Thread: gain weight AND tone?

so i recently gained around 10 pounds within the last several months and altho i'm not proud of thinking of it that way, i don't look all that different (to me at least lol) and i think it's because i'm tall and carry most of the weight in my legs/thighs and behind. well anywho, i'm trying to overcome thinking of it as 'omg i gained 10 pounds' cuz i want to keep my curves but want to be healthier and wouldn't mind toning up a bit.

but is that at all possible? to keep the weight and curves but tone at the same time? i know realistically a few pounds will drop but 10 pounds ago my mom was complaining to me about how skinny i kept getting and my hip bones were showing more..and i don't wanna go back to that lol i'm within my healthy BMI range and dance on a regular basis so health risks aren't a real issue. i think my sweet tooth just got to me hehe

i know athletes bulk up heir muscles by adding a lot of protein to their diet but i don't necessarily want to be all muscle-y...but then again i know men and women tone differently while men gain muscle faster..is it just one of those things where we always want what we can't have?

advise please :) thanks

*listening attentively*

I feel your pain, woman.

Originally Posted by SatinWorship19

*listening attentively*

I feel your pain, woman.

lol glad i didn't kill my own thread haha

Weight training should do the trick. You can tone without bulking up by doing higher repetitions of exercises at a lower weight. Usually people who start weight training will often notice no change or even a small gain on the scale because your body will initially retain a bit more water as it's building muscle. After the initial "shock" though, you'll probably drop a few pounds, but you'll have some nice muscle tone to show for it.

first off, if you feel healthy, don't let *anyone* give you grief over being too skinny or too fat or whatever. It was very painful for me when my *husband* and my best friend both started hassling me about being too skinny, even tho I was the picture of health. Even people we love can be clueless sometimes.

& on your real question yes, you can achieve moderate muscle tone without loosing ALL your curves-(moderate = I am pretty darn fit all things considered, Just spent the week hauling 6 gallon jugs of birch sap in either hand, I can do 50 pushups straight & 100 crunches, but I'm not entering weight lifting competitions) & I am definitely still curvy... (oops! a little *too* much chocolate cake before that last performance!)

Originally Posted by zfejzic

so i recently gained around 10 pounds within the last several months and altho i'm not proud of thinking of it that way, i don't look all that different (to me at least lol) and i think it's because i'm tall and carry most of the weight in my legs/thighs and behind. well anywho, i'm trying to overcome thinking of it as 'omg i gained 10 pounds' cuz i want to keep my curves but want to be healthier and wouldn't mind toning up a bit.

geez zana, you need to get out of my mind/body/life ..l;, some of the things you type i wonder if you didn't steal them from my little brain, cos it's exactly same as me.... lol!!

i also recently gained about 5kg, since having had to quit intensive figure skating, and i'm not particularly displeased with it, i think i look better despite missing the tone-ness of my rear end ..l;, (and not fitting into my pants anymore so well ,m:: )
anyhoo, i just figured that, in a way it's for the better. now i'm at a stable weight that seems to be my ideal, i look pretty much the same but a little curvier. my boyfriend is happy too :D so i figure as long as i eat healthy, keep doing dance and exercise and such, this seems to be a good weight for me so i'll stick to it :)

thanks everyone! :)
one question tho (might be stupid but...): if i do weight training, won't that tone mainly my upper body? how will the rest of my body react to it?

Kathiya-maybe i am in ur brain! OoOoOo lol

Originally Posted by zfejzic

Kathiya-maybe i am in ur brain! OoOoOo lol

omg!

..l;,

Originally Posted by Kathiya

lmao
new favorite smiley of all time-ever! haha

heeee ^^ it's my all-time fave, right up there with ^^

Originally Posted by zfejzic

thanks everyone! :)
one question tho (might be stupid but...): if i do weight training, won't that tone mainly my upper body? how will the rest of my body react to it?

Kathiya-maybe i am in ur brain! OoOoOo lol

Nope. Do squats, leg presses, abductor/aductor exercises, lunges with weights, toe raises (or presses), and leg lifts. I wish you lived close so we could work out together! I need to weight train too but prefer to have a partner (did it for years when I was younger and really miss it).

And as MaryRaks said, lower weight and more repetition (15-20 is my preferred amount). Also include things like a bosu ball for prison squats, toe touches and lunges to work on small muscle control.

Maybe look into hiring a personal trainer for one or two sessions to get you started and put you on a weekly training program.

And let me add that I feel your pain on the body issue. When I start working out hard-core I can lose a lot of weight. My father use to tell me I looked emaciated and my hubby would say I disappeared when I turned sideways, yet I was eating 6 big meals a day!

It can be very frustrating, but so long as you're healthy it really doesn't matter how you look.

I'm going back to something I tried years ago. Callanetics. I think it works because you are holding a position in a contraction and then adding small range of motion that leads to another contraction. Lower body movements at ballet dancer based.

If you're good at following book/video advice for body alignment I'd try it. It really does lift and tone without the bulk.

Dvd's in a similar mode are Lotte Berk and Exhale:Core Fitness. (10minute worksouts so there's no excuse).

I just need to stop shovelling food in my cake hole through boredom..cr.:

eating more & weight bearing exercises will build muscle but as women we have to really work hard at gaining big muscles unless you're in a very small minority who bulk up easy.

zfejzic,
I'm 2 semesters away from graduating with a degree is exercise science (which means i know MUCH more than any certified personal trainer), so i'll give you my advice.
Don't think of it as gaining 10 lbs. When I first started seriously working out, lifting 3x a week and cardio at least 5x a week, i got in much better shape. My jeans were looser (i have the same bodytype as you, big hips/booty/ thighs), and i was more toned. When I wore a skirt before my legs giggled a little, and after training they didn't. They weren't much smaller than they were before, so i did keep my curves. But I lost fat on them, and gained muscle. I looked thinner & much more toned like i wanted, but I kept my curves and only lost 2 pounds.
Thats why you can't go by the scale, and BMI isn't a good calculator either. If you are doing cardio, you will mostly loose fat, so the numbers on the scale will drop. But if you are also weight lifting, the numbers wont drop as much. From the looks of my body after training, you would think I had lost 10 lbs, but i had only lost 2. The reason is because if you take a hunk of fat and a hunk of muscle of the same size, the muscle weighs more. Which means that 5 lbs of muscle on your body takes up less space than 5 lbs of fat does. So I may have lost 10 lbs of fat, but gained 8 lbs of muscle. So on the scale, it tells me I only lost 2 lbs. I work at a gym and i always tell ppl not to go by the scale, but to either use a tape measure or just how your clothes fit.
the reason BMI isn't a good indicator of health is becuase it uses the variable of height and weight. So there can be someone who doesnt work out at all, has very little muscle and mostly fat (but they are not overweight), and have a normal BMI. This doesn't mean they are healthy. On the other hand, there can be a male with big muscles and 6% body fat, and according to BMI, they are obese. BMI only takes into account weight, not which pounds are fat or which are muscle.

For anyone who just wants to loose fat and be more "toned", I say cardio for one hour more days a week than you dont (at least 4). Along with weight training. I reccomend working each muscle group 2x a week. I like to only lift 2x a week, so I do every body part in one day. Most people like to spit it up over the week. Monday-back and biceps, Tuesday - Triceps & shoulders....etc.

....continued.....


I you just do cardio, you will loose fat, but also muscle too. Muscle gives you curves. So if you want to be in good shape, toned, and keep curves you defintiely want to weight train.

There are some girls that are very skinny, and they come to the gym to get curves. So they do squats and lunges to build their legs, crunches for their abs...so on.

And if you are 99.7% of women, you will not bulk up even if you do high weights with low repetitions. Testoserone is what builds muscle, thats why men can get so large. Women have low levels of testosterone, so they aren't able to get very large. I do lower reps (around 8-10) with as much weight as I can do. I never "bulked up". I have defined arms, and if i flex you can see a good muscle but its not too big. And my legs are shapely but not too big.
Also, taking in extra protein will not help you to build muscle. On average, most people consume more protein than they need (its much less than mose people think). Your body will use the protein it needs to repair tissue (including muscle tissue), and then the rest is either stored as fat or excreted out of the body by the kidneys as waste. When you lift weights, you are actually tearing your muscle fibers apart (thats why you are sore the next day). In the next couple days after lifting, your body uses protein to repair the muscles. When they are repaired, the are a little bigger than they were. So it is how hard/how much you work out and tear your muscle, not how much protein you take. Depending on how much damage you did to the muscle depends on how much protein it needs. It uses what it needs, then the rest is wasted.
There was a guy at my gym who was looking to gain muscle and bulk up. His friend told him to use protein shakes, and he did. We did a test on him to find out his body fat percentage and lean mass percentage (bones, organ tissue, and muscle tissue). He worked out for a couple months and gained weight on the scale which he wanted, thinking the weight was muscle. He came back for another test. His muscle percentage went up a little, but most of the weight he gained was fat. He didnt need the extra protein, so some of it was stored as calories.

Sorry for the extra long post lol, i just thought i'd clear up misconceptions most everyone has about fitness, and give you some advice.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask!

wow thanks for that scientific explanation. helps me put things into perspective in another way :)
thanks to all of u guys for ur advice :) i really appreciate it :)
now if only i can find the old dusty weights i have laying around SOMEWHERE...lol

malia-we can be workout buddies in spirit since u live so darn far away! hehehe

"...my legs giggled a little.."

amethyst dahling, can you show me how to make my legs giggle too?

On second thoughts, perhaps that's something I should ask my hubby.

You can bodybuild your lower body without looking like an athlete. Men and women who have the bulky look have to work very hard to get there, they take supplements and burn away the fat to show off those muscles. Even then, it takes years before you get there.

On a woman with a normal amount of fat, larger muscles in the butt just look like a round, perky behind. The fat over the muscle smooths it all out. Like Amethyst said, you can use high weights and look womanly/curvy. It brings you results faster in terms of strength and tone.

High reps/low weight is moreso for building endurance.

This may have been said already, but most women don't have enough testosterone to "bulk up". That's a myth about strength training that keeps women unhealthy and uninformed.

Try an overall functional fitness program. I've blathered about Crossfit elsewhere here. I can't recommend it enough! I love it! And I am a totally curvy, soft girl. It's definitely made me more toned, without diminishing what nature and my ancestors gave me.

Welcome to CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness

Caveats:

- Don't be afraid of the photos of the macho/uniformed men on the site. This is a very welcoming workout for everyone, not just Marines and MMA junkies. They use all kinds of people in their video clips, including old women and kids.

- I've fallen in love with the workout, but not with the dietary advice, which seems slightly insane to me. I'm sure there's a great argument to be made for the Paleo diet, but I'm sorry, I'm not buying it all the way. The way some of its adherents talk about it, it makes me think that they're really just trying to sublimate an eating disorder. Just eat what's healthy and gives you energy, whatever it is.

And hell, even though they're really REALLY cheesy, the Firm put out a bunch of really ass-kicking workout videos in the 80's. I inherited them from my mom, and even though the music and the outfits are hilarious, the workout will make you cry. In a good way.

- Leela

You can tone without bulking up by doing higher repetitions of exercises at a lower weight.

Not to pick on you personally, but I see this all the time. The statement is completely and utterly false. High reps/low weights do absolutely nothing for muscle "tone" (that word needs to be stricken from the fitness vocabulary). In order to have those muscle gains (not in a pure visible sense, but rather in an improvement sense), high weights/low reps is the way to go. I also love HIIT.

Visit Krista's Site. She really works hard to dispel myths about fitness for women.

Thank you, Daniela! Lifting as much weight as you safely can with good form is one of the best things you can do for yourself, and it combines beautifully with cardio and dance. It is not going to hurt you. You will not suddenly look like a man or a sofa. Your curves will not disappear. If anything, they may get even better! Mine sure did. My waist-to-hip ratio got even more radical after I started working more intensely. Work your lower body as well as your upper body. And remember that deep squats, dips, and pushups are wonderful core work, as well - crunches turn out to be kind of useless, I'm finding.

I love stumptuous.com - that's a great site!

- Leela

Squats are my favorite. I've found that it works more than my quads and glutes, but rather I have to use my abs to to stabilize a bar that's more than 1.5x my body weight. It's one of those all purpose moves.

Weight training is also great for building flexibility too. The stronger you are, the more you can do, I say.

Squats are definitely great. The other day I did 3 rounds of squats, walking lunges, pushups, and dumbell swings, and I am so freaking sore right now. My quads and glutes are destroyed! But I love it. It's great. It's a little more difficult to do at 3 months pregnant, but I love thinking of how strong I'll be in labor.

Another benefit of squats: they make your butt really high and strong. This is great for those modern Egyptian costumes. And the added glute strength is excellent for the modern Egy technique, if that's your style.

- Leela

bella, LMAO!!!
my legs *jiggled

I have grown to love the Bosu ball. So helpful for doing balance-related exercises while standing on it & keeping the tummy tightly wound. And the challenge of pushups with it is great exercise for me too.

Haven't found anything better than Jim Boz's nerf-ball-between-the-legs exercise for working your obliques and improving mayas and hip drops.

Originally Posted by Daniela2006

Not to pick on you personally, but I see this all the time. The statement is completely and utterly false. High reps/low weights do absolutely nothing for muscle "tone" (that word needs to be stricken from the fitness vocabulary). In order to have those muscle gains (not in a pure visible sense, but rather in an improvement sense), high weights/low reps is the way to go. I also love HIIT.

Visit Krista's Site. She really works hard to dispel myths about fitness for women.

I'd say yes and no..g.: because of the following examples.

ballet dancers do high reps/low weight (I'm saying low weight because if you're doing squats with say a 20lb weight it is your body weight + 20lbs).

Consider the physique of an endurance athlete to a power athlete.

I think when people say tone what they generally mean is how do I stop this bit from giggling so much without looking bulky.

You exercise, you breakdown a muscle, you rest, you feed, it repairs and 'grows'.

ballet dancers do high reps/low weight (I'm saying low weight because if you're doing squats with say a 20lb weight it is your body weight + 20lbs).

I don't know anyone with reputable fitness credentials who endorse high reps/low weights. It just does not do anything to build strength, and it just perpetuates this fear of weight training for women.

Consider the physique of an endurance athlete to a power athlete.

I guarantee you that an endurance athlete is doing the same kind of weight training as a power athlete in that they're doing high weights/low reps. The difference lies ultimately lies in the cardio activity and food intake. Of course, I'm being VERY simplistic about it, but I have never heard of an endurance athlete doing high reps/low weights.

I think when people say tone what they generally mean is how do I stop this bit from giggling so much without looking bulky.

The thing is "tone" is BS. That's all it is. Pure BS. Women are not capable of becoming Mr. Universe. We just don't have the testoserone levels to make that happen. Yes, there are women who can gain muscle easier than others, but the "bulky" physique does not happen. The Chynas and Nicole Basses of the world get that "bulky" look through steroids. Look at Jillian Michaels. It's obvious that she does not buy into the "tone" jargon, and does she look "bulky"? Absolutely not.

If you want to stop jiggling? Eat better and workout more. Simple as that.

You exercise, you breakdown a muscle, you rest, you feed, it repairs and 'grows'.

Only muscle does not take up a lot of surface area.

I have to say, I LOVE weightlifting, just love it. I really need to get back into it again.

Originally Posted by BELLA_BELLA

Haven't found anything better than Jim Boz's nerf-ball-between-the-legs exercise for working your obliques and improving mayas and hip drops.

Please, explain! This sounds interesting.

Zana, you look fantastic! We could always work on toning but you're fine (more than fine) the way you are right now.

Originally Posted by Mayliz

Zana, you look fantastic! We could always work on toning but you're fine (more than fine) the way you are right now.

thank u :)

how did u like the ballet class today? haha my thighs r sore. i've been sore from taking back to back classes since this weekend that i'm too lazy to straight weight lifting any time soon lol