I've been doing weights 3 days a week and cardio for 30 minutes after an hour of weight for the past 7 months and have lost 20lbs going from 155 to 135. My lifting pattern is basically 3 sets of 10 reps of 75% of my max weight.

My question is, how should I change my lifting patterns so that I get more toned? With the current lifting pattern, I'm losing weight and getting stronger, but my muscles don't seem to be any bigger.

 

more weight, less reps. Go up to 80-85% of you max. And switch up your workout. Have you been doing the same things for the last 7 months?

 

Why don't you post your routine, that will help the analysis. Sounds like you need more compound movements possibly.

Added mass = work + food + rest

Work: are you keeping your muscles under tension long enough? How many seconds does it take you to do 10 reps?

Food: have you been dieting to loss the 20#? Are you taking in enough protein?

Rest: Most of your muscle growth is going to happen while you're sleeping.

 

 

My routine is as follows:

Sunday:
Chest
3 sets of 10 Bench press
3 sets of 10 seated inclined press
3 sets of 10 butterfly press
Abs
100 inclined crunches
Triceps
3 sets of 10 Seated Triceps extensions
3 sets of 10 Close-Grip Bench Press
2 sets of 20 Triceps Kickback
30 minutes of treadmill after that

Monday
Shoulders
3 sets of 10 lateral raise with dumbbells
3 sets of 10 alternating front raise with dumbbells
3 sets of 10 Arnold press with dumbbells
Legs
3 sets of 10 squats
3 sets of 10 leg press
3 sets of 10 standing calve raises
30 minutes of elliptical after weights

Thursday
Biceps
2 sets of 20 dumbbell curls
3 sets of 10 barbell curl standing
Back
3 sets of 10 seated rows
3 sets of 10 lever seated rows
3 sets of 10 bent over dumbbell row
30 minutes of treadmill

Wow I had no idea what most of the exercise names were without looking them up online. I changed my diet by eating less for breakfast and lunch, eating the same for dinner intending to lose weight and hoping that the weight exercises will help me gain muscle mass, but so far only the lose weight part is working. I drink a cup of that whey protein shake after every workout. Its been pretty much the same exercises these past 7 months. I did increase in weight every month by maybe 5-10lbs depending on the routine. A few I've been at the same weight since the beginning.

 

If you are steadily getting stronger, then you are on the right track, even if muscle size isn't increasing much. First your body will compensate for the stress of lifting by increasing the efficiency of the muscle mass already there. Then, after that, is when the body will be forced to grow. Also, if you are losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, you won't really be getting any bigger.

Overall, I think the routine looks good. 3 days a week is great for an average trainee and your volume, is about right...maybe slightly high.

Only modifications I would make are to add deadlift, shrugs and a pullup/lat pulldown and ditch arnold press (can be tough on the shoulder girdle with bigger weights), one of the machine rows and trim away a bit of the triceps work. Could also swap an overhead press for the front raises.

You also need to vary your routine from time to tme...every couple months. Lots of ways to do this....change exercises...go to higher weight lower reps...pare down to simply hitting the Big 5 hard (Squat, overhead press, deadlift, bench or dips, pullups)

For size and strength, unless you are genetically bless, often less is more...might shake things up and just hit the big 5 in 2 days a week going hard and heavy...then sharpen up your rest and diet and see how it goes. If you pare away all the "detail" stuff and just get stronger in the Big 5, then you can't help but grow. Those excercises hit every muscle...other than calves and grip, but just hit those whenever.

Less is more, IMO...unless you are using drugs or genetically gifted.

 

Thanks Pull_T, I'll try to just concentrate on the big 5's this month. Seems like less time at the gym, but just tougher workouts.

 

Yeah...that's the point. Harder and heavier with more rest.

I think you'll get good results from it, but if nothing else, if you have done the same routine for 7 months, any change will be worthwhile. You can always switch back later.

 

Its not whether you do low reps w/ high weight or high reps with low weight, its how long you keep your muscles in isometric contraction, i.e. holding a pullup @ 90deg., bridge position etc.

Make sure you are eating enough protein,too. 1gram per lb of bodyweight if i remember correctly. Also, sleep is huge to gaining mass, get at least 8 hours

 

Pull-T is right, you need to vary your routine. Generally, the rule of thumb that my trainer uses is every two to three months... the body gets used to a routine, and no longer maximzes the benefit from the same routine; your body gets "bored". So, the trick is to kick around some of the exercises, increase the difficulty, change the mix, focus on different muscle groups and challenge your body once again.

And, for dietary habits, with some bias as I am an insulin-dependent diabetic, I eat a substantial breakfast, a decent lunch with moderate to high protein and a small dinner; two snacks inbetween meals. Eating lots of food at dinner time poses the body a challenge in processing food while you are essentially 'shut down' sleeping, and the process is less efficient. I find that a good breakfast squares me for the day....

As for muscle bulk, may be time to get real about yoru body type and proportion. I work out regularly and aggressively, using a trainer once a week to structure my regimen, and have acquired substantial muscle tone. But - at 6-2, I'm still 160, and probably always will be a beanpole. Vascularity/muscle tone is fantastic; my trainer uses me as an example of vascularity in the gym....., muscles are very efficient, but - no real bulk.