How to get tone without bulkiness?

I want to lean and tone my lower body. Basically getting rid of the fat out of BLT (butt-leg-thigh). I did weight training but ended up frustrated because my jeans and pants actually becomes tighter. When I measured, my thighs did got bigger!! so, i stop the weight and only do cardio.... Then, in a recent magazine I read something about how you can do weight training without putting on bulk as the result. Um... something about how many reps per second and how many second of rest in between o.o??? I got confused. Help....please ; ; .. & thanks ^^

I do weights and I think to just tone do alot of reps with small weights instead of 8- 12 reps and sets of 3 with increased weights. 

I've seen someone on this board say it isn't possible to gain muscle if you are on a calorie deficit diet - I don't believe that.  I also know I have good arm tone and maybe too good.  My thighs are also bigger than I'd like it makes it difficult to find jeans and slacks that fit right.

I will be anxious to see what others say.

Long term it's hard [impossible?] to gain muscle while not eating enough. When you start out your body is reacting to the new stimulus. But in short order [3months? Maybe a bit longer] your body will have adapted.

Think of it this way. If you're in a calorie shortfall your body is already lacking calories. It needs something like 4000 calories to build 1 lb of muscle. How is it supposed to manage that if you aren't feeding it even enough to maintain your current body mass? Body builders tend to go in cycles. Bulking gaining weight and muscles. Then cutting [dieting] to lose the fat they gained during the bulk. Hopefully not losing too much muscle.

On the bulkiness bit my biceps are smaller then four months ago. But they look much more impressive. Have I built muscle? Maybe a very little bit. Mostly they just stand out more.

How much rest between sets depends mostly on you and your body. If you're trying to move less weight then use shorter rests.  Usually higher reps say 10-15 are considered more endurance and less mass forming.

Women have a much harder time then men getting bulky.  OTOH we're all different and have different genetics. What works for one won't always work for you.

I can't tell you the number of people who have told me that i won't get bulky if i lift weights. LIARS ALL.  I totally bulked up.  That's just my body type.  I have friends who are similar.  I gave up on weights and started doing more "natural" body exercise.  By natural i just sort of mean using my body for resistence rather than weights. 

1. I did kickboxing--awesome awesome for the thighs and butt and hips.  AWESOME.  Also very very VERY good for the shoulders.   I am talking about kick boxing with gloves and hitting actual targets (punching bags, etc).  Not that tae bo crap.

2. Yoga COMPLETELY toned my arms (make sure you do ashtanga or a more active yoga class.  Sitting around and breathing isn't going to do much for your toning), and got RID of those back flabbies that ooze out above and below your bra. I am not KIDDING!  I've had those my whole life and they are gone now, because of yoga!  Whee!!   Try pilates too, but after about 8 months i grew tired of it.  It's not for everyone, but it does tone you up without bulk. 

And if you must do weight training--yes, high reps, low weight.  Those are all my suggestions.  Hope that helps!

I have the same problem.  I bulk up...that's just my body type.  I am finding that Husseyal is right.  Yoga, pilates and aerobics are the way to go for our body types.  Yoga for instance, IS strength training...you lift your own body weight.  To me, it's harder because it's more weight than picking up a 8 lb hand weight and throwing it around for a minute. 

Lower weights with more repetition will provide toning but less bulking then with higher weights and less repetition. 

EDIT - sorry, someone already suggested this.

Awesome inputs. Thank you all

(wow my message got cut off...) continue: My weight for legs resistance is currently 50lbs on thigh machine and 80lbs on leg press, probably not much for many, but by the 14th of the first rep and 7th of the second rep it burns. I will try moving it lighter and do more count/rep. Been trying to do Yoga, but my schedule hasn't permitted yet. :( Unfortunately I have bad knees... Any suggestions on what other natural body excercise without incurring hard impact on the legs?

Oh noooo! I just started lifting last week! I'm really enjoying it but I don't want to bulk up? I want to just tone, get rid of the flab!

I bulk up easily too but when I was working with my wonderful trainer a few years ago when I weighed 190lbs and really wanted to drop the lbs...he actually had me start lifting. Freaked me out but the results were amazing...In the end I lost 60lbs and had legs that were toned and strong. I could leg press 6 (45lb plates) on each side 540lbs and my legs were thin...it was fun to go in and work in with the guys and actually rep what they were maxing out on!!  After a heavy lift he always had me do some sort of movement without weight...like squat jumps or standing lunges.  Then back to hitting weights....it was fun. I wish I could find that motivation to work out like that by myself....

I do remember that when we started this my legs got bigger, I was building muscle under the layers of fat. But not long after the fat was burning and my new muscles started showing. 

I'm not saying everyone needs to go as heavy but don't be afraid of it.

jamiesgibson - Thats what I keep hearing from all the guys at the gym! So I'm gonna keep it up and see what happens! That's exactly what I need to lose....about 60lbs! 

vic99 be patient and it will work...keep up the cardio but i would do less intense and not as long on the days you work your legs, because you don't want to counter the hard work you are doing to build the muscle.

My advice to anyone who wants to TONE and weight lift, which don't cut it completely out becuase weight lifting helps prevent OSTEOPOROSIS (i think i spelled it right) and if your a woman that's always a plus for you!!!  But for tonning you want to do more weight less reps....

2 sets of 15  or so just got lower on your weights...if you usually curl 15 on your arms bump it down to 12! :)

Also i'm trying to tone the muscle I gained from volleyball these past years, and I'm doing pilates.  I've done it before and it helps it gives you 'dancers legs' lol or at least that's what they call it.  I just rather not have big thighs that's all:)

I hope my advice helps some!  And remember weight lifting is not all that bad just work to TONE and not build! :)

Hey all, just joined, I am a certified personal trainer (and I do nutrition), I don't claim to have all the answers or that I am more right than anyone else here, I'm just tellin you where I'm comin' from; I had a few thoughts to add... 

The muscle under fat thougt is interesting, but it is way easier to loose fat than to gain muscle, even for those "bulk-up" types; If you are consuming less calories than you are expending no way you will put on muscle and not loose any fat. Even if you are in a slight calorie surplus (eating more calories than your maintance with the purpuse of building muscle) you would still loose body fat. Plus, muscle is more compacted tissue. The true test is % body fat, weight is only to see progress, but body fat and weight don't mean anything if you don't like how you look.

Pilates, yoga, ballet, aerobics, all awosome!! especially if your body is a "bulk-up" type. But don't cut out resistance!! for all the reasons everyone else mentioned.

The low weight, more reps is the way to go. I like 3 sets of 10 reps with a quick shake in between, where the primary muscle is shaking in the 3rd set, but not really before that.

Two thoughts: are you stretching before and particularly after you workout? for both resistance and cardio? This is really important and ties to my next thought, your posture. Muscle imbalances can prevent you from using the correct muscles in an exercise. If you do a whole leg exercise, a quad and a hamstring, muscle imbalances can cause you to be working mostly your quads in all three!

even if you put on a little bulk, muscle burns fat so the more muscle you have the more fat you will burn. Also, only about 1% of women can truly "bulk up", we don't have the testosterone levels; it's possable you might be one of them, but even those women have to work really hard to look like that. you may gain muscle mass easily but only to a point.

use lighter weights but do more reps.

sweet, I tend to bulk up a bit when I lift too. I've been forced by health problems to switch to Pilates recently, and I must say I LOVE it. I'm keeping my firmness, but not bulking up (and not gaining weight like I tend to do when I'm lifting).  The theory in pilates is that you're doing resistance training with your muscles in an elongated state, so they don't bulk up. I don't know if I buy that theory, but it is changing my body, so who am I to argue? pilates is NOT just core work (although that's a big part of it certainly) it's also total body resistance training. if there's a pilates studio near you try a few classes, see if you like it (I don't recommend videos unless you have no instructor in your area, you don't get the form feedback that's all important to pilates).

oh my god i googled this and sat here reading it not knowing i was on CC! haha hi i miss you guys! <3

For those of you saying you bulked up, I would bet the farm you were eating over your maintenance calories. You don't just get muscle that easily. Ask anyone who seriously does weights. You don't accidentally gain enough muscle to bust out of your clothes. That takes tons of dedicated work outs and careful planning. It's easy to bust out of your clothes if you're doing weights and eating too much.

Also, there is no such thing as toning your muscles. You are either gaining muscle or not gaining muscle. Some things are really bad at putting on muscle like high rep/low weight training or pilates. You're doing the same thing you'd be doing if you were doing an actual weight program, but a lot slower and less effective.

If you're doing weights and you're eating under maintenance calories, what muscle you can put on is very small. What you are doing is saving your muscle while losing weight which will help you many times over while you're losing fat.

This might have been said already, so sorry for the repeat - but I just added twice-weekly two-hour yoga classes to my exercise routine about 6 weeks ago, and am ALREADY seeing a difference in my upper abs and arms (two spots where I hold extra weight).

It's worth checking out. Also, I have found yoga is a great way to relax and de-stress, and I find that my posture is better (key since I sit at a computer all day during the week) and my running form is better when I jog.

Good luck!


~ Colleen

Yeah, but..

1. Yoga Mostly Sucks

I realize that what I wrote above is going to rub a lot of people the wrong way, but like I stated in the beginning, it had to be said. While yoga is an excellent modality to help improve the mind-body connection, and it certainly is a valuable tool in the "overall fitness toolbox," it doesn't hold a flame to resistance training as far as what the majority of women want/need from their time in the gym.

 A good rule of thumb most women should follow would be to train three times per week while incorporating a healthy dose of soft tissue work and dynamic flexibility. Once all of that is met, then she can incorporate yoga into the mix.

4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know
by Tony Gentilcore, CSCS, CPT

So, are you lifting weights already? If not, yoga is not going to do you much good once you're past the limits of what bodyweight-based exercises can do for you.

Melkor, and spirochete, preach the good word.