If you’re over the whole skinny hype and shooting for a toned physique, congrats, you’ve struck gold. Over the last ten years, being slim was all the rage, leading tons of people to endure endless gym sessions and skip out on real food to keep that slim figure. Let’s jump right into it!
In fact, a 2011 study (1) conducted by Fitness Magazine, a United States-based fitness magazine for women covering health, exercise, and food, on whether women would give up sex for a full year (365 days to be exact) just to stay skinny showed a shocking result. Around 51 percent of the 2,400 respondents said they would agree to the proposition, and the rest practically said they would not give up sexual intercourse even if it meant they would stay over 30 pounds above their normal weight.
But that was a 2011 study. Facebook and Instagram trend was not yet a thing then. The social media giants, which business model is patterned to create ripples of attention, have yet to have a solid social influence, compared to what they have achieved in the past five years. A single trend on a certain topic could literally spread and reach a million in just a matter of hours. The interesting thing about the exponential power of social media is its ability to set a new norm, affecting thousands, if not millions, of stands, views, and perspectives. The classic example of this is the #Fitspiration trend on Instagram, where several users participate by posting their journeys to healthier and more toned bodies and shapes.
At the height of the #Fitspiration and #StrongNotSkinny trend, a study (2) conducted by a doctoral student at the University of Missouri in Kansas revealed that men now prefer a toned body shape of women that a skinny and thin one. This was a great leap from the “thin-is-in” trend, showing that ideals for a great body for women have changed.
Several experts have been pointing this out. The suppressive thinning programs have led many women to neglect the real value of being healthy. And this could probably be one of the reasons why such #Fitspiration trend has made it into the human system- being thin is not necessarily being healthy while being fit leads you more to being healthy. However, a study, although affirming the benefits of the #Fitspiration, pointed out that this trend has a negative impact (3) in the mental health of young adults, reporting psychological distress and eating disorders.
True enough, toning your body has more health than slimming down your body. A toned body increases your stamina, or your ability to sustain or endure a prolonged physical activity. And as a result, you got to do more workout activities to keep you up with your fitness program.
Other benefits of toning your body include preventing diseases related to overweight or the lack of proper exercises such as heart and skeletal diseases, improved muscle strength and immune system, and enriched mental health and self-confidence, better body posture, more productive performance at work, and a chance of a better and life-filled lifestyle.
That being said, let’s proceed on what workouts are best for toning women’s bodies that can deliver to your goal in a matter of weeks!
You don’t need to be gymaholic to perform push-ups, a type of exercise that specifically targets your chest, abdominal muscles, shoulders, triceps, back, and core. There are many types of push-ups, some require greater strength and endurance, while some require less. The bottom line, however, is you have to do the right position in order to achieve its benefits, from the proper angle of the body up to the frequency and time to carry out the exercise. One study (4) suggests that performing with hands in narrow base position can induce more muscle activation than a wide base position. Pretty hard, yet probably the most rewarding if you’re toning up those muscles. Here are two of the many types of push-ups that you can include in your toning program today.
A. Standard Push-up
B. Inclined Push-up
This type of push-up is very helpful if you’re just starting with the program, and could not perform the standard push-ups properly.
This type of toning workout works best in improving your lower body’s agility, strength, and endurance. It also may help you shape your lower body muscles and can make your hips more flexible. So if you’re trying to even out your lower muscles, then this is the right exercise for you. Here’s how you do it:
Plank is one of the strongest workouts that target your core. However, you can incorporate another technique that will target another part of your body while your core muscles are burning out, such as the Plank Shoulder Tap and the Plank Knee Tap. Your core muscles include muscles on your abs, back, and around your pelvis. With this, the muscles in your glutes, wrists, arms, and shoulders are also targeted. Here’s how to properly execute your plank taps:
Squats target your lower body muscles, such as your thighs, its quadriceps and hamstrings, and glutes. When performing this exercise, your back muscles, core strengths, and ankle mobility are tested and improved. How do you do this correctly?
Boot camp is a perfect way to enjoy your journey to becoming fit and toned. This is actually not a type of exercise; rather it’s an organized group of adults, with professional trainers, who perform several types of exercises at the parks or your local gym. So this is actually more of a program. The workouts employed for this program are almost similar for the circuit training workouts, so it’s not advised for beginners. This type of exercise could be done in high frequency or in low frequency, depending on the goal of the group.
A study (5) conducted in 2000 revealed that although the effect of either high-frequency training (HFT) or low-frequency training (LFT) is similarly effective in improving lean mass and strength, the effect of HFT in muscle strength is higher. Improved strength could lead to performing circuit training workouts. Examples of exercises for boot camp are standing lunges, push-ups, crunches, and burpees. One advantage of this is it can be motivational since you can pull in your circle of friends and enjoy the program together. A research (8) involving medical students also suggested that group fitness classes such as boot camp can improve mental health better than doing exercise alone.
If we tell you that this kind of exercise is also known as “non-surgical butt lift,” you would probably know what this is for. This exercise is one of the many exercises you can do using a kettlebell. It enhances your core, hamstrings, glutes, quads, hips, back, and your shoulder.
Your triceps are one of the most revealing parts of your body. So it’s really important to keep it shaped up. Your triceps are practically functioning every time you move your hands; like when you bend, push, or pull using your upper limbs. A strong and toned triceps aid you in performing several tasks every as it improves your blood circulation, muscle strength, and flexibility. And one way to do your triceps a favor is performing the overhead triceps extension.
Also known as a supported shoulder stand, this exercise is taught for yoga beginners and requires many balance and strength. When doing this exercise, it is very important to follow instructions strictly as it may pose risks when done inappropriately.
This type of toning workout is specifically designed to improve the body’s flexibility, core muscle strength and endurance, balance, and posture, all at the same time. It also has beneficial effects (6) sleep quality, anxiety, depression, and fatigue among elderly women. It was developed by exercise pioneer Joseph Pilates while he was in forced internment during World War 1. Pilates is anchored on quality, not quantity, to produce the best outcomes, so it’s advised to make each rep as strong as possible. Pilates workouts include Pilates Curl, Roll Up, Single, and Double Leg Stretch, and Crisscross. Although there are not enough empirical research to support the effectiveness of this type of exercise, the theoretical mechanisms on how and why Pilates is effective to seem to be well-established, thus, the need for more research (7).
If you’re aiming to have that body perfect in a killer dress, then this one ‘s for you. Dumbbell Row exercise is a simple yet demanding type of toning workout that targets your upper body, especially in your back muscles. With two dumbbells, you can shape the muscles in your back, glutes, shoulders and arms, and neck because it thickens the muscle fibers in the said areas. Here’s how you can do it:
The workouts mentioned above are just some of the dozens of toning workouts available for you. If you’re doing this on your own, without the supervision of a professional fitness trainer, you have to consult first your physician if you can physically be able to perform these. If you’re given the green light, what’s next is to set up your program, and add a spice of your determination and willingness to suffer the pain and to reap the gain.
(1) https://nypost.com/2011/02/17/women-are-sex-starved/
(2) https://info.umkc.edu/news/thin-is-in-think-again/
(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6086030/
(4) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16095413
(5) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4836564/
(6) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31097181
(7) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3666467/
(8) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29084328
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