There is an age-old myth out there that in order to tone your muscles you need to use a different rep range than to build them.

 

You will commonly hear that heavy weights will make the muscle bigger, but isolation exercises will define them. There are also others who tell you that that low reps are for building muscle and getting bulky, but higher reps are to tone or define your muscles. 

 

Free weight compound exercises are also sometimes included in this myth. They are believed to be for great for growing the muscle (which they are), but not so great for defining them. For that you should use isolation exercises, some people say. 

Do any of these claims sound familiar?

 

If so, I can happily tell you that they are nonsense. The truth is, the only thing a muscle can do in terms of appearance is get bigger or smaller. That’s it. You cannot tone it, or sculpt it, or define it. You can only build more of it, maintain it, or lose it.

 

What people mean when saying to tone the muscle is usually to lose enough of the fat covering their muscles so those muscles become more visible, thus making their body look leaner and better. That’s all these words actually mean, but none of the things these people recommend will make it happen.

 

Why not?

 

Well, first, we already know that spot reduction is a myth. So, the idea that doing certain exercises or rep ranges will make a muscle bigger and bulkier while other exercises or rep ranges burn fat cannot be true in this context. Next, your body doesn’t actually know (or care) what exercise it is performing or what type of equipment it is using.

 

It has no cognitive abilities that will tell it whether the movement you are doing is a heavy compound exercise or a light isolation exercise. 

 

All your body and muscles react to is the amount of tension, fatigue and damage an exercise generates, which can vary depending on the type of exercise being done or equipment being used.

 

Lastly, the popular myth that lighter weight and higher reps are for “defining” and heavier weight and lower reps are for building muscle is one of the worst things you can possibly do.

 

Why?

 

Because, in reality, you lift heavy weight to build muscle, and then lift that same heavy weight if you want to actually maintain that muscle, just like I explained in my last post.

 

If you purposely lift lighter weight while in a deficit your muscles will respond and grow weaker and smaller. The “muscle maintenance signal” is simply not as strong as before and your body will react accordingly. 

 

As a result of the decreased demands placed on your muscles, some of the muscle you previously built are no longer needed and can be used as energy. Since you are in a calorie deficit, your body will love this additional energy and happily sacrifice and break down muscle tissue for additional amino acids. 

 

So, please don’t make this mistake and instead follow the steps I outline here.