How to get toned and defined without bulk

cmk8214 · 03-19-2009, 10:01 PM

Hi all, I have been weightlifting hard since November. But I feel like I have plateaued. I am building bulk and mass, but not seeing the definition and toned muscles I want. I am 5'7" and 120 pounds, so I don't have a ton of body fat. How do I start seeing the lines of the muscles...more definition? Here is what I am doing right now.

Mon: legs, back and biceps
Tues: triceps, chest, shoulders, and abs
Wed: cardio
Thurs: legs back and biceps
Fri triceps chest shoulders and abs

I work out for about 45 minutes. Any suggestions or advice?

stikfigure · 03-20-2009, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmk8214

Hi all, I have been weightlifting hard since November. But I feel like I have plateaued. I am building bulk and mass, but not seeing the definition and toned muscles I want. I am 5'7" and 120 pounds, so I don't have a ton of body fat. How do I start seeing the lines of the muscles...more definition? Here is what I am doing right now.

Mon: legs, back and biceps
Tues: triceps, chest, shoulders, and abs
Wed: cardio
Thurs: legs back and biceps
Fri triceps chest shoulders and abs

I work out for about 45 minutes. Any suggestions or advice?

you may have the kind of body type that will never show definition easily and there's not much you can do about it without starving yourself.
more likely than not though, your protein/carb/fat ratio is off. Take a look at your food intake and see if there's any room for improvement. You may think your body fat is minimal but how about your actual body fat percentage? you might be surprised. Curious what you find out when you take a good look at calorie percentages and body fat percentages.

Lazylifter · 03-21-2009, 06:48 AM

Also its worth making sure you are doing three different excercises for each muscle group.
Is there a particular part you more bothered about?

Really Stikfigure is right to get the kind of definition you see in contests requires a crazy diet, very low body fat,.... and possibly some misuse of over the counter and illegal drugs.

cmk8214 · 03-21-2009, 09:03 PM

Thanks for the tips! My diet is pretty good....I suppose it could always be better!!! I eat a lot of protien. What is the best way to take my actual body fat percentage? I should do that. I just assumed that becasue I am tall and thin that I didn't have high bodyfat. I am about 5'7" and 120lbs...what else do I need to know to calculate bodyfat?? Do these online calculators really work?

I am most bothered because my quads have bulked up a lot and my back, but not with a lot of definition or tone...just bulk and mass. I have also been trying to get more definition in my shoulders, but can't seem to get there.

So how many exercises, sets and reps per muscle do you ladies think? How many times per week? How much cardio? What do your workout weeks look like?

Thanks so much!!! I really appreciate this!

Lazylifter · 03-23-2009, 02:24 PM

By all means take a LOOK AT THE PROGRESS JOURNAL SECTION, BUT DON'T ASSUME THAT WHAT WE ARE ALL DOING IS IDEAL.
Oops sorry Caps lock on there.

I wouldn't worry too much about your fat%, but you can get an estimate from machines in Chemists and supermarkets.

If you feel your back and your quads are getting too bulky there are three things you can do:
1)increase the reps to 15 or 20 for maybe 3sets and reduce the weight. Still push yourself with the other muscles and keep the reps low (say 8-10 still 3sets).
2) only work these muscles as part of compound excercises, drop any isolation work you are doing on them if you haven't already.
3) Only work them on one day, pos with 20min cardio after.

Whatever you do don't stop working your back all-together that could be dangerous.

cmk8214 · 03-23-2009, 04:42 PM

Thanks lazylifter, three sets total...or three per exercise? I see different opinions everywhere and seem to be getting more confused. Some say three sets per three to four exersices per muscle (9-12 sets total per muscle)...some say more...some less.

Also, if I do a chest and triceps day. How many sets total for chest, and how many for tricpes. I know it should be less for triceps becasue I am working them when I do chest, but how much less?

Same for back and biceps day...less on biceps?

With my back I've been doing pullups, chin ups and various types of rows. Is that too isolated?

Oh, and you think cardio after weightlifitng and not before....any reason for this??

THANK YOU!!!

5kgLifter · 03-23-2009, 04:59 PM

I think the reason for cardio after weights is because otherwise you deplete the stores of glycogen (??) and therefore don't have enough energy to do the weight training session, or something to that effect.

Sets for body parts do tend to alter with the workout that is being done, mine is a basic 20 rep 2 sets, 3 -4 exercises per body part routine; so in effect, it could be said that most body parts get 6 sets of exercise, with some gettin 8 because there are 4 exercises for such as the shoulder area (within my routine, I mean). However, I do a full body routine, so lots of exercises and less sets per each exercise is the way to go. There is a recommendation as to how many exercise per body part to do, but I can't lay my hands on it right now.

However, this page might help a bit, it might give some idea of the sorts of reps etc:

12 Week Beginners Training Routine - Muscle & Strength