Don’t you want to be able to enhance your look, just like professional bodybuilders do before they walk up on stage? Anyone can benefit from these 6 easy ways to instantly look more toned like the pros. These little hints are perfect to use before a beach day, wedding, or date night with that special someone.
Get A Tan
muscle definition is much harder to see on white pasty skin. Having a tan automatically makes the curves of your body more noticeable. The grooves of your shoulders and abdominal muscles will be much easier to notice because of a slight shadow effect.
You don’t have to go to the extreme, just a shade or two darker will do just fine for most people. You can even go down to the nearest drug store and pick up some sunless tanning lotion if you don’t feel like going to a tanning salon. If you don’t believe me go try it. It will only set you back a few bucks.
Drink Plenty Of Water
Think of a dehydrated muscle cell as a raisin and a well hydrated muscle cell as a round juicy grape. If your muscles are dehydrated they will not look as full and prominent as they should. Hydrating your muscles is an extremely cheap and easy way to increase your muscle tone.
Water also has some other tremendous health benefits that you can read about in the article, 10 Reasons Why Water Is The Ultimate Health Booster
Dehydration is very common. In a study done on athletes only 15% of the participants were considered well hydrated. Don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink water. You can set a goal for yourself to drink a gallon per day. An easy way to do that is to get a gallon jug and take with you wherever you go throughout the day.
Take A Creatine Supplement
Since we just talked about drinking a lot of water, this tip follows up nicely. You may already know that creatine pulls lots of water in to muscle cells. If you are in a hurry to look tone you must be aware of your choice of creatine.
Creatine monohydrate tends to take longer for the effects to set in. It can take around a week to notice results and you may also have to go through a loading phase initially. A loading phase is when you feed your body much more than a normal serving. Loading phases last a few days up to a week.
When you are selecting your creatine, look for creatine hydrochloride or Kre-Alkalyn. They tend to act faster. If you need to look toned on short notice these are definitely a better option.
Carb Load
Eating carbohydrates fuel your muscles for training, and they also fill your muscles with glycogen. Your muscles are one of the main storage units in the body for glycogen because they use the glycogen for energy. Glycogen, like creatine, pulls water into the muscle cells.
The effects of carb loading will be greater if you are initially not eating too many carbs in your diet. For about 3 days before you load up, try to eat about 1/2 gram of carbs per pound of body weight daily. When you start to load, eat about 4 grams of carbs per pound of body weight everyday. Start your loading period a day or two before you want your results to peak.
In the first 4 to 6 hours of your day you can eat simple carbohydrates. The last part of your day eat complex carbohydrates that provide longer lasting energy. This will prevent the carbs from being stored as fat.
Do Light Resistance Exercises
Doing resistance exercises pulls blood into the muscles that are being used. Bodybuilders do simple exercises like pushups, or bicep curls with bands before they go on stage to compete.
Before you go on a date, go out with your friends, or go to the beach you can do simple bodyweight exercises to pump your muscles up and look more toned.
Improve Your Posture
Slouching with your shoulders forward and your back curved can make your muscles look less noticeable. If you keep your back straight and your shoulders retracted, your chest muscles will stick out farther. Your back and shoulders will look more flexed and toned.
Keeping a good posture is an easy way to prevent chronic back pain. It may take a little practice though. Bad back posture is not something that you can fix overnight. It will take a conscious effort to realize how you are standing, walking, and sitting.
Exercising your back muscles can make a good posture easier to get used to. The superman is a good back exercise to strengthen your full back and remind yourself to keep a good posture. Hold the position for 5 sets of 20 seconds before you have your next special occasion.
If you want to get lean, muscular, or toned then there is no substitute for getting in the gym and working out. But there is nothing wrong with looking your best at special occasions. Try these 6 easy ways to instantly look more toned like the pros. If it works for professional bodybuilders and figure competitors it can work for you too!
About Adam Pegg
