What is Toning? Term is Finally Demystified

Recently one of the most popular goals of fitness for many people is a thing called toning. It's a term thats thrown around quite frequently by nearly every fitness product. It’s most frequently a term directed toward women fitness. It’s important understand why this term is used so much and how exactly a toned look is attained.

The extensive use of the term toning is mainly in response to a common fear that many women have of building too much muscle or looking “bulky.” If a fitness program starts throwing around terms like weight training or building muscle, its sales might suffer. So in response to this the more palatable term toning is used. 

But if you were to ask the average person on the street exactly what happens when you tone, you would likely receive comments about the body “firming up” or “getting tighter.” But very few people actually know what causes toning. Toning is caused by the dual effect of gaining muscle mass and losing body fat. It's the combination of these two actions that leads to the lean firm look so many women desire. It isn’t caused by any sort of firming of fat or muscle tissue or the transformation of fat into muscle.

So in order to get the toned look, you should engage in weight training exercises that can exert enough effort to cause muscle growth—as well as undertaking a regimen of diet and or exercise in order to lose body fat. So the next time you are considering a fitness product or program that is claiming to help you tone your body, ask yourself: Will this product aid me in either building muscle and losing weight? If it doesn’t appear to meet those requirements, then it’s probably a waste of your money.