How long does it take to tone up? Realistically!

[HighlandCow78]

AIBU to think that 4 (consistent) months of exercise, strengthening and eating well should be enough time?

I’m 5ft 6 and 68kg - Not massively overweight but I could do with losing about 5kg, that seems to be my ‘sweet spot’ weight wise. The real issue is that I really need to tone up - I’ve let myself go so my bum is basically non existent, same with my core and thighs. Too much wobble and little muscle! I’m very self conscious about this and want to feel good in bikinis, shorts etc again as we have a big family trip to Australia planned in February.

Planning to do 2 gym sessions (weights + resistance) and 2 reformer Pilates classes per week. I’m not massively into cardio, tried running and can’t manage it due to back problems so I’m hoping to up my steps via walking the dog and doing my commute to work by foot instead of driving. Trying to cut out processed foods + snacking and concentrate more on ‘real’ food, plus I’m going to up my protein intake which is probably lacking.

Is this enough or am I being delusional? Be honest!! 😬

I think this largely depends on what you mean by *toning up". You can lose weight at speed with sufficient calorie deficit but gaining muscle takes years of heavy resistance training. It probably took me good three years of lifting weights 3 times a week before I looked like I actually work out.
But you can definitely make some gains in the next 6 months with the right training plan.
I'm definitely in a "cardio is hardio" camp so I hear you.

I used intermittent fasting, helped me lose about a stone in 4 months. Reducing carbs and increasing protein and healthy fats alongside this helped as well. I wouldn’t bother too much about cardio, high intensity resistance training (cross fit) is better for losing the fat.

@Catza is correct, there’s no real such thing as “toning up”. There’s fat loss and muscle gains which most people mean by “toning”.

Fat loss requires less calories / more workout, and muscle gain requires progressive overload and extra calories.

It also took me around 3/4 years to get that gym-honed look, now I’m ruined by pregnancy and hoping I may one day get back to a similar place

Not right now though, too knackered 😂

Cardio is the bane of my life!

I’m not looking for major changes and am definitely not going for the ‘look like I work out’ camp (I applaud you, just not for me!). Really I just want to replace a bit of wobble with muscle and grow my glutes so that I have a bum that actually semi resembles a bum, not just my (genetically gifted, it runs in our family) flat pancake.

Would you recommend getting a PT? I’m a bit clueless at the gym but was hoping to just follow online workouts. Maybe not the best idea!

Cardio never gets easier!! Tried C25k and week 10 was just as miserable as week 1 🤣

You can "tone up" in 4 months. What you eat (note - I didn’t say diet!) is most important for losing weight. You’re after an enduring long term lifestyle change that’s sustainable. Hypertrophy trading builds muscles - the longer you do it routinely, progress will be commensurate. Genetics plays a big part. Anyway, you’ll see results in 4 months if you’re committed.

You can’t tone fat.

You can gain muscle and lose fat, but they’re two separate things. It’s shit I know.

First I lost a lot of weight by going low carb, low calorie and intermittent fasting. Then I started work on fitness. It’s taken me 9 months of hard work, but I now have really firm abs and defined muscles. Gym five times a week: half an hour each rowing machine, elliptical and treadmill, and in addition around 15000 steps a day brisk walking. But I don’t work, so have the time and energy to do all that.

I’ve been going to the gym consistently for 10 months, 5/6 times a week, mainly weights but also 3 spin classes a week, I have just started to see a difference when I look in the mirror! I track my calories but more for maintenance than weight loss.

I did 30 Day Shred for a few months with little visible gain ( fitness and strength got way better). Went on the Fast 800 and within 6 weeks you could see toned arms and an almost six pack. That quick and I was 48.

Most pleased with arms as everyone commented on what great upper arms I had.
So my recommendation is to do 30 minutes everyday of HIT ( Shred is actually only 20 minutes with a 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down) and focus on diet.

Hiya op...
I can only give you my experience, so t may not work for everyone.

I suffered a mental breakdown in my early fifties that had me not hardly moving at all for roughly three and a half years.

Ten years ago (turning 60) I gave up any animal based food, I purchased a rebounder (I found it more beneficial than jogging etc) I started very very mild exercise.
To improve my flutes in particular, I read from an advisor in his fifties, that one should be able to achieve at least thirty squats.... I'm quite stubborn, and I thought I'm gonna try... so whilst I brushed my teeth (two birds with one stone if your time is tight) I did ten squats... kept that up for a week and upped it gradually to the magic thirty.
What was gratifying was that my partner didn't know I was doing this.,and after he playfully had given my bum a squeeze, said omg, what have you been doing , your bum feels amazing...
I asked him to look, and he said there is a definite difference, and he said he can see it when I wear my jeans...
Years later, I now every morning do over a hundred.
So squats made a huge improvement for me.
Additionally, I find it easier to get up from the sofa, and when I'm in a shop, and an item is on the bottom shelf, I can now get up without needing to pull myself up via another shelf... it so improves self confidence too.
If you can manage sit ups, they have made my tum muscles improve too... I don't think I do the proper full sit ups... all I do, is sit on the side of the bed, put something on the floor to hold my feet down, then sit up straight, and lower my upper half down, but not all the way to the bed... maybe a tilt of halfway..
I started off with ten, and then gradually increased that number.... warning!! The next day, I couldn't cough without hurting, ouch!!!
That does go away with repetition, I do it every day.
This has resulted in a very firm tummy, and my partner can feel my abs (I can't see them) but he can definitely feel the definition under my skin.
My next aim is to try to contain my bingo wings... gee, I hate that term!

Good luck, you can do it with determination and motivation... I find it easier if I'm cross about something, as I can vent out my anger via exercise.
My now morning routine takes no longer than forty mins... but please start off slow, and build it up...
I hope it works for you, whatever you try.

Flutes...? I meant Glutes !!!

Former PT here.
The key is intensity and progressive overload. In other words, don't fart around in the gym like so many people do, chit chatting and resting. Go balls to the wall and stay focused. Keep increasing the resistance as you get stronger. Also, mix it up. Don't always do the same workout. The body adapts to it. You need to challenge your body in order for it to change. So try different strength training moves, or do them in a different order, different rep range, etcetera. Throw in some supersets and trisets. Remember to always go to muscle failure. Don't quit when you've reached the number of reps you want to do. If you can keep doing more with good form, do them.
Unless you particularly like it, I would skip the Pilates. If doesn't burn a lot of calories and is not good for building muscle as there is no way to achieve progressive overload. For your particular goals it seems like a waste of time. It will certainly help build strength in some of your muscles if you are a beginner, but you will outgrow it at a certain point.
I hate to say it, but you probably do need some cardio for the fat loss you desire, given your goal is to have visible muscle tone. You probably have better muscle tone already, but it's often not visible on women unless their body fat is quite low.
I'd go for three full body weight training workouts per week and two sessions of some sort of cardio, then add in the Pilates if you have time.
Or you could double up and do maybe 20-30 minutes of some type of cardio before or after your other workouts. Find something you don't dislike as much as you do running. Consider elliptical, spinning, rebounder, cardio kickbox or various types of cardio dance classes.
Walking is also great but unless you're power walking it's very low intensity, so the calorie burn is low.
Also, make sure you are using mostly free weights versus machines. Free weights build muscle faster. Do a lot of compound movements as well and do more sets for the larger muscle groups.

Why all this splitting feathers over the term toning up???

We know what op means

I did the 30 day shred and did see a difference

For you bum - I do 40 flute bridges and 40 squats a day and have a much better shaped bum now, it took about 6 weeks of consistently doing it to see a difference.

Not flute bridges but glute 🤣

I changed my flat bum in two months with 50 squats every longing and evening. I also lost 4kg in the same time with really consistent intermittent fasting 18:6.

As a language teacher, people often ask me "how long will It take for me to become fluent in English?". The answer is the same. "How long is a piece of string". That is not a snub to your question, but the answer will entirely depend on your starting point (do you have any muscle? What's your workout history? What does your current diet look like?) and your goals.

It takes many months even years of consistent effort to 'tone up' - that is to develop a strong at visibly toned physique. You need to build muscle in the gym, and shed fat to see the results of your hard work in the gym. You could realistically lose 10kg in 2-3 months at your starting point. You would lose a dress size and be noticeably leaner but I wouldn't say you would look toned in that timeframe unless you are not starting from zero.

The good thing is that when you start making small changes, you will see the difference. It takes time and consistency. You will almost certainly feel better before you look noticeably different.

There is a huge difference between losing weight (you can lose a lot of fat in 6 months) and building muscle/training your body, so it really depends on what you want to achieve. 💪

You can see reasonable changes in 4 months, I'd recommend an online PT though, i used one for a 12 week programme and found the support but also the training plan and macros etc were really useful. I carry on a load of the principles now and it's been a few years! She was reasonably priced as well, if you are interested definitely shop around though, ask questions and check reviews; I suspect some just have generic plans but good ones will want to chat about what you want, how long a day you have, equipment/gym accessibility and tailor it.

If not then just make sure your training sessions are split and effective and you track what you're eating.

I really recommend barre classes if you want to tone everything up and build some strength in your arms, legs and bum. If there aren't any classes available near you, then I love this online programme barreseries.com/

Barre will be a great complement to your reformer classes. If you can eat fairly well, do 3 barre classes and 2 reformer classes per week then you should definitely notice a difference in 4 months.

Also - more satisfying than just using the scales - take measurements of your biceps, thighs and waist now and re measure after a couple of months to use as your guide to whether your regime is working.

I do reformer Pilates and it has transformed my core/abs. It’s good for toning arms too, but not legs as the resistance isn’t heavy enough so you need gym for that. You can make a huge difference in the time you have.

I think you'd start to see a difference after about a month if you're doing a mix of cardio, strength training and being mindful of what you eat. I think you'd definitely be able to make a difference in 4 months.

You can get a PT for a couple of sessions just to get your feet wet and work on form and confidence. I would pick a programme and then work with PT on a from for specific lifts.
I have a couple of glute-focused programmes I purchased over the years that I am happy to send you if you PM me.

I wish this could be pinned to every single one of these types of threads!

OP, also, you can't really change your underlying body type / shape. When I was in my best ever shape I still had a sticky out tummy. That thing will never be flat.

Specifically for a bigger bum? Squats. Trillions of them at as heavy a weight as you can manage.