Hi, I wonder if anyone can advise on weight training, I want to tone and lengthen rather than build bulk. Is it better to lift light weights or use my own body as the weight?
Hi, I wonder if anyone can advise on weight training, I want to tone and lengthen rather than build bulk. Is it better to lift light weights or use my own body as the weight?
I think either would be suitable, or even resistance bands. maybe you could start by using your own body weight and see how that works for you and then add in weights as you see fit.
Is there a reason why you are thinking of weight training to lengthen and tone, as oppose to other forms of exercise?
I have tried yoga, although not consistently. Surely, the benefits from yoga would take a long time to be fully realised and would take longer to achieve in daily practice, whereas weights can be achieved in short bursts of 10-20 minutes and the results would be seen a lot quicker.
Weightlifting will produce bulk quickly, but not tone and length. You may find you will have equally as good results with yoga in the same time frame, but you will get all the benefits of yoga too.
Why don't you mix it up a bit, why does it have to be either/or, do yoga mon/wed/fri weights sun/tues/thurs rest day sat!![]()
very light weights (1-2kg) will help you to achieve a toned look relatively fast. I can't speak for Yoga, having never done it.
It is very hard for a woman to bulk, you would have to be in the gym 6-7 days a week, lift very heavy weights and be dedicated and very low body fat. The reason is that woman lack the levels of testosterone that men have, it is this hormone that help to bulk a man. So you can lift relatively heavy weights 2-3 x week without fear of bulking, but you will help to tone and give you some womanly curves.
Obviously an increase in muscle can help you to burn more fat too.![]()
It is important to remember that to see muscle definition you need to be fairly lean (low fat percentage), otherwise all your hard work may not be that noticeable.
Thanks Guy-ner, this is really helpful to know, although I have to admit that through trial and error I have come to realise that building muscle is actually not that easy (not to get the shredded look).
What I have been surprised to see whilst trawling through the YouTube videos is just how many of the hardcore weightlifters are plant based, or clean eaters. I wrongly surmised that they all lived on chemical additives to get and maintain their bulk.