Ab and Toning Program

Muscle Coach Training Programs

At Muscle Coach we recognise that one size does not fit all. Therefore we have formulated multiple variations of each training program depending on your training frequency. Typically people will get better results with higher training frequency especially if they are past the beginner training phase. However you can still get good results even if you are restricted to just three training sessions each week as long as you diet and supplement properly.

Click on the link to the training program that best suits your training frequency!

• 3 Training Sessions Per Week (Beginner)
• 4 Training Sessions Per Week (Intermediate)
• 5 Training Sessions Per Week (Advanced)

Save a copy of your PDF training program and share it with your friends!

Introduction to Female Toning

Firstly before getting into the training program it is important to address an extremely prevalent myth on the subject of women’s toning. When thinking about what is involved in achieving a “toned” physique you would normally assume that this can be achieved simply by decreasing body fat or perhaps even by decreasing weight. However the reality behind a toned physique is that it is just as much about muscle as it is about decreasing body fat. The combination of muscle mass and low body fat percentage is what gives your body a firm, toned and defined appearance. If you simply rely on decreasing body weight or body fat to improve your physique then you will be disappointed with the end result as you will would better be described as skinny rather than toned.

What Goes into Building Good Abs and a Toned Physique?

• Strength training with weights
• Leave the high reps and light weights behind
• Incorporating ab targeting exercises
• Using diet for lowering body fat percentage

Strength Training with Weights

If you have done any research into what it takes to build a top quality toned physique beyond your friends recommendations you will no doubt have discovered that weights training make up the basis the exercise. Muscle mass is extremely hard to build even with the best of genetics. When being concerned with the possible adverse effects of weight training they are 99% certain to be imaging a women that has high body fat or a women that takes steroids. It is almost impossible to find a women who trains naturally and has low body fat percentage but has built too much muscle and no longer looks appealing. In short, building too much muscle is the least of your worries, in fact is exactly what you need to achieve your ideal physique. Furthermore did you know that weights training can actually be more effective in burning fat than cardio exercise? Weights training does two things to helps burn fat. It increases your metabolism for up to 72 hours after the actual training session (much longer than cardio exercise) and also increasing muscle mass results in an increased resting metabolic rate meaning your body will more easily move towards lower body fat.

Leave the High Reps and Light Weight Behind

There are those that finally realise the benefit of weights training for achieving a toned physique only to go about weights training completely the wrong way. High reps and light weights are not the way to improve muscle tone and definition. The basic formula for maximising muscle tone from weights training comes down to:

• 3 sets for each exercise
• 10-12 reps for each set
• 1-2 mins rest between sets

This means every set that you do during your training session you want to pick a weight that you can only do 10-12 reps. Don’t be afraid to push yourself, in fact if you want optimal results then you will need to push yourself. Don’t tell yourself that you can’t lift any more when you know that you actually could. The last rep needs to be full exertion or even a failed rep which means you can’t actually complete the full repetition.

Incorporate Ab Targeting Exercises

Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can spot reduce the body fat on your stomach by doing ab exercises. You cannot target your training towards losing fat in one specific area, your body will simply decrease body fat in the reverse order by which it was acquired which is determined by genetics. Although ab exercises are not the key to reducing stomach fat it would be equally foolish to think that you don’t need to train abs to have a great stomach. Yes, it is true that exercises like squats and other heavy lifts work your core muscles but you will never get optimal ab development without using targeted exercises. Another common misconception is that people think you need to train abs three times a week or in some cases every single workout. Abs are really not that different to any other muscle group and they typically cannot be beneficially trained more than twice each week and in most cases just once each week will be sufficient for maximal ab development and toning. Also when chosing ab exercises try to focus on exercises that involve ab muscle contractions rather than isometric holds. Isometric holds are good for building core strength but not good for building ab muscle size. This is why isometric holds are really more beneficial for people trying to strengthen their core for a specific functionality like increasing strength for compound lifts or injury recovery rather than improving the look of the abs.

Using Diet for Lowering Body Fat Percentage

Now you know that ab training doesn’t actually reduce stomach fat and you also know that weights training can be better for burning fat than cardio training. However the bottom line is that fat burning to reveal muscle tone and abs comes down to proper diet and nutrition. If anything you need to place more emphasis on getting a consistently healthy diet than you need to place on your training. This website has many great dieting resources which will make your training program for developing ab and muscle tone all the more successful.