Toning up

KwackerJack

So I'm 27, 6 foot and weight 80kgs approx!!

I'm looking to tone up but as I work long hours and have kids at home to run around after I'm looking for ways to tone up with out spending hours a day working out and mixing shakes.

I don't expect instant result as I'm in no rush so any plan will be fine.

What foods should I be staying away from and what should I be eating. Are shakes need to tone up or are they for building muscle??

I like swimming and cycling so I'm not completely lazy


I will be doing a food tolerance test also as I have Psoriasis and notice some weeks where I eat less it does not flare as bad!!

So any idea's...not looking for a wonder plan just something simple to stick with.

sorry to be a dick, but what does toning up mean to you?

Find a photo of someone "untoned" (similar to yourself) and then "toned" (your goal). It will make it a lot easier to figure out what you mean.

(for perspective, if someone is a big bulky guy they could well have a lot of muscle, so a fat killing diet could be needed. If someone is a skinny little thing with no body fat, it's time to eat it all and lift it all)

KwackerJack

Deleted User wrote: »

sorry to be a dick, but what does toning up mean to you?

Find a photo of someone "untoned" (similar to yourself) and then "toned" (your goal). It will make it a lot easier to figure out what you mean.

(for perspective, if someone is a big bulky guy they could well have a lot of muscle, so a fat killing diet could be needed. If someone is a skinny little thing with no body fat, it's time to eat it all and lift it all)

Its OK it's not your fault

I'm not skinny but not fat per say....Bit of a belly popping up and the chins creeping in :eek:

So it just to get rid of that without losing to much weight if you get me??

From about 14/23 yrs odd I was pretty fit due to swimming/cycling everyday in Australia the the Army at 17!

I'm kinda stocky but as I said I wont to lose some excess fat but not lose the weight if that makes any sense.

okay, you fit into the generic "body composition" improvement.

Eating paleo/primal/whole food style whilst lifting weights will see you make progress quite quickly.

You wont put on muscle unless you eat enough, you wont lose fat unless you do enough, you wont put on weight/size if you eat just right and do enough. The latter is what you're after. A nice gradual change into a lower bodyfat without a massive 'size' changed version of yourself.

Have you any interest in weights as a training method? Or would you be more of a cardio / swimmer in terms of where your interest lies.

Diet part is simple: Eat vegetables all the time. The greener and leafier the better. You won't be able to eat too much of this. Eat meat & fish plenty as well. Eat some eggs, avacados, nuts, cheese an some fruit. Drink water and coffee, tea, green tea.
Try not to have too much outside of that. Cook food as you like it, butter is preferable to vegetable oil when cooking most things. Bake/Grill / Season / Boil / Fry / Steam / Raw as you please.

Training. High intensity is king. If you're lifting weights, low rep, high weight. If you're into the cardio side, it's sprints and "as hard as I can" exercises. No 90minute low intensity crawls, 20minute bursts where your lungs are falling out are what will get your body out of "fat storage" and into "always prepared" mode.

That's a pretty easy 'programme' and would work for 90% of people. If you want more specific answers, fire away with the questions. Have a look at the Nutrition101 sticky, and if it's weight lifting you're interested in, something like Starting Strength, or Stronglifts 5x5 first.

KwackerJack

I have a basic set of weight and a bench her at home and a decent mountain bike so I can do both no problem. Thing is I don't want to get to much muscle as Id like to keep my motorcycle leathers longer than a few months lol

I love tea so that's a plus..always eating fish,chicken,eggs,cheese and fruit. I suppose I'm just not doing enough exercise to compliment the food!!