What is muscle, and how can it be built or avoided

 What is muscle, and how can it be built or avoided

"Please don't give me any weights work - I don't want any muscle, I just want to tone," one of my female clients frequently says. The reasons vary from client to client, but they all seem to stem from a misunderstanding of what muscle is, how we build it, and what it has to do with weight loss - or some combination of the above. Outside of the fitness world, there is a lot of misinformation about muscles and what they do, so I'd like to spend the next two articles debunking the myths.

WHAT EXACTLY IS MUSCLE?

I'd never given much thought to the'stuff' between my skin and bones when I was younger. I realized that muscles were what bodybuilders had, and fat was what made you fat, and that I had a little of both. But I think I thought they existed inside some other substance that filled the space between my skin and bones. Then, in secondary school, I discovered that the majority of this magical substance in a healthy person was simply muscle. In fact, I discovered that, aside from my organ networks, blood vessels, and nerves, and my skeleton, there isn't much under my skin except muscle and fat.

I discovered that muscles were an incredible network of fibers that allowed me to move my limbs, sit or stand upright, talk, breathe, and pretty much translate any thought I had into some kind of action. I discovered that if I didn't use them, they would shrink and weaken, but if I did, they would grow stronger. And I discovered that as my muscles improved, so did I.

All of this was quite a revelation for me at the time, so I understand why so many of my clients are perplexed about why they want to tone without building muscle. However, muscle is the only thing under their skin that can be toned, and 'toning' often simply means that muscles become slightly more visible (which then makes the whole body look smoother and firmer). There is nothing that can be toned if there isn't enough muscle to begin with.

BULIDING THE APPROPRIATE MUSCLES

Muscle is an incredible network of fibers that allowed me to move my limbs, sit upright, talk, breathe, and pretty much translate any thought I had into some kind of action. There is nothing that can be toned if there isn't enough muscle to begin with. For many women, the image they associate 'women' with'muscle' is one of a female bodybuilder in peak competition shape. Long, intense workouts over time are required, as is a baseline level of testosterone. Not all training results in size gains, and working with a competent trainer will ensure you get the results you want.

Often, the clients I speak with have no objections to the idea of a little muscle. The issue is that many people are unaware that it is not a 'all or nothing' situation. Unfortunately, due to a lack of clear information in the media, the only image they have to associate 'women' with'muscle' is one of a female bodybuilder in peak competition shape. Not that there's anything wrong with wanting such a physique if that's what a client wants, but for the majority of the women I speak with, the prospect of developing such large, defined muscles is quite frightening!

Those kinds of muscles, on the other hand, do not develop quickly or easily. Long, intense workouts over time are required, as is a baseline level of testosterone - a hormone that most women do not have in sufficient quantities (without the use of steroids, at least) for size to become a problem. Granted, women with naturally high testosterone levels (like myself!) will gain muscle faster. Even for me, muscles don't appear fully formed overnight. So, if I notice I'm gradually gaining size in an area where I don't want it, I can easily change my training in that area to gradually reduce the size.

Furthermore, many people believe that lifting weights will automatically increase muscle size. The truth is that not all training results in size gains. In strength training, you can experiment with the weight, the number of repetitions of the movement, and the amount of time you allow yourself to rest between groups of repetitions (or sets). Training with a heavy weight and performing low repetitions in each set will increase strength; training with a medium-to-heavy weight and performing medium repetitions will increase muscle size; and training with a lighter weight and performing high repetitions per set will increase endurance.

In practice, it's not quite that straightforward, and there are other factors to consider. The important point to remember is that not all training will increase muscle size, that some muscle is required to tone, and that working with a competent trainer will help ensure you get only the results you want from your training.