I only want to get toned.

Introduction.
Since the 1800s early feminists have been fighting for the liberation of womens
rights and equality of the sexes within society. Additionally male attitudes have
changed as now women are seen as equal to men (as it should be). The modern
gentleman even embraces products/services perhaps previously associated with
women (heck Im a fan of rose wine and manicures).
However this revolution of equality has occurred everywhere but in the gym and in
terms of training, here sadly there exists a great disparity between the sexes.
Of course I'm talking about the preconception that exists in some women that lifting
heavy weights will cause them to get too big and muscular and thus opting to
avoid weights altogether or preferring to preform very high reps because this will
help achieve toned physique.... Toned hate that word hate myself for even writing
this word, yuck.

What is being toned?

The key question I ask people perusing that toned physique is, what you mean by
toned, explain this concept to me. The most common answer I have received is oh
errmmm like lose some fat.
And I ask you, other than diet, what is the best way to lose body fat? (If you said
cardio get in the bin right now!!) The answer is weight training. In fact studies have
shown heavy weight training within women has facilitated fat loss, and increased
individuals lean body mass
(Ballor & Keesey, 1991). This is
portrayed in figure one, where
the implementation of solely
weight training caused major
changes to an individuals
body composition (Willis & al,
2012).
And as research highlights an
increase in lean body mass
(muscular tissue) enhances an
F IGURE 1 E FFECTS OF EXERCISE ON LBM (W ILLIS & AL , 2012)
individuals metabolism as well
as their sensitivity to glucose (Sigal & al, 2007), thus an individuals carb tolerance
is enhanced, this means those naughty treats you eat wont spend a lifetime on the

hips, but rather it will be converted into useful energy (glycogen) and not
stored as fat.
As I mentioned earlier when referring to achieving a toned physique, individuals
generally refer to losing excess fat. Past research has identified that resistance
training (weights) whilst dieting has a positive association with future weight
management by preserving muscular tissue (Hunter, et.al 2008). So by engaging in
weight training you are in fact decreasing the chances of that unwanted fat coming
back to haunt you. This is occurs partly due to the preservation of muscular tissue,
as this type of tissue is so energy (calorie) thirsty increasing its presence will have a
positive effect on your ability to convert fat to energy, and increase the speed of
your metabolism, helping you burn even more fat.

But heavy weights will make me too big.

This preconception is ultimately holding you back, and stopping you from achieving
your dream physique, from a biological stand point there is no reason why heavy
weight training would have such implications on your body. Androgenic substances
play a huge role in determining muscular growth and response to weight training,
one of these substances and determinants of muscle growth is testosterone (yes
even women have testosterone). Female testosterone levels are by far lower than
males, concentrations are approximately 5% to 10% that of a mans. This means
unless you are taking external forms of testosterone or other androgenic substances
(naughty supplements) you will never be as muscular as the scary female
bodybuilder you probably saw on a Facebook post, or that guy curling in the squat
rack LOL.

Conclusion
Whenever an individual is trying to
lose fat, the training regime should
be centered on weight training, due
to multitude of benefits
preserving/gaining muscle provides
during a diet, and because you want
to ensure that weight stays off.
An easy way to visualize the
benefits of weight training on a
physique is to compare the
aesthetics of a marathon runner,
Paula Radcliffe, who primarily uses

aerobic exercise to one that uses resistance training, Lais deLeon, the
aesthetics differences are remarkable, (defo looking for Lais on Instagram
after posting this LOL), bottom line cardio or extremely light weights wont
get you that hourglass figure.
And whats worst you are burning away muscle which is making your metabolism
slower, so when you stop all this treadmill madness and eat that pizza, well youre
back to square one, maybe even worse off than when you started.
So enough of this segregation of the sexes when it comes to training styles and
philosophies challenge the preconceptions set out by silly magazines and societal
norms and lift some heavy weights reap the aesthetic and health benefits. Dont be
intimidated, remember your body is extremely strong, it has been designed to
tolerate child birth (the second most painful thing in the world, still think a kick in
the balls is worst LOL sorry ladies), so some heavy squats, deadlifts are not going to
do you any harm.

References
Ballor, D. L. & Keesey, R. E., 1991. A meta-analysis of the factors affecting exercise-induced changes in body
mass, fat mass and fat-free mass in males and females. International journal of obesity, 15(11), pp. 717-726.
Hunter, G. R. e. a., 2008. Resistance Training Conserves Fatfree Mass and Resting Energy Expenditure
Following Weight Loss. Obesity, 16(5), pp. 1045-1051.
Sigal, R. J. & al, e., 2007. Effects of aerobic training, resistance training, or both on glycemic control in type 2
diabetes: a randomized trial.. Ann Intern Med, 147(3), p. 357369.
Willis, L. H. & al, e., 2012. Effects of aerobic and/or resistance training on body mass and fat mass in
overweight or obese adults. Journal of Applied Physiology, 12(113), pp. 1831-1837.