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A toned body is something everyone dreams of, but the question remains: how can you get that perfect body? While there is a lot of information regarding how to tone your body, all of it may not be correct.
The word tone refers to the state of your muscles and their ability to reflexively contract. Even when at rest, the muscles are in a constant state of partial contraction in order to be ready for action. Basically, muscle tone is involuntary - it cannot be changed through exercise.
However, the word has changed its meaning over the years in the arena of health and fitness. It is commonly taken to mean a person who has lean, well defined muscles, and not a lot of fat.
For the purposes of this article, we shall look at toning as the act of creating an athletic look by reducing the appearance of body fat and tightening up the muscles.
Can you tone your body with only exercise?
Is it possible to get a toned body through exercise alone? In short, the answer is yes - it is possible to achieve a toned body without making adjustments to any other parts of your life, but only if you workout and burn enough calories to wear down the fat in your body.
However, it will be faster and much easier for you to achieve the desired results if you eat lesser and better.
Most people do not know how to get started on toning their body, although they do know that they need to get rid of the extra fat first. The only sustainable method that works for losing fat is maintaining a calorie deficit and exercising more. Working hard and building good habits will definitely help you shed those extra pounds.
Once you have started burning fat from your system, you will be able to see the shape of your muscles. At this point, you can determine if you want a more strenuous workout in order to achieve the shape you really want.
Are there any benefits to toning your body?
Having a toned body does not come from how much muscle you have - it comes from how much fat you do not have. Your muscles already have a distinct shape, it is just that their shape is invisible because of the fatty tissues surrounding it.
Toning involves losing fat around the muscles, allowing their shape to be clearly visible in a way that looks great by modern beauty standards. However, living up to beauty standards is not a great enough motivator for most people. What excites them, however, are the following changes they will see in their body:
1) Greater stamina
When you work on toning your body, your body reduces fat and improves your overall health, increasing your stamina and energy levels.
2) Decreased chances for disease
As your body metabolizes nutrition better and your health improves, the risk for serious diseases is reduced and for some lifestyle oriented diseases such diabetes, blood pressure, and stroke are almost completely eliminated.
3) Improved posture
Toning exercises that specifically target muscles around the abdomen and upper body can improve your posture significantly. What’s more, toning and strengthening your muscles also reduces the risk of osteoporosis and relieves stress on the spinal cord.
4) Elevated mood
Toning yourself will definitely make you feel great about yourself and your body. Exercising in general elevates the mood as it releases happy hormones in the body; besides, it makes one feel strong and confident. All these factors contribute towards increasing the quality of life.
What is the best way to tone muscles?
The best way to tone your body is through agility training. Strength training will not help you achieve a toned body, although it does have a number of other health benefits.
Strength training focuses more on building muscle in a very specific location. Rather, working out your entire body and burning more calories will help you. To get that beautifully toned body, you need to work out as many different muscle groups as possible.
Thus, getting toned is not about building muscle - it is about burning fat until your muscles can be clearly seen. While you can accomplish this purely through exercise, adjusting your eating habits can also help a lot.
