Let’s Get Toned
If you are unsure whether you want a toned body or exactly what one is read this article first. Remember you can’t fly with bingo wings so why keep them?
If you know what you want and are ready to get it keep on reading this page and start following this workout.
To get a toned body, the number of sets you do of each exercise should be three plus a warm-up set. The number of repetitions you do of each exercise per set should be between eight and 12. Choose a weight that is heavy enough so that you can only just finish the last rep of each set. If you feel like you can keep on going then the weight is too light. Do a warm-up set before you start for which you should use a light weight, maybe one of those pink ones someone has just done 100 reps with.
Remember we want to get a toned body not just a toned arm or thigh so you will need to be working each of the main muscle groups in your body. This is a recommendation for an exercise routine to get a toned body and is a good place to start for those training at home or on a tight time schedule or with limited equipment.
Complete this routine two to three times a week with at least one full day between each workout to let your muscles recover and the toning process to take effect.
Dumbbell Bench Press: Lying flat on your back on a bench or the floor hold a dumbbell in each hand by your sides. Push the weights up towards the celling tensing your chest muscles as you go. Let the weights almost touch above your head with your arms out stretched towards the ceiling. Lower the weights back to the starting position.
Muscles Exercised: Chest, shoulders and triceps.
Body Parts Toned: Chest and breast areas get a natural lift as the muscles beneath them become more pronounced. Upper arms become tighter and the process of eliminating bingo wings begins. Shoulders become stronger and firmer.
Overhead Shoulder Press: Stand with your knees slightly bent and your feet just beyond shoulder width apart. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and then lift the weights up towards the celling so that they almost meet above your head. To finish bring the weights down so they are at shoulder level with your palms facing out in front of you and your elbows by your side.
Muscles Exercised: Shoulders and triceps.
Body Parts Toned: Continuing where the bench press left off this exercise works on your shoulder areas and gives your upper arms another good workout getting you closer to being wingless.
Dumbbell Tricep Extensions: In the standing position hold a dumbbell in one hand and stretch your arm up towards the ceiling. Bend your arm at the elbow and lower it behind your head so the weight is almost touching your back while keeping your elbow pointing to the ceiling. Raise the weight up to the starting position to complete the exercise. Do the full amount of reps before changing arms.
Muscles Exercised: The tricep.
Body Parts Toned: This is the final exercise to really workout the underside of the upper arms. Sleeveless shirts here we come!
Dumbbell Curls: Continue to stay standing and hold a dumbbell in each hand. Hold the weight so your palms are facing outwards in front of you and your arms are hanging down by your side. Bend your arms at the elbow and bring the weights up so they are almost touching your upper arms. Lower your arms from the elbow to return to the starting position.
Muscles Exercised: The biceps.
Body Parts Toned: The opposite side of the upper arms to the triceps benefits most from this exercise but the forearms also get a secondary workout.
Dumbbell Squats: In the standing position hold a weight in each hand with your arms hanging down by your sides with your palms facing your body. Bend your legs as if you are trying to sit down on a chair and keep going down as far as you can. Do not let your knees go beyond your toes; you are not squatting down into a crouching position but squatting down as if to sit on a chair. Go at least as far as getting your upper legs parallel with the ground but the lower you can go the better. Keep your back straight at all times and then once you have gone down as far as you can push up through your toes to the starting, standing position.
Muscles Exercises: Glutes, hamstrings, thighs and core.
Body Parts Toned: This is probably the best exercise for an all-round workout and is essential for all women who want to get a toned body. It targets the most common areas of compliant such as the bum, thighs, calves and stomach. Do not skip this exercise!
Dumbbell Lunges: Get into the same starting position as the squats but this time take a big step forward with one leg. Pause for a second or two then push off the floor with that front leg to return to the starting position. Take a big step forward with the other leg and repeat the exercise.
Muscles Exercises: Glutes, hamstrings and thighs
Body Parts Toned: This works similar muscles to the dumbbell squats and also tones the same areas. Do this in combination with the squats to ensure you are giving these muscle groups and body parts a thorough workout.
And that’s it for this guide on how to get a toned body. You can finish off with some ab work such as crunches, traditional sit-ups or the plank but remember the rule about keeping the reps low and the weight high. Doing 100 sit-ups is pointless. If you want to tone those muscles then you need to do lower reps with a heavier weight and this also applies to the abs and stomach muscles. Try weighted crunches and keep the rep range in the eight to 12 bracket to really workout those muscles and get a toned stomach.
If you want to get toned using a kettlebell instead of a dumbbell have a look at our Women’s Kettlebell Workout.
In the past the main debate when it came to what type of figure you preferred or wanted to poses came down to skinny vs. curvy. Now things have changed and the new buzz on the fitness, health and fashion scenes is all to do with how toned is the new skinny. Due to this lots of people now want to know how to tone your body and this article will help explain why you might want to do this and how you can go about it.
This is one of the biggest misconceptions in the gym and if you ask most people using the cardio machines such as the treadmills, the stationary bike or the elliptical trainer they will tell you that losing weight is their number one priority. Doing cardio exercises are a great way to increase your fitness levels but when it comes to losing fat then there are much more effective ways to use your time that you should be doing first before you even think about getting on the treadmill.
A lot of you reading this might be concerned about adding too much muscle and starting to look like a bodybuilder. This is something you should not worry about at all. To get to the stage where people are commenting on your muscles and size takes years of heavy lifting and serious dedication. Not only do you have to lift heavy weights but in order to become big and bulky you also need to eat lots of food so that your body can convert the extra calories into muscle. If you train at a medium intensity and stick to a sensible diet then the chances of you starting to look like you should be on stage are next to nothing. If it was that easy to get big and muscular then there wouldn’t be so many men grunting and huffing and puffing in the gym!
If you don’t have a home gym containing the latest and greatest home exercise equipment there is no need to worry! There are still many ways you can get out of breath and move closer to your goal of improving your fitness or burning off a bucket load of calories. While it might not be as easy as hoping on an exercise bike or treadmill, good home fitness training without expensive equipment is possible and it can even be fun. One such way is to use your bodyweight and perform a number of exercises at a fast pace with minimal amounts of rest in-between.
Just because you train at home and don’t have access to all the fancy machines at the gym it doesn’t mean you can’t get the results you want when it comes to building solid muscle mass and getting in great shape and getting a good bicep workout is no exception. The arms are the first part of the body people look at when trying to decide if someone is in good shape or not and the arms can be a great indicator of whether someone has a great physique under their clothes or are just a flabby wreck with a fat back!
If you are training at home when you can’t make it to the gym or are doing all your workouts at home and don’t have a gym membership then there is some equipment we really recommend you should have. You don’t to go out and buy a power rack or anything like that but some weights are needed as body weight exercises at home can only get you so far.
Standing Bicep Curl: this is a classic bicep exercise and the one we will be starting with. It can be performed with a dumbbell or a kettlebell or pretty much any heavy object so is great for the home trainer with little to no equipment.
If you are lucky enough to be a member of a gym that keeps its weight training equipment up to date then you might have noticed something new in your gym that looks a bit different from all the other heavy weights and machinery that makes up most of the gear in the gym.
Well that is a good question and as the name suggests they are exercises that are performed while your body or parts of it are suspended above the ground. Now if you suffer from vertigo don’t worry! When performing this type of exercise there is no need to go higher than a few inches or feet at the most off the ground, there is no use of tightropes or trapezes required! Although there are already lots of different types of suspension straps on the market, from different brands, each with their own styling and features, the majority of products available do have a common appearance which is of a length of toughened material that can be adjusted in length. At each end you will find some kind of handle that you can either hold onto or put your feet through. Depending on the price of the suspension training equipment you have there could be just a few different types of handles or a wide variety of them. The larger number of different types of handles you have the more exercises you can perform. Although it is worth remembering that like most weight training equipment the core gear tends to get used the most while the more exotic equipment ends up gathering dust in the corner. This is also true with suspension strap accessories so in most cases you needn’t splash out on the most expensive product that comes with all the bells and whistles you might not ever use.
So now that we know what suspension straps are it might be a good time to find out why you should be thinking about adding these dynamic exercises into your routine. Although people have been getting great results from the dawn of time lifting heavy weights there is always room for improvement and incorporating elements from suspension training workouts into your routine can be a great way to mix things up a bit and bring new muscles into play that you didn’t even know you had.
Although you can get a great workout by only using these straps and bodyweight leverage training we recommend you keep using the free weights but try to incorporate suspension training exercises into your regular workouts. This way you get the best of both worlds and can increase your strength and grow your muscles in the traditional way with your existing workout but improve core stability and develop those underused supporting muscles by using the suspension straps to perform bodyweight leverage exercises.
When it comes to home workout options for women there is no reason why you should avoid the type of exercises that are popular with male trainers. Your average gym going female might have different workout goals to most men who train with weights but by using tried and tested workout routines and fitness equipment women can make great progress in the gym or at home without attending special women-only classes or following gender-specific exercise routines.
It could be said that the kettlebell is a one piece gym in that it offers a great level of versatility allowing you to target multiple body parts and perform literally dozens of exercises with just one piece of small fitness equipment. Due to this level of versatility they are excellent for men who want to expand their biceps or build up their neck and back muscles but they are also ideal for women who want to tone their legs and upper arms as well as sculpt their butts and thighs. Simply performing different movements with different weighted kettlebells can allow you to train with completely different outcomes in mind making them ideal for both men and women trainers who do not share the same fitness goals.
Due to their origins, emanating from deepest, darkest Siberia, the kettlebell isn’t a piece of fitness equipment you would immediately associate with women trainers wanting to get in shape. But despite its core fan base this type of gym equipment is ideal for those wanting to get toned and in shape without the hassle of having to join a gym or kit out your spare room as a home gym. Even if you do train in a gym a kettlebell workout for women can make a great addition to your existing workout routine.
As the popularity of kettlebells has grown over the recent years, they have slowly began to catch the attention of savvy female trainers who aren’t afraid to implement fitness and exercise strategies that have traditionally been the preserve of male trainers, in order to get the results they want on their own terms. If you are willing to step away from the exercise machines in your gym and pick up the harder to handle free weights then you will begin to reap rewards far beyond what the resistance machines can offer you. If you are prepared to expand your horizons in the gym beyond the Swiss ball and the hip abductor machine and start training with a kettlebell then you might just be in for a pleasant surprise.
So now you know why this type of workout can be great for women trainers you might want to know what the best kettlebell workout routines for women are. Well the swing mentioned above is a great place to start as it is the core of most exercises using this type of free weight and it is relatively easy to perform in terms of technique. Just make sure you start with a light enough weight and practice on getting your form correct before moving to a heavier weight. Follow these steps to perform the swing which is a great kettlebell workout for women and men alike:
Until recently there has only been one industry standard certification for those wishing to be a kettlebell instructor and that was the Russian Kettlebell Challenge Certified Instructor, or RKC as it is known for short. This is a three day course which comes with a hefty price tag which can be as high as $2500. From those who have done the RKC course the reports say that this is a gruelling three days during which you have to truly earn your certification. There is no easy way to bluster your way through this program I am afraid and you have to not only talk the talk but walk the walk when it comes to handling the iron. Due to this it is not surprising that not everyone passes first time which although is a shame for those who fail it does give the qualification some credibility as we have all been on some sort of course or training seminar in which everyone passes no matter how little effort they put in; this is definitely not the case here! Even if you don’t plan to become a kettlebell instructor this course is a great way to vastly increase your knowledge of using this type of fitness equipment and is also a great way to put yourself through a tough workout that perhaps left to your own devices you might not be able to fight your way through. Being surrounded by likeminded individuals who are all supporting each other to reach their goals and push themselves to their physical and mental limits is a great way to spend a few days and can help raise your training to new levels.
Although this Russian kettlebell certification is the best there is of its type, for some it might be too much in terms of time commitment and financial outlay. If either of those applies to you then there is still an option available to you that comes well regarded within the fitness and personal training community. That alternative to the Russian kettlebell certification is the Hardstyle Kettlebell Certification, or HKC as it is also known. The HKC is better suited to those with either less time or money to spare as it only takes one day and costs a fraction of the price of the RKC. Although it only lasts a third of the time of the longer more expensive RKC course the Hardstyle program teaches you how to design your own workouts using this piece of gym equipment by following a template that gives you the framework to create countless new exercises and variations on existing moves. It also looks at using these free weights from both power and strength perspectives to help you tailor your workouts for different goals. Due to the lesser time requirements of this new course it is quickly growing in popularity and is proving increasingly popular with those not quite ready to attempt the more demanding Russian kettlebell certification and with those who just have a passing interest in this type of training and want to know more and get a cert at the end of the day.
So whether you are a personal trainer who wants to become an expert in delivering kettlebell training instruction or you just love using these unique free weights taking one of the certifications available is something you should definitely consider. Having a bit of paper to say you know what you are talking about is always a good thing when it comes to finding work and clients and although it doesn’t always mean you know what you are talking about it can’t hurt your chances at all. Even if you don’t plan on working as a kettlebell instructor but just want to make sure you are performing your workouts correctly and get a raft of new ideas to help you advance towards your fitness and muscle building goals one of these courses is a great way to spend a day or three and could even save you money in the long run as you won’t have to pay for professional instruction from a holder of one of these kettlebell certifications. These courses are open to those who are at a suitable fitness level and are a great way to devise a tailored kettlebell workouts for women and men alike.