Body Toning Exercises For Every Day Of the Week

What Does "Toning" Really Mean?
By Jillian Michaels

Let me just give a little clarification regarding the word "toning." The word has nothing to do with the size of a particular muscle; it refers rather to making a muscle lean by burning intramuscular fat, and conditioning the muscle for better performance.

You can't actually build muscle mass unless you're eating more calories than you're burning, but you can "tone" a muscle to make it leaner. To tone your muscles, you should plan to do weight training four days a week, working each muscle group twice a week, with two days of rest after training a particular muscle group.

For example, try:

Monday: Chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, upper abs, obliques
Tuesday: Back, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower abs
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Chest, shoulders, triceps, quads, upper abs, obliques
Friday: Back, biceps, hamstrings, glutes, lower abs
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Cardio

Remember, exercise is the architect, but recovery is the builder. You have to give your body adequate recovery time to heal itself and grow stronger. If you work out too often without resting, you'll just continue to break your muscles down.

JILLIAN'S TIP OF THE DAY

Afraid of Bulk? Women always tell me that they feel hesitant about toning exercises that require weights because they're afraid of building bulky muscles. Well, hear me out, ladies: It's extremely difficult for women to gain muscle mass, because we don't have testosterone like guys do. Using weights to tone your muscles will make you look trim and terrific, not big and bulky. Read more >>