“Do I need to lift a lot of weights to get muscle tone?” Angela B.
Most people believe that in order to get muscle definition they need to lift weights. The fact of the matter is you can tone and define your whole body without lifting a single weight.
Just think about those lean, buff military men doing push-ups and pull-ups. If you can lift your own body weight then you definitely have muscles!
However, most of us don’t have the desire to do push-ups and pull-ups. My personal favorite “total body toning” workouts are yoga and kickboxing. Vinyasa (Flow Yoga) and Ashtanga (Power Yoga) strengthen, “lengthen”, and tone your entire body.
I also highly recommend kickboxing. Kickboxing targets the problem areas such as the waist, hips, thighs and buttocks. Both styles of yoga and kickboxing are aerobic in nature. Through increasing your heart rate, you’ll burn a lot of calories and lose body fat which will result in definition and toning.
No matter what type of workout you do, it’s important to eat healthy – choose whole grain breads and pastas and cut back on refined sugars, high fat, and high sodium foods. Through aerobic activity and eating healthy you’ll experience a healthy heart, strong bones, and live longer, plus you’ll have a decrease in body fat so you can show off your new muscles!
Sara Holliday is a licensed marriage-family therapist, certified personal trainer, holistic health practitioner, and life coach. She resides in sunny San Diego, CA with her husband Brad and sons Kaden 2 and Ty 5. For more info visit: www.fitbysara.com.
By Sara on 08/2/08 in Columns, Featured, Fit By Sara, Main Feature
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