Tone up means maintaining a certain degree of muscle tone or firmness, which is achieved by performing a specific type of training routine.
A toned muscle is a muscle that becomes firmer and more defined, while maintaining its size and volume, even while at rest. Toned people have a body that appears muscular by the definition of the muscles without having to achieve the increase in size typical of bodybuilders.
Muscle tone depends on several factors
Muscle tone is a quality that muscles have, it consists of a degree of slight contraction that manifests itself as a certain degree of resistance when it comes to mobilizing it.
This quality depends on two main factors. On the one hand, there is the muscle tissue, which depends on the proportion that exists between the muscle fibers and the volume of water in the muscle, always finding that the greater the amount of fibers, the more firm, and on the other, an effect of the nervous system on the This muscle is known as the myotatic reflex, which causes muscle fibers to be stretched to activate a series of receptors that cause them to contract. This is a process that occurs all the time continuously and is responsible for our being able to maintain postures, such as standing, and even for balance being achieved.
Types of exercises aimed at toning muscles
Muscle toning is achieved with the implementation of a routine that combines aerobic exercise with resistance exercise. These training programs should be carried out after a warm-up phase to avoid the appearance of injuries due to exerting a cold muscle. Likewise, the way in which breathing is carried out must be observed, which must be coordinated with physical activity in such a way that when lifting weight the air is expelled, while when relaxing the muscle, air is taken in again.
Aerobic exercises are intended to reduce the volume of adipose tissue that is located between the skin and the muscles, with or that the latter can be better visualized.
Resistance exercises help the muscle to acquire firmness that is maintained both during muscular activity and in the rest phase. These exercises are carried out in the form of series, working one muscle group one day and the next day another different group, generally series are performed for arms, chest and back, abdomen and legs and buttocks.
Main exercises used to tone muscles
There are several programs aimed at toning the different muscles of the body, in general these include an almost constant type of exercises performed with weights. It is commonly believed that you should use low weight and do many repetitions, however this formula may increase resistance but will never achieve the defined effect at the muscular level.
A firm and defined muscle is achieved using exercise schemes with certain repetitions, but with a lot of weight, which requires a greater work on the part of the muscle, constituting a stimulus for it to increase the size of its fibers. These routines are obviously less intense and demanding than those required to reach the muscle level of a bodybuilder, in which the muscle develops a hypertrophic condition that goes far beyond toning.
Not all exercises are effective in achieving this goal. The most used are based on combining routines that include squats, lunges, work with the weight of the body such as push-ups and the use of weights and dumbbells. It is generally recommended to work a single muscle at a time or by regions, for example, arms and abdomen in one session and buttocks and legs in another.
In the case of cardiovascular exercises, it is recommended that these be carried out after resistance exercises to achieve a better result in training.
Photos: Fotolia - Nejron Photo / Peter Atkins
