4 Secrets to Get Defined Muscles
Most people imagine having a slim body, with defined muscles, and in an optimal condition. However, few people stop to think about what it really means to have a defined body.
Without a doubt, being in shape is synonymous with health and good physical condition. Despite this, there are various ways to stay in shape. Having defined muscles is only one of them. In this article, we’ll explain what they are and give you some secrets for achieving defined muscles.
What are defined muscles?
It’s important to note the difference between having defined muscles and being hypertrophied. This difference consists of several aspects, among which genetics, training, and diet play an important part.
To clarify this point, we need to distinguish between two well-known concepts that are often confused in the world of fitness: definition and toning.
Muscle definition
In general terms, muscle definition refers to the loss of fat stored around the muscles, which allows them to be observed more easily.
Muscle toning
When we talk about toning, we’re talking about increasing the volume of muscle mass, which leads to more strength in the resting phase. Each individual has a different muscle tone and their level of hypertrophy tends to vary.
How to get defined muscles?
Based on the above and having clarified this conceptual difference, we’ll now tell you a series of “secrets” to get well-defined muscles based on the results you want. Let’s get started!
Tone up
This can be a bit confusing, even more so considering that this concept is often confused with muscle definition. However, you should have a certain amount of muscle mass before starting to define it.
Therefore, it’s important to have an appropriate and planned strength routine depending on your body type. This will progressively grow your muscles. The goal is to define and to do that, you have to have something to show.
Don’t get too anxious or impatient
When people start training, specifically in order to build or define muscle, they often enter with misconceptions and tend to lose hope easily.
People often believe that in a matter of a month, or a maximum of two months, they’ll have the results they want. However, to get defined muscles, you need to start by being realistic and not getting carried away by the claims made by people trying to sell the wrong idea about training.
Additionally, we also recommend understanding genetics, diet, mood, and training methods. Indeed, patience and reducing anxiety are one of the main secrets to achieving a good body.
Do cardio, but don’t overdo it
High-intensity aerobic exercises are important for burning fat mass. However, it’s important to find a balance between strength workouts and prolonged aerobic workouts.
In fact, when you spend too much time on aerobic exercises, your muscle can actually suffer the consequences and you can start to lose muscle mass. The idea is to define your body, not become skinny.
You can gain muscle mass in the first cycles of the training plan, doing intervals with cardio, but at a low intensity. Gradually over time, you’ll have to increase your cardio without neglecting strength exercises.
Rest
No matter how much effort you put into getting defined muscles, if you don’t take the time to rest properly, you’ll never achieve your goals.
Muscular rest allows your body to reconstruct tissues; that’s how hypertrophy works. In fact, while you’re sleeping, different hormones work on this process, among which growth hormone is an important factor.
Professional help to achieve well-defined muscles
Even though it’s not really a secret, this last recommendation will always be useful. Before getting defined muscles, you’ll need to turn to different people for help.
These should be your general practitioner, a nutritionist, a certified sports coach, and someone with experience in the world of training. Although it sounds like a fairly “trite” advice, it’s the best recommendation we can make in order to reduce the risk of injury and improve your results.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Fisiologia. (1988). Giornale Botanico Italiano. https://doi.org/10.1080/11263508809430596
- Santos, P. (2004). Fisiologia do Músculo Esquelético. Faculdade de Educação Física Da Universidade Do ….
- Quiroz, F. (2011). Musculo. Sistema Muscular.
- Salazar, J. D. (2001). Hormona del crecimiento. In Practica Pediatrica.
