Exactly where on your body you lose fat from first, second, third, etc. Ignore it. Full details here: The Toning Workout Routine For Women. Is it because you have too much body fat, not enough muscle, or a combination of both? Check out my 1-on-1 coaching to learn more. If you need to lose fat and build muscle , the stuff linked above will cover the majority of what you need to know.

And being toned? Do you want more muscle tone? Of course you do! Sound about right? Nothing defines a muscle. Nothing sculpts a muscle. Nothing makes a muscle ripped or cut or slim or lean or any other silly adjective that essentially means the same damn thing.

What Is Muscle Tone? Get Your Perfect Workout It takes less than 60 seconds… Take The Quiz. Need Help With Your Diet And Workout? Don't waste another minute of your time searching for what to do. I've already done the research for you and created step-by-step plans that work.

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Setting intermediary process goals along the way can help, Gagliardi says. Resistance training helps grow muscles and define their shape. Be realistic, Gagliardi says. Department of Health and Human Services of minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week and strength training at least two days per week, he says.

If resistance training is new for you, start with a program that works all of the major muscle groups two to three days per week, he says.

And then start upping the intensity of your workouts so they continue to challenge you more on that below. It may seem pretty straightforward, but you have to do exercises correctly to get the most out of them, Gagliardi says. Focus on completing each phase, Gagliardi says. Other types of resistance exercises, like holding the plank pose or holding a squat do not include these three phases because they are isometric exercises — ones during which a muscle is contracted the whole time.

Focus on form during these exercises. And a little soreness the day after a workout means the muscle is growing, Schroeder notes. You want to work out hard enough during resistance training that muscles are fatigued by the time you finish. Start with six reps and add reps until you get to 12, Gagliardi says.

Once that set becomes less challenging, add weight and drop the number of reps back down to 6. It takes our bodies time to change. But it can take weeks or months to see changes that are visible in the mirror in your bedroom or locker room, he adds.

When resistance training for the major muscle groups like your leg muscles, your core muscles, and your arm and upper body muscles rest 48 to 72 hours before training the same muscle group again, Gagliardi says and as recommended by the American College of Sports Medicine.

You could also do cardio on opposite days that you strength train. Or you could fit in your cardio before or after a strength training session.

Some common signs include : increased resting heart rate, impaired physical performance, reduced enthusiasm for training, increased injuries and illness, altered appetite, disturbed sleep and irritability. To help grow muscles and cut excess weight, a lot of people have success with higher protein, higher fiber diets, he adds.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when it comes to trying to build muscle is focusing too narrowly on one part of the body like doing a whole lot of arm exercises to try to lose fat there. You need to make changes throughout the entire body. And remember the patience part, Schroeder says.

It can take months to see the changes you might want to gain from a program. So pick a diet and training plan you can maintain, he says. Want more tips like these? NBC News BETTER is obsessed with finding easier, healthier and smarter ways to live.

The best way to learn proper technique is to do the exercises without any weight. After you've mastered the technique, you can gradually add weight as long as you can comfortably do the exercise for 8—12 repetitions.

When lifting weights — either free weights or on a machine — make sure that someone is nearby to supervise. Having a spotter is especially important when weightlifting.

Even someone in great shape sometimes just can't make that last rep. It's no big deal if you're doing biceps curls; all you'll have to do is drop the weight onto the floor.

But if you're in the middle of a bench press — a chest exercise where you're lying on a bench and pushing a loaded barbell away from your chest — it's easy to get hurt if you drop the weight. A spotter can keep you from dropping the barbell onto your chest.

Strength-training programs are generally safe. Teens with some medical conditions — such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, seizures, or heart problems — will need to be cleared by their doctors before starting a strength-training program.

When you're in the middle of a strength-training session and something doesn't feel right to you, you feel pain, or if you hear or feel a "pop" during a workout, stop what you're doing. Have a doctor check it out before you go back to training.

You may need to change your training or even stop lifting weights for a while to allow the injury to heal. Many people tend to lump all types of weightlifting together. But there's a big difference between strength training, powerlifting, and bodybuilding.

Powerlifting concentrates on how much weight a person can lift at one time. The goal of competitive bodybuilding is to build muscle size and definition. Powerlifting, maximal lifts, and bodybuilding are not recommended for young people who are still growing because they can cause serious injuries.

Some people looking for big muscles may turn to anabolic steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. These substances are risky and can cause problems like mood swings, acne, balding, and high blood pressure.

They also increase a user's risk for cancer, heart disease, and sterility. For best results, do strength exercises for at least 20—30 minutes 2 or 3 days per week. Take at least a day off between sessions. Work the major muscle groups of your arms, legs, and core abdominal muscles, back, and buttocks.

Strength training is just one part of a balanced exercise routine. Experts recommend at least 1 hour a day of moderate to vigorous physical activity, including strength exercises and:. KidsHealth For Teens Strength Training. Medically reviewed by: Mary L.

Gavin, MD. Listen Play Stop Volume mp3 Settings Close Player. For example, you might do upper body 1 day, lower body the next day, You typically can do core strengthening exercises with only 24 hours of rest before the next strength-training session.

Adequate rest also means getting adequate sleep. Your body is rebuilding muscle while you sleep, so make sure you get between 7 and 9 hours of restful sleep each night. Choose the right weight amount.

You should be strength training with a weight heavy enough that you can only complete an exercise with correct form for 12 to 15 repetitions. The argument used to be that you used heavier weights to gain mass and did higher repetitions with lighter weights for tone and definition; however, modern training suggests there is a happy medium.

Combining bulk or power training with high-rep strength training also can work well to get you the definition you want. For example, you might do a heavy, power upper-body strength training session on day one. The next day, do a similarly heavy lower-body strength training session.

Take a day off, then do an upper-body strength training session with lower weights at higher repetitions. Follow up the next day with a similar lower-body session. Focus on good form and technique. Move slowly through the pushing and pulling motions, emphasizing quality over quantity.

Especially if you're just starting, don't worry about how many reps you can do. Instead, make sure you have solid, consistent technique.

Think in terms of actively lowering or pulling back the weight, not simply dropping it. Get a personal trainer or an experienced weight lifter to check and critique your form.

Keep in mind that poor technique and sloppy form doesn't just mean your training is less effective, it also puts you at risk for injury. Do supersets, alternating between push and pull motions. Organize your strength-training routine so that you're doing 3 or 4 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions of each exercise.

Rest for 30 seconds to 1 minute between each superset. When you alternate between pushing and pulling motions, you work different parts of the muscle. This gives the portion of the muscle you previously worked a little extra time to recover, so you can take a shorter rest break between sets.

Bring your muscles to fatigue. When you push your muscles to the max you stimulate hypertrophy, which increases the volume of your muscles. This not only builds muscle mass, but also will improve their definition.

If they don't, you need to add more weight. Make sure you're doing simple exercises, such as pushups or dumbbell presses, that you can control and complete in good form even when your muscles are exhausted.

Work as many muscles together as possible. Don't work your biceps without working your triceps, shoulders, back, and chest. You won't achieve good resting definition unless your whole body is being worked hard. Ignoring surrounding muscles in favor of the major ones, such as biceps, can lead to muscle imbalances that will significantly increase your risk for injury.

Aim to work an entire muscle group with each exercise. If you don't know a lot of different exercises, sign up for a few sessions with a personal trainer. They can help you create a well-rounded workout.

Don't just work the muscles you see in the mirror. You may not think about working out your back because you can't see it, but remember that everyone else can!

Part 3. Make diet a priority. Generally, you should eat more protein and lay off foods that are high in fat and simple carbohydrates.

Instead of eating 3 big meals a day, try to eat 5 or 6 smaller meals, so that you're eating once every 2 to 3 hours. Plan your meals so that 40 percent of your calories are coming from protein, while you limit fats and carbohydrates to 30 percent each. At least 85 percent of the carbohydrates you eat should come from vegetables, with the rest coming from complex carbohydrates such as fruits, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

Eat or drink a protein-rich snack before and after your workout. Protein helps rebuild muscle and will help ensure a faster recovery. Try a protein shake, an apple with peanut butter, chicken, nuts, Greek yogurt or cottage cheese.

Whole food typically works better for your pre-workout snack. A protein shake may work better post-workout, especially if you find it difficult to eat after an intense workout.

Whey protein is one of the best sources of complete protein, because it includes all the essential amino acids you need to rebuild your muscles. You can buy whey protein in powder form and blend it into shakes yourself, or you can buy pre-made protein shakes at grocery or health food stores.

Eat ancient grains. Quinoa, spelt, oat bran, amaranth, and other ancient grains are high in protein and minerals, which may help to promote muscle growth by supplying your body with the necessary nutrition.

You also can find bread made from these grains at organic or natural grocery stores. Drink more water before, during and after a workout. Dehydration decreases your performance and can put you at risk for injury, as well as make recovery more difficult.

While strength training, you shouldn't lose more than 2 percent of your body weight in fluid. The difference between the 2 weights is the amount of fluid you've lost.

For each pound of fluid you lose, you must drink between 20 to 24 fluid ounces to mL of water to replace it. Replacement of lost water is sufficient to keep you hydrated provided you were hydrated to begin with.

To determine this for certain, check your urine. If it's clear, you're well hydrated. Pete Cerqua. Incorporate more protein into your day. We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback.

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Support wikiHow Yes No. Not Helpful 1 Helpful 1. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Judge how your muscles begin to contract while resting. When your muscles feel harder, you will begin to get definition. As you burn fat, the muscles will start to look sculpted.

Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0. Stretching muscles prevents skeletal misalignments that can wreck your posture, so be sure to include at least the big muscle stretches a couple of times a week, after exercise.

Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. You Might Also Like. What Does Sleeper Build Mean on Social Media? How to. How to Build Bigger Biceps at Home According to the Experts. How to Gain Muscle When You're Skinny.

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Taking these steps can help make your muscle-building sessions safer and injury-free:. Before you start strength training, talk to your health care provider to ensure there aren't restrictions or modifications that you should follow to stay safe. If you are new to training, ask for help.

A few sessions with a qualified trainer can help you to get your program off to a strong start for lasting results. Exercise of any kind is essential for good health and for maintaining a healthy body weight. Challenging your muscles regularly helps them grow bigger and increases your muscle strength.

When you do strength or resistance training two to three times per week, you build strong muscles to stand taller , burn more calories, and improve the quality of your daily activities and movement. And you can do them inside and outside the gym. Incorporate muscle-strengthening activities into your everyday routine by doing squats when you pick up laundry off the floor or lunges when moving from one room to the next.

It all adds up, giving you stronger muscles as a result. American Council on Exercise. How to select the right intensity and repetitions for your clients.

Wilson JM, Loenneke JP, Jo E, Wilson GJ, Zourdos MC, Kim J-S. The effects of endurance, strength, and power training on muscle fiber type shifting. J Strength Cond Res. Westcott W. Resistance training is medicine: effects of strength training on health. Curr Sports Med Rep.

Lauersen J, Andersen T, Andersen L. Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review, qualitative analysis and meta-analysis.

British J Sports Med. Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA, Fry AC, French DN. Strength testing: Development and evaluation of methodology. In: Maud PJ, Foster CF, editors. Physiological Assessment of Human Fitness.

Human Kinetics, Boyd J, Milton K. The undervalued lunge. National Strength and Conditioning Association. Granacher U, Lacroix A, Muehlbauer T, Roettger K, Gollhofer A. Effects of core instability strength training on trunk muscle strength, spinal mobility, dynamic balance and functional mobility in older adults.

Cortell-Tormo J, Sanchez P, Chulvi-Medrano I, et al. Effects of functional resistance training on fitness and quality of life in females with chronic nonspecific low-back pain. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil.

Piercy KL, Troiano RP, Ballard RM, et al. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. By Christina DeBusk Christina DeBusk is a personal trainer and nutrition specialist.

Read more: How to Get Started With Weightlifting. Participate in consistent cardiovascular toning exercises. Lowering your body-fat percentage to a healthy level facilitates the appearance of your muscle tone.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommends doing to minutes a week of cardio activity. If you want to up your game, complete 75 to minutes of vigorous cardio activities. Add variety to what types of exercise you do, mixing in running, elliptical, biking, jumping rope and swimming.

Warm up before your cardio activity for five to 10 minutes advises the American Heart Association by running or marching on the spot, arm swings and side-to-side twists at a fast pace.

Read more: Gym Routine for Weight Loss and Toning Up. Reduce calories and fat. Eating better facilitates a healthy body-fat percentage, which allows your muscle tone to show.

Consume lean proteins, such as chicken, fish and non- or low-fat dairy products, as they help provide the nutrients necessary for your lean muscle to develop. Limit or eliminate your fatty and empty-calorie foods, such as fast food, sodas and sweets.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends that protein make up 10 to 35 percent of your calories if you're working to gain muscle. Have an outlook that gaining muscle tone is a long-term process. Resistance training, for instance, is what causes muscles to grow versus weaken and waste away.

You need to do it to build muscle mass, which is what makes muscles look defined. No matter how strong your muscles are, how much fat you store under the skin covering your muscles the visible subcutaneous fat affects what they look like from the outside, Schroeder explains.

Things like what you eat and the calories you burn in any given day affect how much of this type of fat you have. Some of us have body types that inherently cause us to store more fat, burn more calories or build muscle quicker, Schroeder says.

What will get you there is being smart about your goals, doing the right types of workouts , eating right, and getting the rest your body needs. Getting really specific about what your goals are and what changes you want to see can help determine the steps you need to take to get there.

Turn to personal trainers , fitness instructors, coaches, and your doctors to help figure out plans to meet those goals.

And be realistic about goals. If you currently struggle to find time to work out, starting a training regimen with twice-daily workouts is probably unrealistic for you. Maybe aim to fit in a minute workout five times a week to start. Setting intermediary process goals along the way can help, Gagliardi says.

Resistance training helps grow muscles and define their shape. Be realistic, Gagliardi says. Department of Health and Human Services of minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week and strength training at least two days per week, he says.

If resistance training is new for you, start with a program that works all of the major muscle groups two to three days per week, he says. And then start upping the intensity of your workouts so they continue to challenge you more on that below.

It may seem pretty straightforward, but you have to do exercises correctly to get the most out of them, Gagliardi says. Focus on completing each phase, Gagliardi says.