24 Jan Weight Training Secrets For A Toned Physique
Why do you exercise? We all exercise to be healthy, feel better and more fit. Having consulted with over a thousand clients, I’ve come to find that mosts people’s main motivation to train is to have a toned physique that will give them more confidence and health, along with all of the benefits listed above.
If your goal is a toned physique, then what’s the best way to get there?
From a training standpoint, a combination of targeted weight training and metabolic conditioning is the fastest and most sustainable route.
Metabolic Conditioning is all the rage right now because it is great for burning fat, improving endurance and overall fitness. These sessions are usually high intensity and leave you all hot and bothered at the end.
Metabolic Conditioning, is superior to standard cardio because it includes planned variations to attack you metabolic system differently.
This will keep you always progressing and your endurance sky high.
However, this article is going to focus on the OTHER half of the ideal training program:
Targeted Weight Training For A Toned Physique
If you have body fat to lose and have never worked out a day in your life, cardio isn’t a bad option to start with because it’s so simple. But to get a toned physique, build your metabolism, avoid injuries, and so much more, you NEED to do weight training.
With cardio alone, you could get thin, but you’ll never get the shape or muscles that most women and men desire.
Weight training is the ONLY way you can have the best of both worlds.
Weight training involves barbells, dumbbells, kettle bells, cables and other forms of resistance. There are other options out there, such as TRX straps, but conventional barbells, dumbbells and other weights have been around for a long time for a reason: When used properly, they’re the best tools to improve strength and sculpt a toned physique.
Targeted weight training is selecting the right exercises/reps/sets and changing them in the proper intervals. These programs often have a specific 12 week (or longer) goal in mind. For practical purposes, let’s write one together. Let’s say this program is for a female that wants to have a smaller waist, flat stomach, “high and tight” butt and a fit, but not bulky upper body.
Here’s a sample of what one day of a four day per week program would look like (PS: Below are all supersets. Using the A1, A2 example, you would do A1, then have a short rest, say 20-30 seconds, do A2, have a short rest, and repeat until all sets are complete):
Day 1
*Note: All reps below are assumed to be at a controlled, 2 second lower phase and as fast as you can control on the way up. Except the MetCon movements. Rock that shit as fast as your can control!
A1) Barbell Back Squats – Warm-up plus 4 sets of 12 reps
A2) Dumbbell 1 Arm Overhand Grip Rows – Warm-up plus 4 sets of 12 reps
B1) Barbell Hip Thrusts – 4 sets of 12 reps
B2) Push-Ups – 4 sets of up to 20 reps (Build number of reps to 20, then progress from your knees, to feet to feet elevated on a chair or bench)
C1) Upright Lateral Band Walks – 3 sets of 20 reps per side
C2) Jump Rope – 4 sets of 200 reps
MetCon: As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 10 minutes: 25 Burpees, 20 Kettle Bell Swings, 15 Jackknifes
Burpees
Kettlebell Swings
Jackknifes
In a targeted weight training program, there is a reason for every exercise.
All of the pushing exercises (push-ups) are balanced by the pulling (1 arm rows). The quad dominant (squats) exercises are balanced with hip dominant (hip thrusts). This is essential to having good posture and optimal performance. The exercises selected will optimally develop the abs, glutes, and total body strength that will burn more calories around the clock and help this client get the fit, toned physique that they want. While STILL burning a ton of calories during each session. When you compare this to most popular programs which contain random exercises that only increase your heart rate, I think you can see the difference is drastic.
Now imagine that you have a similar approach for each day over the course of 3-4 days a week, in 4 week rotations…can you imagine what the difference in results would be like?
Here’s some examples of Faster Fitness clients of what they we’re able to do when they started targeted weight training:
At Faster Fitness, we’re all about making it convenient to get fit and a toned physique. If you want to save yourself hours of learning and writing programs, hoping if it’ll be effective, then I encourage you to check out our Group Personal Training program by clicking the image below.
Thanks for reading. Now go make us proud!