For years the fitness industry has been inundated with the age-old request of wanting to look ‘more toned’ by males and females alike. Fitness influencers and so-called industry professionals have fuelled this misinformed idea for years, offering quick fixes and shortcuts to achieving that ‘toned’ look that so many long for. When, in reality, the whole concept of ‘muscle toning’ is simply a myth. There is no such thing.
You cannot ‘tone’ a muscle- You can make it bigger by training, or can allow it to get smaller by not training. In order to make muscles appear more visible, you must first have a low enough body fat percentage so as to not conceal the muscle. If your body fat is low enough, you must then have sufficient muscle mass to appear prominent or noticeable.
Essentially if you are asking how to tone a muscle, then you are asking the wrong question. If you are a beginner you should instead look first at how to reduce body fat percentage, typically through a calorie deficit. You should then look how to build muscle mass- through effective weight training and protein consumption.
If you are new to training, you will be able to lose fat and gain muscle mass simultaneously. Through an effective training programme and consistent diet management you will be able to shed body fat revealing the muscle underneath, whilst also growing that muscle to make it more visible- giving you more of the look you desire.
The idea that you have to lift light weight for lots of reps to achieve the same look is also incorrect. Both low rep-high weight and high rep-low weight training strategies will produce muscle hypertrophy. A combination of both can therefore be used to maximise the physiological adaptations required to give you the aesthetic look you are after- provided your training is accompanied with appropriate nutrition.