When you look in the mirror, are you happy with what you see? Sadly, many women aren’t happy with their bodies.
Even though every body is beautiful, some of us are more confident when we’ve been hitting the gym. If a toned, fit body is your goal, there are healthy ways to get the look you want and feel great in the process.
My Fit Foods is here to help you holistically and mindfully transform your body while putting your safety first.
What are your favorite toning tips?
While there are many ways you can get toned, some of them are easier than others (and don’t require expensive gym memberships).
Instead, you can simply make sure to move your body every day, getting up off of the couch and out into the world. For one of our toning tips, you don’t even have to leave the house!
1. Take the Stairs
How often do you take an elevator or escalator instead of the stairs? Did you know that if you choose to walk to that second or third flight, you’ll tone up your leg muscles?
It’s true. Taking the stairs can be great for your physique. In fact, it can be great cardio, too, since you can always sprint up the stairs for a better workout.
This doesn’t even take into account going down the stairs, which uses a slightly different set of muscles. No matter how you climb, this simple workout can give you results!
2. Go for a Swim
Swimming and muscle tone go together like peanut butter and jelly. The very act of getting into the water and doing some laps — no matter which stroke you choose — can help tone up your entire body.
Swimming helps build your arm and shoulder muscles, legs muscles, and even the muscles in your core.
Plus, you don’t need a lot of equipment to go for a swim. All you need is a towel and a bathing suit! (And maybe some goggles, depending on your preferences.)
3. Walk as Much as Possible
Yes, driving or taking an Uber is easy — and we know not every area is walkable. Still, if you try, you’ll find out that you can wander around your city and get toned in the process.
Need to run to the gas station for some healthy snacks? Walk the mile that it takes to get there. Want to spend some time out in nature? Head to the nearest park and hike up a trail.
The best thing about walking is how versatile it is. You can choose your pace and even the elevation that you want to tackle, so you can customize your entire workout.
4. Drink Plenty of Water
Exercise isn’t the only way to get toned. You also need to make sure that you’re doing everything that you can in order to be able to see that muscle tone you’re building. This involves switching out some of your usual beverages for one that’s free of calories: water.
Just replacing two bottles of soda daily or skipping those fancy (yet tasty) coffee beverages in favor of a bottle of water or two can make a big difference in your calorie consumption. Plus, you’ll be well hydrated, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
5. Eat Protein
Protein helps you build muscles in several ways. This macronutrient provides energy for your body, giving you the fuel that you need to spend 30 minutes swimming or run up those three flights of stairs.
In addition, by eating more protein than you do carbs and fats, you’re giving your body something to burn, not store. This is great for your metabolism and your fat-loss goals. As you continue to eat plenty of protein each day, you’ll see the results appear!
6. Cut Back on Carbs
Carbs are a micronutrient with an opposite effect. If you eat a lot of processed carbs, like white bread and snack cakes, you’re providing your body with enough fuel to give you a quick burst of energy … followed by a crash.
After that crash, you’ll want to reach for even more carb-heavy foods. If you fail to burn them all off, you’re giving your body enough to turn into fat stores.
Thankfully, you can still eat some carbs, as long as you make sure that they’re whole or unrefined and unprocessed carbs. Think: bread made from whole grains and whole grain noodles.
You still shouldn’t eat too many carbs, but if you want to include them in your diet, make sure that you’re reaching for the healthy ones. Your muscle tone will thank you.
7. Learn to Relax
Stress is something that can help you gain body fat, not toned muscles. Stress causes a rise in hormones that essentially activate your fight or flight reflexes, which cause your body to want to store fat in case of an emergency.
This is the way that humans have been wired for centuries. By letting go of your stress, you’ll see more muscle tone appear.
8. Do Some Interval Training
Have you ever done intervals? This type of workout is a bit more intense than some of the other suggestions on the list, but it works quite well.
Start off by marking your distances. Choose a certain distance to walk and a shorter one to run. For example, you may walk half a mile, then run a quarter mile. You start by walking, and then switching to running, and then switching back and repeating the exercise.
Intervals are designed to help tone up your legs in ways other exercises don’t. Plus, they’re good for your cardiovascular system.
9. Take a Yoga Class
There’s nothing that can help you tone up quite like a yoga class. Not only is yoga good for your mind and soul, but holding those poses can help build up your muscles.
You’ll get stronger and more toned every time that you practice yoga. Even better, you don’t need to pay for fancy yoga classes or head to a studio if you don’t want to. You can look up a free class on YouTube or elsewhere and just take it.
As long as you’ve done some in-studio yoga before, you should have no trouble adapting to the poses.
10. Clean Your House
Remember how we mentioned that you don’t even have to leave your house in order to get toned? This form of exercise can be done inside of the house, and it has an additional benefit: You end up with a nice, clean home.
How can cleaning help you gain some muscle tone and definition? Well, think of all of the bending, stretching, crouching, and standing that goes along with cleaning your bathroom, kitchen, and more. Add in vacuuming, and you’ll up your step count easily.
11. Spend 20 Minutes Per Day on Your Feet
Getting toned doesn’t take a lot of time. You don’t need to spend hours upon hours every single day working out. Instead, you can get up and do something (anything) on your feet for 20 minutes a day and still see positive results.
You can take a quick walk around the block with your dog, spend some time gardening outdoors, or do anything that you want … as long as it doesn’t involve sitting down in front of the television or snuggling up with a good book. It’s that easy!
Getting Toned
As you can see, there are many ways to tone up your body, most of which don’t require a pricey gym membership. You just need to change some of your habits, switching out unhealthy ones (like driving everywhere) for healthy ones (AKA, walking whenever possible).
By taking the stairs instead of an elevator, spending time cleaning your house, and even attending a home yoga class or two, you’ll find yourself toned up and wanting to show off your musculature. After all, you worked hard for it, didn’t you?
If you have any questions about this or anything else, please contact us!
Sources:
9 Easy Expert-Approved Ways to Tone Up Without Even Trying | Byrdie
10 Ways to Tone Up Without Killing Yourself at the Gym | Elle
8 Secrets to Getting a Toned Body at Home Without Spending a Penny | Health Shots