Achieving a toned body is one of the most common fitness goals for women after losing weight. However, it's important to remember that to attain a toned body, you must work on lowering the fat percentage in your body.
A toned body not only helps you look good due to greater muscle definition and tightened appearance, but it also provides numerous other benefits. Some of them include strengthened muscles, enhanced flexibility, improved posture, calorie burn, fat loss, and more.
A toned body also leads to greater agility and mobility, enhancing both physical look and overall health.
Best Equipment Exercises for Toned Body
We have curated a list of the five best equipment exercises women can incorporate in their workout routine to get a toned body:
1) Bulgarian Split Squat
Bulgarian split squats have an unilateral movement that helps in development of better muscle balance and body stability.
How to do it?
- Start off by standing a couple of inches in front of a chair or bench with your feet hip-distance apart.
- With your core engaged, position one leg behind the edge of the chair or table.
- With an engaged core, start bending your front knee towards the floor while allowing the other to bend naturally.
- Make sure to balance your weight on the front leg. Change sides, and repeat.
2) Cable Crossover
Cable crossover is also a good equipment exercise for women to get a toned body. The slow and steady movement of the exercise helps in toning of the upper body, including the chest muscles, back muscles, and shoulders.
How to do it?
- Start off by adjusting the cable handles to the level of your shoulders.
- Stand in an elongated position with your body slightly leaning forward from the waist and head and back in a straight line.
- Squeeze your chest muscles with the pulling movement, and engage your abs to bring your arms together in front of the chest.
- With controlled movement, bring them back to their initial position. Repeat.
3) Barbell Back Squat
This exercise can help in building explosive power in the lower body as well and strengthen the leg muscles.
How to do it?
- Start off in an upright standing position with your feet hip-distance apart, and position the barbell at your back across the shoulders.
- Start with the squatting movement by hinging down at your hips and bending your knee.
- Press through your feet to assume the starting position. Repeat.
4) Kettlebell Swing
Kettlebell swings work on several muscle groups and help strengthen and tone the muscles.
How to do it?
- Start off in a tall standing position with your feet shoulder-distance apart, spine stable, and core engaged.
- Grasp the kettlebell in both hands with your arms hanging loose and long.
- With your bodyweight on your heels, lower your hips backward and downward to gain momentum, and drive the weight to your chest height.
- Bring the weight back to the starting position. Repeat.
5) Lat Pulldown
Lat pulldown helps in torching fat in the upper body and build strength in the arms.
How to do it?
- Start off by assuming a seated position on the cable machine and clutching the bar in an overhand wide grip.
- Bring the bar down to your chin level while keeping the spine stable and back erect.
- Steadily and with control, return the bar to the starting position. Repeat.
Bottom Line
The aforementioned exercises are some of the best equipment workouts women can incorporate in their workout routine to get a toned and fit body.
Benefits include strengthened muscles, improved athletic performance, enhanced posture, greater flexibility, and more. Considering the same, you should consider including these exercises in your workout regime.