you eat and it won’t matter how many toning exercises you do, you’ll never see the results you want if you’re not eating a healthy and balanced diet. It’s essential to fill your diet with a wide variety of fruit and vegetables as these give your body the nutrients it needs to thrive.
Our personal trainers also recommend ensuring every meal is a nice balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats. We don’t believe that low-fat diets work and instead promote the consumption of healthy fats such as greek yoghurt, avocado and nuts to provide your body with the energy it needs.
Avoid fad diets such as low-carbohydrate programmes, or plans that limit your food choices. Instead, track your calorie intake via an app and ensure you are either in a deficit if you’re trying to lose weight, or are reaching your calorie goal if you’re trying to maintain. We are keen to banish diet myths, many of which are actually holding you back from getting the body of your dreams.
Drink at least two litres of water a day
Sixty per cent of our body is made up of water and as soon as we deprive ourselves of this essential building block of life, the result is lethargy. Not drinking enough water can upset the balance of minerals in your body resulting in reduced performance both mentally and physically.
Drinking at least two litres of water a day will keep your body hydrated and will help increase blood flow to the skin, giving an even, toned look. It will also give you the energy you need to perform workouts that will build muscle and deliver that beautifully toned look.
Incorporate weights and cardiovascular exercise into your workout routine
It’s important to combine a mixture of weightlifting and cardiovascular exercise to see the very best results when it comes to toning your body, according to our experts.
Cardiovascular exercise such as running, walking or cycling will get your heart pumping blood around your body, getting you fitter and stronger. Whereas weightlifting will really work on the muscles you’re looking to build. The result of this combined effort will be lovely toned legs, a flat stomach and supple arms.
Aim for a minimum of 10k steps per day
Many of us have office jobs meaning we are sitting at a desk for much of the day. This can lead to weak legs and glutes, as well as potential weight gain. Making more of an effort to hit your 10k steps a day, by walking to work, going out for a lunch time run or making sure you head to the gym to get on the treadmill will not only benefit your health in the long-term, but will also help you towards your goal of being more toned. Hitting this minimum 10k steps per day will also mean that you don’t have to drop calories too low to achieve the toned look you are after. Reducing calories too low will have a serious negative effect on your health and not to mention your mood ….. hangry.
Get toned with FORM
Making these small changes will help you see big results when it comes to toning your body. However, we do understand that it can be hard to be self-motivated. Some of us do need that extra push to keep training. Here at FORM we offer personal training services that will help you create the body of your dreams.
Our one-to-one personal training programmes will help you create a healthy eating plan, develop workouts using cardiovascular exercises and weight lifting reps, and give you the support and motivation you need to stick to these new healthy habits.
Find out more about our luxury gym by getting in contact with the team today. Our cutting-edge facilities and highly innovative and experienced personal trainers will help you get the very best out of your training so you can get the body transformation of your dream.
