I Just Want to Tone...

by Kris Pitcher

I would classify t-o-n-e as a four letter word. Toning. "I just want to tone...I don't want to get big or anything." I realize I've just been on holiday...but I could poke my own eyes out over this one.

Would you like to just tone?

Put down your fifty gallon purse along with your little dog and GET IN THE GYM! Enough is enough. You've done a great job getting started with your exercise plan by adding cardio to your life now it's time to put your big girl panties on and hit the weights!

You won't get big. I PROMISE. And you girls who "naturally put on a ton of muscle"...this isn't for you. It's for the "I want to tone"ers. You make up the 1%, I'd like to address the other 99% of the ladies out there with their 3 pound weights.

Can you tell I'm passionate about this? I have to work really hard to put on muscle. Really. Hard. You're not going to get all muscle-y. Lifting weights is really important, and I know you know that...because you do want to tone. Smile and insert sigh.

Seriously, you can pick up those 12 pounders for some arm curls (really, I've seen your handbag). And that leg press isn't going to hurt you. Fat makes us look fat, or big, or bulky - not muscle. Lean body mass is compact, taking up about 2/3 the space of fat.

Toned, ripped, shredded, stacked, whatever you want to call it - the work is still the same. The difference in looking toned and looking completely "ripped" is how much fat you want to take off. So, if you start looking too shredded we can always get you a taco.

My point is not to share my complete distaste for the word tone, but to let you know you don't have to be affraid of the weights. You're not going to get all muscled up over night. It's time to get in the weight room and add to your lean body mass. Crank up your metabolism, increase your bone density, increase your insulin sensitivity, make those weekend ski trips easier, or just...get toned.