I have heard it often in my career: “I want to get toned.” It is treated seriously in some textbooks. Frankly, I wish the phase would just go away. It is really meaningless. When I hear it I think: “minimal effort.” Basically, the person who says “I want to get toned” . is saying that they want to get lean and shape what (little) muscle they already have. Truthfully, with weight training, there is hypertrophy and strength (and, of course, we can extend this to muscle endurance and power). Weight training should increase muscle size, increase muscle strength, or some combination of both.
Hopefully, when one says they want to “get toned”, they really mean they want to get strong and lose body fat. That is, they are not necessarily looking to grow massive muscle like a body builder. Unfortunately, for most, “toning” means limiting overload and progression and doing the same weights and repetitions schemes (i.e., not increasing volume) over time.
It is important to recognize that there are two types of muscle hypertrophy: myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic. Myofibrillar is associated with the greatest increasing in muscle strength and involves increases in the muscle contractile proteins. Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy is associated with the greater increases in muscle volume with lesser increases in strength (think bodybuilder v. Olympic lifter). Overall, both are desirable, depending on the goals. Both require effort and proper recovery and nutrition.
Body composition considers both fat and lean tissue. Losing fat alone, while it may improve appearance and have some impact on health, does little to improve physical performance. In fact, losing fat with little regard for maintaining muscle diminishes physical performance over time. Gaining muscle without losing fat is still an improvement in body composition (and is generally accomplished without restricting calories). Over time, the best approach to improving body composition is to cycle periods of massing (increasing muscle mass), maintenance (to stabilize metabolism), and cutting (periods of caloric restriction). It is possible to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously—we might call this “toning” (but I wouldn’t)—when we are rather untrained (overfat and under-muscled), but as body composition improves, this gets harder.
With regard to training goals, we have choices. We can opt to gain muscle/strength and lose (or not lose) body fat and work hard in the gym, or we can take the easy route of “toning” and go through the motions of training. The latter can be regarded as “exercise” (as it is physical activity for the purpose of improving one’s appearance), but it is not “training” (exercise that is for the purpose of improving one’s performance). Improved performance also has the side-effect of having a more significant impact on one’s health and longevity.
What is the point of exercise if not to improve one’s health and physical performance, as well as appearance? The goal is to be able to do more and do it longer.
Let’s stop using the phase, “toned.” Let start thinking in terms of fitness—improved performance. We don’t have to pursue massive muscles like a bodybuilder (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy) or strength/power like an Olympic weightlifter or powerlifter (myofibrillar hypertrophy), but we should pursue a level of muscle size and strength that will permit us to continue the activities that we love and, perhaps, do more as we age. Bodybuilding, Olympic lifting, and powerlifting require considerable effort. Most—especially those who claim they “just want to get toned”—aren’t willing to put in the effort. A modest effort, however, can pay big dividends.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!