For a lot of people in the modern world, getting that toned, lean and fit look is a very common goal.
And why shouldn't it be? Looking slim, have a nice amount of muscle definition while being physically fit so you can go about your daily life without feeling tired or out of breath is a perfect recipe for living a long and healthy life while feeling confident and happy in your own skin.
I get asked how to achieve this type of goal a lot and there is a fair amount of confusion and mis-information out there surrounding this topic, so I thought I'd set the record straight and maybe you will have a better understanding on how to get that toned, lean and fit look.
The truth about lifting weights
Lifting weights builds and maintains your muscles which is very, very important for achieving the look we're after. Without building our muscles we can end up not having much shape to our bodies even if we are fairly slim/have low bodyfat.
For you ladies out there, lifting weights will NOT make you bulky. I repeat, lifting weights will NOT make you bulky. You won't wake up one day looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, you won't get so massive that people will mistake you for a man.
What it does do is give us a nice shape to our bodies and, combine with a reducing our body fat, will make us look defined and toned.
Losing bodyfat
Losing bodyfat is also a key component of looking lean and toned. We can build all the muscle we want in the world, but if it's covered by a lot of body fat there's no way it's going to be able to be seen!
We won't go deep into losing weight/bodyfat in this article (See previous ones for that), but keeping our exercise up and food in check to make us lose bodyfat is what is required to help us achieve the look we're after.
Choose your path
Now comes a bit of a tricky dilemma.
While yes it is possible to lose body fat and build muscle at the same time, this only really happens in the initial phases of weight training and doesn't optimise either goal.
When starting out, choose if the main aim is to lose body fat or build muscle. The training for both will stay more or less the same (Probably more cardio for losing bodyfat), but the difference will be in the food and how much you eat.
If you want to ADD something to your body (Build muscle) then we need to make sure we are eating enough for this to happen. If you want to LOSE something from your body (Lose bodyfat) then we need to make sure we aren't eating too much to ensure this can happen.
While each person is different, the general rule of thumb is if you are a slimmer person then focus on building muscle first and if you have a little bit to lose then focus on losing body fat.
What training schedule should I do?
For most people a good workout routine would be to do 2 x Upper Body workouts and 2 x Lower Body workouts per week with cardio added in when needed and when can be fitted in.
Now everyone is different and work/life schedules might mean this is difficult, but if you can this is definitely ideal.
If you have any questions or need more help with getting slim, toned, lean and fit then feel free to email me on adam@acmfit.com or find me on Instagram @adamcmorris / @acm.fit.
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