Fitness goals vary from person to person and not everyone likes the same type of body. If you are new to bodybuilding, I am sure you came across these “bulked” and “toned” muscle things.
It’s important to choose between toning and bulking muscle before starting the training. In order to choose, at first, we need to learn when strength training what is the difference between bulk and tone.
Toning up reduces body fat and tightens up the muscles while bulking increases muscle mass and gives you a bigger muscle size. These two types of muscle training involve different kinds of training and the results are different too. Bulking focuses on heavier weight and less frequency but toning focuses on the opposite.
Now you know the primary differences between toning and bulking muscles, but there’s more than just the basic things.
Toning and bulking muscle are two different types of fitness training and if you want to switch between them, you need to take care of a couple of things.
To know more about toning and building muscles, read the whole article before you rush to the gym.
Toning VS Bulking Muscle – What’s the Difference?
No matter if you are toning or bulking your muscles, you want to achieve the same goal, and that is keeping yourself in shape. Toning up keeps you fit.
It strengthens your muscles and keeps your body working. If you are not the “show-off” type of guy and just want to be a healthy person, toning is made for you.
Toning does not actually lengthen your muscles, not as they advertise in fitness centers. It makes your muscle look like lengthened muscles.
In simple words, you won’t be taller after doing this exercise but you will look like a taller person. Stretching and toning decompress your muscles which makes you taller, barely for a short period of time.
On the other hand, bulking or building your muscles is more focused on width instead of length. It makes your muscles bigger, literally bigger.
If you are a model or want to be one, building muscles is what you would want to do. Building muscles cannot be achieved without regular exercise, unlike the toning thing.
Positive and Negative Effects: Toning Muscle VS Bulking Muscle
Both toned and bulky muscles have their own positive and negative sides. You must know the effects of doing this kind of exercise before you start rushing to the gym.
Although a lot of people think that building muscles is all-good for the body and has no side effects, it is not correct.
Especially if you are going to bulk your muscles, your instructor may ask you to take steroids. These body-building medicines are not good for health and have bad effects if they are taken for a long time. The benefits of muscle building are that you can stay fit and be more powerful.
If you want to go for toning your muscles, make sure that you are not weak and have enough weight. An underweight person can get sick after toning their muscles as this process consumes a lot of calories.
For an overweight person, toning is going to help a lot as toning muscles reduces the fat and reduces the extra weight of a person.
In short, both toning and bulking up have their own positive and negative effects on a person’s body. Considering these effects is necessary before choosing one.
Things to Consider Before Choosing One
Before you start, I have a question for you. Are you slim or fatty? A slim body needs enlargement of muscles and strength, while fat persons need a fit body with longer muscles. Exceptions exist, but these are the basic assumptions for general people.
If you are a woman, you need to take more food than a man would do if you want to bulk your muscles. You might be surprised but that’s the truth.
Women do not have enough testosterone to build their muscles enough. Men have a high level of testosterone, thus they can take less food and gain more muscles.
I would recommend a fat person to do the toning exercises. I am a fat person and I know how it feels to have a heavy body and no strength at all.
By toning up, I lost a lot of pounds that were totally unnecessary to my body. Bulking up involves intense exercise, initially not for a fat person.
But if you are slim, you really need to gain some weight. That’s why I would recommend building your muscles first. Bulking your muscles will help you gain strength and be a fit person.
Nevertheless, you should follow your instructor and medical professionals. Body-building is generally considered good but it can do some harm if you don’t follow the right instructions according to your body.
Training for Toning Muscles and Bulking Up
So, I think you have taken your decision by now and want to do either bulking or toning exercises. If you are into toning muscles, you are going to aim for muscle endurance.
To do that, you need to choose some light-weight dumbbells. Make sure the dumbbells are not heavier than your body weight. Once you have managed to get the properly weighed objects, it’s time to get started.
Do the weight lifting regularly with low intensity. You need to repeat from 20 to 30 times in a single session.
There should be no recovery time in general, but you may choose to take 20 seconds at most depending on the weight. Short pauses are recommended, and repetitive exercises are better for your body.
Now if you want to bulk your muscles, you need to do exactly the opposite. Get some heavily weighed dumbbells before starting. It’s your challenge to lift heavier than ever, and with high intensity. Repeat for 10 times at most, take your time.
For building your muscles, you need a longer recovery time, more than you could’ve done for toning up your muscles.
Hydrate yourself, take a minute of break and lift again. One thing I should have mentioned before, that no matter what you do, you must eat a balanced diet and do your exercises regularly.
Transition from Muscle Bulking to Toning
You might be doing muscle bulking exercises for a lot of time but now you want to switch to toning. You are already familiar with lifting weights and eating high protein food. Now it’s time to start the transition to the toning phase.
First of all, you will need to change your food habit. The whole point of toning is burning more calories than taken. I know you were taking protein powder and high calories, but now you cannot do that anymore.
You may think that how am I going to keep my fitness if I don’t take enough food? Remember, your muscles are already well-built, you do not need to build your muscles again.
Keep lifting weights as you did before, this will burn your fat and not your muscles. Once you lose enough weight, it’s time to start eating again. Now you are able to switch to the toning habit totally without harming your body.
Conclusion
Bodybuilding is a passion for some people and a necessity for some. For perfect fitness, it’s important to choose the right type of exercise.
People are often confused about the difference between toned and muscular body types before they start doing their fitness training.
I hope you were able to understand when strength training what is the difference between bulk and tone muscles after reading this article. Good luck.
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