How to Tone Your Body With Full Body Toning Workouts
We all have a different set of fitness goals but toning up seems to be one that we all share. A toned physique can take time to fully form, but we can first notice results in a more defined appearance even when at rest. There are two elements when considering toning workouts: building strength and reducing body fat percentage. Each hold benefits beyond muscle definition and can be gained through consistent exercise. To help you stay motivated and achieve your body toning goals, let’s unpack how body toning exercises can benefit your overall fitness and how to get there with FS8 workouts.
The benefits of body toning exercise
Body toning workouts generally include a combination of strength training and cardio workouts. These exercises don’t just help with toning, they can also add to your overall health and wellness. Here are some of the benefits you can expect from FS8 workouts to tone the body.
- Strength: Achieving a toned body requires muscle building and increasing our lean mass. Whether you’re working out once per week or multiple times, everyone can experience results.¹
- Mobility: Static strength training is important to help tone the body and can improve our range of motion when we incorporate additional weights into our exercises.¹ The use of light resistance weights is common in FS8 classes, and our expert trainers will happily modify movements to suit your pace and ability.
- Endurance: Conditioning exercises support a body toning workout plan and improve our endurance. They also help us activate more of our muscle, resulting in greater efficiency when working out.²
- Long-term adaptations: Consistent body toning workouts can improve long-term tendon function, muscle mass and power.3 Some research suggests that these toning exercises can also help lower blood pressure, reduce joint paint and transform your strength through posture.
It’s important to understand how the benefits of body toning exercises can differ for everyone. Some people may naturally lose weight, build muscle and recover quicker because of their genetics.4 FS8 are here to get the best results for each individual and surround members with a community that’s motivating, empowering and supportive.
If you’re after a workout plan that can help you tone up and contribute to your broader health, find your nearest FS8 studio. Read on to learn the best way to tone your body for long term results.
How to tone muscle in 5 ways
So, why is FS8 so effective? We take a holistic and functional approach to training that considers your lifestyle alongside your fitness goals. This same ethos informs our five key concepts to achieve and maintain a toned physique:
- High intensity workouts built from low impact toning exercises
- Training with a focus on strength and resistance
- A weekly conditioning session to support your body toning workout plan
- Creating a toning workout plan that’s sustainable for your lifestyle
- The importance of hydrating and nourishing your body
Let’s have a deeper look at each of these training concepts and which FS8 workouts are best for toning up.
1. High intensity, low impact
High–intensity training is essential to achieving a toned physique. Intensity refers to working your body to a state of fatigue by getting your heartrate up – either through interval training or completing multiple reps. While high–intensity exercise means working your body hard, it doesn’t mean you need to overextend yourself. Low-impact workouts don’t put needless strain on your body, so you can work up a sweat and still protect your body potential injury. Low–impact exercises also make it easier to manage high blood pressure during exercise, as they’re comfortable and adaptable5. FS8 body toning exercises are built around this concept of high–intensity, low–impact movements.
2. Strength and resistance
Body tone is all about creating muscle definition even when at rest, so workouts to tone your body need to target strength building and resistance. Resistance–based workouts – like pilates – are a great workout style to build strength. Workouts that incorporate activation bands, dumbbells, and sets of body–weighted exercises are ideal for toning up6 and can be experienced in our strength-based classes. Yoga usually involves static strength exercises which also support overall toning and flexibility through slower movements.
3. Full–body conditioning
Conditioning workouts aim to increase stamina and cardiovascular endurance, supporting our capacity to work out and maintain a routine.7 Conditioning workouts are made up of exercises with lighter weights but consist of a higher rep count. While conditioning alone won’t create a toned physique, it’s an important element to help bolster workouts to tone your body. You can do this by incorporating a weekly full–body conditioning session into your workout plan, like our FS8 Hybrid classes, which blend cardio and strength exercises.
4. Keep it sustainable
Body toning workouts aren’t just about physical health and looking good, it can be one of the best ways to relieve stress and care for your mental health. To maximise results, read our guide on how to stay motivated to workout. It’s important that your body toning workout plan is tailored to both your fitness goals and your lifestyle needs. It can be helpful to find group fitness classes, so you have the support of a likeminded community to keep you motivated.
5. Hydration and nutrition factors
When learning how to tone your body you’ll discover that results aren’t just about what we do when working out but are also influenced by what we eat and drink. There’s strong evidence to suggest that increased hydration helps with weight loss.8 A healthy, balanced diet with adequate protein promotes an increase in muscle strength and lean body mass9, giving us more energy to sustain a regular workout plan.
Body toning exercises to focus on
At FS8, we deliver a variety of low-impact, high energy group fitness classes that tone your body and build strength and flexibility. Below, let’s explore some of our favourite exercises from our full-body toning workouts.
- Lunges: Great for toning our lower body and improving stability.
- Planks: Tones our stomach and strengthens our core.
- Push-ups: Improves upper body strength and composition.
- Squats: Strengthens our core and lower body. Squats are also powerful for calorie burning10.
- Arm raises with dumbbells: Effectively tones our shoulders, chest and arms.
- Deadlifts: Delivers full-body toning and helps improve posture.
- Running: Tones our legs and improves our cardio system and stamina.
These are only a few of the toning exercises we use in FS8 workouts. We’ve revolutionised body toning by incorporating a combination of mat and reformer pilates and yoga exercises to improve your muscle definition, functional strength and mental wellbeing.
Now that you’ve discovered how to tone your body, learn how to master pilates breathing techniques.