Tone & Definition:  How to get “toned” and “defined.”

We’re now at a section in this guide that I feel like I’ve already mentioned about 100
times. The reason why is because the misinformation about “tone” and “definition” is
spread across many different areas of weight training. And, every time I reached one of
those areas thus far, I just had to bring it up.

So really, at this point, there’s not much left to say about it. But, don’t worry. I’ll find
something.

[4 seconds later]

Ok, I got it.

NOTHING TONES A MUSCLE! NOTHING DEFINES A MUSCLE! NOTHING MAKES
A MUSCLE RIPPED OR CUT OR SLIM OR LEAN OR SCULPTED OR ANY
EQUALLY HILARIOUS ADJECTIVES THE ESSENTIALLY MEAN THE SAME THING!

Ah, that felt good.

For all of that to make sense, you need a definition of what those words truly mean.
Since they all tend to be used interchangeably and really mean the exact same thing,
I’m just going to use “tone” to refer to this entire group of words. So…

What is “tone?”

Tone: To have some amount of muscle on your body AND then have a low enough
body fat percentage so that this muscle can actually be seen. The more muscle you
have and the less fat you have covering it, the more “toned” and “defined” and “ripped”
and “cut” you will appear to be. The more fat covering your muscle, the less visible it will
be and the less “toned” you will appear.

Things that will NOT make you “toned.”

• Higher reps WILL NOT make you toned.
• Lighter weight WILL NOT make you toned.
• Machines WILL NOT make you toned.
• Certain exercises WILL NOT make you toned.
• Magical machines/products/supplements that claim to make you toned (usually
for “3 easy payments of $19.95”) WILL DEFINITELY NOT make you toned.

Why? Because none of these silly things (myths) directly target the fat covering the
muscle you are working.

Why? Because NOTHING directly targets the fat covering the muscle you are working.

Why? Because the idea that you can burn fat from one specific area of your body by
doing exercises that target that area is known as spot reduction… and SPOT
REDUCTION IS A BIG STUPID IMPOSSIBLE MYTH THAT CAN NOT ACTUALLY
HAPPEN NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO.

Why? Because the human body is only capable of losing fat from the entire body as a
whole. Exactly where on your body you lose fat from first, second, third, etc. is
predetermined by your generics whether you like it or not. No exercise, type of exercise,
form of exercise, amount of reps, sets, or anything else can change that and allow you
to burn fat from the exact spot you want to burn it from. It sucks, but it’s true.

Got all that? Good! Now let’s get to the really important stuff…

How to actually get “toned.”

So now you’re probably wondering if “tone” (or any of the other 80 words that mean
“tone”) is even possible.

Good news… it is! And all it takes is just 2 simple things:

1. Build some amount of muscle.
2. Lose enough fat so that the muscle you have (or will build) can actually be seen
rather than covered by a layer (or many layers) of fat.

Taaadaaa!

Use all of the info you just learned throughout this guide to put together a proper weight
training program that will allow you to build muscle (or, better yet, use one of my fully
recommended sample programs).

Then, using your diet, cardio activity, or a combination of both… lose some fat from your
body as a whole. It will eventually come off from the exact spots you want it to and
therefore allow you to appear “toned” in those spots. (The full details of the diet and
cardio stuff are coming up later on).

And that’s it.

The fact is, if you don’t appear as “toned” as you want to appear, then you either need
to build some more muscle, lose some more fat, or do a combination of both.

Why most people never get “toned.”

The problem is, most people believe the stupid myths mentioned earlier, and instead of
doing what they need to be doing (building muscle, losing fat), they’re wasting time
doing a bunch of useless crap that isn’t actually helping them get toned (or doing much
of anything else, really).

Not only is “light weight for high reps” and other such nonsense NOT directly targeting
the fat covering your muscles, it’s also NOT providing the type of training stimulus
needed to actually build muscle in the first place.

So, neither of the 2 things you truly need to be doing to get toned (building muscle,
losing fat) are actually happening in this scenario.

And, while many guys might find themselves in this scenario, the majority of women
who weight train are nearly always in this scenario. It’s due to a combination of A) “tone”
usually being the goal of most females, and B) the fear of getting too “big and bulky” like
a guy (which is another stupid myth I’ll be destroying in a few minutes) scaring them
away from doing the stuff they should be doing.

So, all of these people (men and women) are just wasting time and accomplishing
NONE of the things that need to be accomplished in order for a person to get toned.

Please, don’t be one of these people.

So, if you truly want to get toned, don’t be like these people. If you already are, then just
stop now and fix it. How? For the last time…

Muscle + less fat = tone.

So… use a proper weight training program comprised of the right types of exercises, the
right amount of frequency (and split), the right amount of intensity (weight being lifted
and number of reps being done per set), the right amount of volume (amount of sets
and reps and exercises), and then focus on making progressive overload happen as
often as possible and make sure you eat to support muscle growth (more on that later).

This will supply the “muscle” portion of what it takes to be toned, and I just spent the last
100+ pages explaining every single detail of it (and included sample programs later that
put it all together for you).

Then, for the “less fat” portion of appearing toned… set up your diet in a way that will
cause fat loss to occur. The full details of that are coming up later as well.

That’s it. Can I PLEASE stop talking about tone now? Pretty please?