What exactly is Muscle Tone? [Forum Archive]

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What exactly is Muscle Tone?

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Posted by: ByeGirlyArms

I can't find a definition anywhere. Is it just mass without body fat? Is it possible to have lots of muscle mass and low body fat and not be tone? What does that look like as opposed to someone with lots of muscle mass, low body fat and tone? or, are mass and tone mutually exclusive (you can have one or the other but not both)? Lots of workouts say to do low reps with more weight for mass but high reps with less weight for tone. So, is tone just some muscle mass with more endurance?

Thanks for any help clearing this up.

Posted by: atherjen

I hate the word tone. You either have muscle defintion or you don't.... what makes it? having muscle. the leaner you are, the more defintion you show and muscles look sharper and more prominant.

lower reps help build strength and muscle mass. super higher reps are more for endurance purposes and lack in the ability to breakdown muscle tissues- ie build muscle. IMO anyways.

Posted by: kvyd

Tone is simply a stupid term used to get people with localized fat to over work that certain area, when really all they should do is clean up there diet and maybe hit some cardio.

Posted by: LAM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ByeGirlyArms

Is it possible to have lots of muscle mass and low body fat and not be tone?

no, that is not possible.

but is is possible to have low body fat with and to not have defintion because there is no muscle...

Posted by: Jodi

Quote:

Originally Posted by atherjen

I hate the word tone. You either have muscle defintion or you don't.... what makes it? having muscle. the leaner you are, the more defintion you show and muscles look sharper and more prominant.

lower reps help build strength and muscle mass. super higher reps are more for endurance purposes and lack in the ability to breakdown muscle tissues- ie build muscle. IMO anyways.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

I hate the word tone

Posted by: vanity

Hello, we can't come to the phone right now.

Please leave a message after the "tone".

....bleeep...

Posted by: trHawT

Toned: to make firmer or stronger; often used with up: exercises that tone up the body. www.dictionary.com I think that's what you wanted. People might not like the word, but it is in the dictionary.

Posted by: ByeGirlyArms

I think some of you can see where I'm going with this... how many reps to do for best results AND WHY? seems "muscle tone" may just be a marketing catch-phrase? anyway, my current workouts have most exercises consisting of 8-12 reps. I was thinking it's time to go to 6-8 and bump up the weights. I don't want to just keep trying random programs just because of this marketing. I want something that truly makes sense (and works, right?).

Thanks for everyone's input. As you can tell, I'm still a newbie.

Posted by: trHawT

8-12 reps is fine. I usually stick to 10 - 12 reps. You should be adding weights in increments the stronger you get. Stay @ the same reps, just try to go up in weight.
It takes time.

I think I've gotten the most fiber recruitment from lower reps, heavier weights.

Posted by: DrChiro

From a physiological standpoint muscle "tone" refers to the level of firmness a muscle holds even in a relaxed state....you will find that people who exercise regularly with resistance tend to have a better tone (i.e. a firmer appearance to their muscle)

I think most people use the word incorrectly when they really mean definition...which is related more to your bodyfat levels and level of muscular development. As atherjen mentioned.

Posted by: boone

Right on Doc, that is what the word "tone" really means but almost all of the commercials use the word incorrectly. They use it to mean firmness but that is wrong. And then they say " perfect for those who want to tone up without adding bulk. What a bunch of morons. the only way to improve firmness is by forcing the muscle to grow. Man i want to slap the people who write those damn commercials

Posted by: trHawT

Posted by: Prince

I think when someone (typically females) uses the word "tone" they mean a little bit of muscle development and definition, but not bulky and ripped.

The funny think about it is it's so difficult to get bulky and ripped it's just silly that anyone would worry that it might happen by accident!

Posted by: bandaidwoman

From my standpoint, muscle tone is the resistance that an examiner perceives when passively manipulatiing the limbs of the patient. In the relaxed normal person, when a limb is manipulated at one of the joints, a certain amount of resistance will be encountered in the muscle, that is not related to any consicous effort on the part of the patient. Muscle tone is a good diagnostic tool. Hypotonia is decreased resistance to passive manipulation of the limbs, and hypertonia ,or too much muscle tone, is increased resistance to passive manipulation of the limbs.

Hypotonia tells us that the ventral roots from the spinal cord carrying motor neurons have been cut or that the dorsal root carrying the sensory fibers back to the spinal cord has been interrupted. It can also signify diseases affecting the cerebellum.

hypertonia comes in two forms, spasticity and rigidity. Parkinson's disease for instance has more of this type of muscle tone (rigidity.) Anyway, enough of this...it's saturday night for goodness sake.

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What exactly is Muscle Tone?

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