What would be the best way to tone up, not necessarily build muscle?

[clay7160]

A little background.....i lost 100lbs in 5 months, i want to continue losing but want to start doing things to tone up...any suggestions, i was going to use resistance bands at my house, but my doors are not being to receptive to the door stops used in the exercises i planned on doing. and i cannot do cross-fit or p90x due to my knee...is the gym my only option?

 

[slogoat]

OT here, but are you the Clay that knows Duy in abbeville and Joe in breaux bridge?

 

[onelochevy]

100lbs in 5 months? Damn you must be like a flying squirrel with the lose skin, huh?

 

[brfd557]

100lbs in 5 months? Damn you must be like a flying squirrel with the lose skin, huh?

Damn why don't you just kick the man in the nuts? Why not try to look at the positive side of things or just give a few words of encouragement , the man lost 100 lbs which is one HELL of an accomplishment and to that I say congrats and keep up the hard work!

 

[king4456]

1 word....Steroids!

 

[slogoat]

Damn why don't you just kick the man in the nuts? Why not try to look at the positive side of things or just give a few words of encouragement , the man lost 100 lbs which is one HELL of an accomplishment and to that I say congrats and keep up the hard work!

+1 on that.

 

[king4456]

Seriously Yoga might be an option. I played it quiet a bit on my wii fit and it will kick you but trying to hold those poses.

 

[onelochevy]

Damn why don't you just kick the man in the nuts? Why not try to look at the positive side of things or just give a few words of encouragement , the man lost 100 lbs which is one HELL of an accomplishment and to that I say congrats and keep up the hard work!

Totally agree that is a huge accomplishment. How did you do is so fast? What's your secret?

 

[biggin215]

I'm actually in the same boat. I lost 60lbs in 4 months.

Big thing, eat lots of green stuff. Since you said crossfit is out.... cardio like a mofo then. Also, lots of high rep/low weight routines.

 

[southerner985]

lots of reps...

 

[onelochevy]

biggin215, if you dont mind me asking, what was your starting weight before you lost the 60lbs. I've been working on it since June, and have only managed to drop from 306 to 282. Feels good losing what I have, but I know I could have worked harder and progressed further. I have a hard time working out consistantly, but thankfully I've been able to stick to clean eating and counting my calories.

edit - Clay, also curious to see where you started and where you are now. Seeing people drop lots of weight has always been good motivation for me. Also, I dont know if you're familiar with bodybuilding.com, but lots of good workout routine info. on there. I read alot of good info. on that site when i first decided to lose weight and it has been a tremendous help. Lots of good motivational threads on there as well.

 

[XDguy]

Due to having a specific knee injury why not go talk to a physical therapist (I only say this because some trainers may not understand how to work around your injury).

 

[clay7160]

OT here, but are you the Clay that knows Duy in abbeville and Joe in breaux bridge?

yeah

 

[clay7160]

100lbs in 5 months? Damn you must be like a flying squirrel with the lose skin, huh?

ask ya mom....

for the rest of the non douche bags.....just want to start doing something before it starts occuring

 

[slogoat]

yeah

Oh cool. I believe I've met you a time or two at meets. Perhaps the meet at Brandon's a year or two ago when he still had the turbo car.

 

[clay7160]

Following HITMAN's suggestions, gave up all soda, only drink water, water, water, skim milk, coffee, grilled instead of fried foods, more vegetables, do not eat 3 hours before bed, log all I eat on fitday.com and take multivitamin, b12 complex......that was month 1 & 2. Month 3, 4 & 5 started riding my road and mountain bike for cardio. And this month i started doing burst training on treadmill and mountain bike.

 

[clay7160]

Oh cool. I believe I've met you a time or two at meets. Perhaps the meet at Brandon's a year or two ago when he still had the turbo car.

is this john?

 

[slogoat]

Yep, John with the blue gto. I've been trying to get Duy and Jason and some others to get together for a shoot. Hopefully we can find a good place and convenient time for everyone. If we end up getting something together I'll pm you.

 

[clay7160]

anyway getting back on track....yeah i was thinking more reps, lighter weight at the gym..the only other other would be a bowflex type gym at home....yeah the physical therapist is not a bad idea, i know 1 i can ask.....any more ideas you can give, i appreciate it.

 

[johnnyb333]

First off, Congrats man!!! That is a huge achievement!!! According to a lot of sites out their anymore then about 2lbs. a week is could be considered dangerous/unhealthy, but I say hell you did it and you are here, so HELL YEAH!! Really impressive. Secondly, everyone needs to take it easy on the guy who made the squirrel comment. Its hard to see what you are typing when you have your head so far up your ass.
Now, with that said, I think it comes down to what you are looking for as far as "tone" goes. The way I think of it is like our skin is kinda just a stretchy sack holding everything in. So, for instance, someone might be "toned" but you can't really tell. They just look regular and lean, but have great endurance, muscle strength, etc. To look toned, I think is something a little different now. One of the easiest things to do imo, is to look online at different physiques, and see what that you would like to strive for achieve, then figure out what it is they do. Long distance runner? Swimmer? Olympic lifter? etc. Then you can kinda model your routine around those principals.
Usually, "toned" means not super huge but ripped down decently, and has a look that says "yup, they are in shape." I would think that after losing 100lbs. in 5 months, you probably lost some muscle along the way. Which is fine, and I understand you aren't looking to bulk up, but you need to fill in the skin too if you want to have that toned look. I think everyone here hit on the head with the light weight high rep workout idea. Cardio is your best friend.
The gym is a great option, but resistance bands could still work. Have you tried the kind where you just stand on them to keep em anchored to the floor? Also, I think a lot of people skip over the challenge of natural body weight moves. Push ups and Pull ups are very very good. They have those doorway pullup bars for like 20 bucks. Not sure if they will work for your doorway situation, but look into them.
Even though the squirrel commenter seemed a total d-bag, there is also some truth behind having extra skin after major weight loss. Its just how it is. The skin has a natural elasticity, they will take some time to come back, and hug the muscles to give that toned look as well. In some cases, minor surgery to pin skin back etc. are needed in more serious cases.
All in all I suggest:
Light weight High rep
Plenty of cardio (keep your energy levels high)
Don't be afraid of lifting heavier from time to time, a little extra muscle will fill in those blanks real good.
If you don't go to a gym, just google body exercises and how to work out at home. there are tons of creative ways to get great resistance with out traditional weights.
Good luck and keep on going!!! You are doing awesome!!