How do I Choose the Best Toning Routine?

Choosing the best toning routine can be confusing, because there are so many different routines available. Toning routines are exercise routines that are designed to help build muscle while burning fat and keeping body mass low, which can be challenging. Keeping body mass down while trying to build muscle is difficult because traditional weightlifting routines tend to build muscle bulk, although there are ways to avoid this. To choose the best toning routine, you should pick one that includes a lot of cardiovascular work, focuses on repetition over weight, and fits into your routine so that you'll stick to it.

One of the most important elements in a toning routine is cardiovascular work. Cardiovascular workouts increase the heart rate for at least 15 minutes at a time, and can include walking, jogging, bicycling, swimming, elliptical machines, and jumping rope. It is imperative to do any of these activities for at least 15 minutes, because that's how long it takes for an elevated heart rate to cause the body to use its fat supply for energy. This burns fat, which is the most important way to achieve a toned physique. A toning routine aimed at maximum results ought to have at least five cardiovascular workouts per week.

Toning routines should have sets of exercises that are high in repetition. Three to five sets per exercise with at least ten repetitions in each set is a medium around which to build a toning regimen. Keeping the weight of the exercise lower and the repetitions higher helps one to burn more calories and fat, while helping to prevent building too much body mass.

Many toning routines are very specific about how often and when you ought to do certain exercises, and how often you should rest between workouts. When you do certain workouts for each body part is less important than that the body parts are exercised in a certain fashion. You can exercise every part of your body in a single day if time permits, but many people don't have the time or the focus to do so. Remember when lifting weights that you need to give yourself at least one day of rest before working a particular area of the body again to give your muscles time to rebuild.

Focusing on diet is a very important when dedicating yourself to a toning routine. It is important to eat a low fat diet and stay away from sugary drinks. If you do not eat properly, fueling the body with what it needs, avoiding fatty foods, and drinking an adequate amount of water, it will be very difficult to achieve a toned body.