As a woman, exercising can be difficult, but not because it is hard to do. Many
women are afraid to do a vigorous enough workout to get their heart rate up and
build muscle tone because they are afraid that they will build bulky muscle, and
few women out there are willing to look manly. Doing hour after hour after hour
of cardiovascular workouts is not going to give women the defined muscle tone they
are looking for, but that seems a sacrifice they are willing to make when it comes
to such a thing so long as they don't have to deal with bulky, 'manly' muscles.
Luckily, there are ways of going about building muscle tone people will notice without
having to worry about bulkiness. Before long, people will be complimenting you on
your slim, trim muscular tone!
High Reps, Low Weight
Pick a weight that you can lift and do four sets of 15 repetitions. This means lift
the weights up and down fifteen times, take a breather, and do it three more sets
of those. Take thirty second breaks in between, and before long you will see a difference
in the tone of the muscle in that area.
This is the most common way to set up your repetitions, but do what is comfortable
for you. If you need fewer reps at a time or fewer sets at a time, so be it. The
point is that heavy weights and low reps build bulk, and in this case that is not
what you want.
Don't Force It
Forcing yourself to lift weight that seems to heavy for you is not a good way to
stay away from the bulk. As a matter of fact, this is one of the ways that bodybuilders
build up that bulky muscle mass that they vie for. If it seems too heavy for you
to do one set without being completely exhausted, pick the next weight down.
As you gain strength, the weights that you used to use will be easier and you can
upgrade from there, but don't force yourself in that direction. Not only do you
risk injury, but you risk bulky muscle as well. Exercise is not a contest, and if
it is you should be the only one in the competition.
Make Sure to Rest
If you are always working out, you are actually working against building muscle
tone. It may seem like it would be the other way around, but there is research that
proves that we build muscle when our muscles are resting. The reason why you notice
a difference after lifting is because your muscles have blood flowing through them,
but the fact remains that the long term muscle gain happens when you aren't working
out.
Choose Supplements Wisely
If you have decided to use supplementation to help build muscle tone, be careful
what you make use of. Some of the more popular supplements out there are designed
for men who want to bulk up, so check the bottle and read up on what you make use
of. The best way to supplement exercise is with a healthy diet, but if you must
take supplements in a pill form, be careful of the ones that you use.
Use Wimpy Weights
Okay, so maybe wimpy weights aren't the way to go. If you want to build any type
of muscle you are going to have to get some resistance, but women don't need fifty
pound hand weights—hands down. Anything between five and fifteen pounds should
be fine, depending on your fitness and endurance levels and the type of look you
are going for.
As a woman, you probably don't want to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger and that
is okay. Women should be lean and fit, but not bulky unless you are competing or
that is the look that you are going for. Rather than stay away from exercising altogether,
make use of these five tips the next time you exercise. Before long you will have
that lean, mean muscle tone that people will be complementing you on every time
you turn around.