I’ve always found it ironic when I read fitness magazines or hear trainers tell women you can’t build big muscles because you don’t produce as much testosterone as a man (which is true) but then paradoxically say to just use low weight and high reps or go for the burn!
Why would it matter if women lift heavy weights and low reps if we don’t have the hormones to produce big muscles? Why do “fitness experts” contradict themselves and perpetuate these toning myths? Perhaps they are scared to prescribe heavy weights and low reps because they are misinformed on “toning”?
Here’s what females must understand about muscle toning if they ever want TRULY toned, defined and sexy curves:
Relying on low weight and high reps results in spending years trying to achieve what a few months of heavier weight and low reps could potentially bring if the weights were progressed up at a gradual level!
The entire, “Drop the weights and go for a burn…” advice is complete nonsense! Here’s why:
There are two types of muscle tone: Myogenic muscle tone and neurogenic muscle tone. You need both for a sexy,hard and defined looking body.
Myogenic tone can be defined as residual tension in a resting muscle. What this really means is how hard, full and dense your muscles are at rest. An increase in myogenic tone is a permanent increase in the appearance of your muscles. Myogenic tone is affected by the density of your muscles and is improved by stimulation of the contractile proteins using a moderately heavy loads and moderately lower rep training workouts.
Neurogenic tone refers to the level of tension in a muscle in a working or flexed state. That is how “hard” a muscle is when you are training it or just flexing it. It refers to muscle tone that is expressed when movements occur (like when you extend your arms to point). Neurogenic tone is improved due to the effect lower rep training [i.e. less than 7 reps] has on improving the efficiency of your central nervous system.
Heavy weight training for women increases your myogenic tone through the hypertrophy (growth) of the contractile proteins myosin and actin (myosin and actin are by far the most dense components of skeletal muscle).
Lower rep training with heavier weights is by far the best way to get a lean, defined and tight body. This type of training will increase the sensitivity of alpha and gamma motor neurons, thus increasing neurogenic tone when conducting even the simplest of movements (i.e. walking, extending your arm to point, etc).
Training with heavy weights improves both myogenic and neurogenic tone. When a body is stripped of much of its fat, muscle density and hardness go a long way to enhancing the attractiveness of one’s physique! If your goal is to have a lean, sexy and defined looking body, then incorporating training with heavy weights and low reps is the next (and best) step to set yourself up for an amazing body.
Need proof?
Have you ever seen a women in the gym or in a magazine with defined arms? Toned shoulders? Sculpted calves? Trim thighs? The way their bodies are sleek and curved is easy to achieve once you get rid of the “drop the weights and go for the burn” nonsense and begin working out with some heavier weights and lower reps — this is the best way to lean, hard and strong, but not big! As long as you manage your calories, there is no fear in getting big. Remember, muscles grow on calories so as long as you don’t start eating like a bodybuilder, you will never come close to looking like one (thank goodness)!
Now that you can see a difference between myogenic tone and neurogenic tone it’s time to use this information to go from ordinary to extraordinary and Curveless to Curvalicious!”
by Flavia Del Monte, Certified Trainer and Nutritionist
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