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2003/05/31, 07:18 PM
Hey all,
A friend of mine wants to shrink the overall size of her arms, and also tone them. She just doesnt want to have big arms. How can she accomplish this? thanks
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2003/05/31, 09:08 PM
This may seem like a contradiction but in order to tone you need to gain muscle. I did some research for a friend awhile back on reducing cellulite & improving muscle tone & found some very interesting information. By training for muscular gains(3 sets of 10 reps with morderately heavy weights & less than one minute between sets) & simultaneously reducing calories by about 500 per day lower than is required for maintenence people are able to lose about a pound of body fat per week and add up to a pound of muscle. Now from the sound of it, one would not think that a reduction in overall size would occur, but it did! The reason for this is that a pound of muscle is only half the size of a pound of fat, in some of the studies that I found the people actually lost up to an inch & a half on the circumfrence of their legs & a half inch off their arms while reducing the appearance of cellulite, I know that you did not mention cellulite but I figured that I'd throw that one in for general information. Also I would like to ease anyones fear of overdeveloping muscles, it simple does not happen like that. Developing large muscles is a complicated process that takes very careful dieting & training especially for women due to their unique hormonal system. Also even if it did happen & someone was unconfortable with their musculature muscle is the easiest thing in the world to lose, fat however is a little trickier.
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Patrick L.
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2003/05/31, 09:14 PM
Here is an ealier post that I think will help with the concept of fat loss versus weight loss:
The key to losing bodyfat & not mearly bodyweight has alot to do with calorie type & timing. Usually what happens when we diet is that we reduce calories and space out our meals which can be very detrimental to our conditioning efforts. There are a some basic rules to help make the most out of fat loss. 1) eat every three hours, this will speed up your metabolism & help to spare lean tissue. 2) avoid simple carbohydrates & saturated fats, the body processes them too quickly and stores them as fat. 3) consume 1 gram of protien per lb of bodyweight per day but remember only take in a max of 30 grams per meal, this ensures adequate nutrients for muscle growth and maintenence. 4) don't cut calories too drastically, this will cause a emergency state in the body & slow down metabolism, only reduce calories by about 500 less than you need for daily activity. 5) always do cardio after weight training, this helps to force the body to burn fat for energy during cardio. The list goes on & gets more complex from there but that should get you on your way. If you would like more info or don't know how to determine your daily caloric needs fell free to e-mail me directly or repost here on the board.
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Patrick L.
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