How to lift for toning

Q. I want my muscles to look defined and toned, not bulky. Should I lift lighter weights for more repetitions or lift heavier weights for fewer reps? I keep reading conflicting opinions. I've been training using weights that are very difficult to lift at the end of a 15-repetition set. Is this about right?

A. First, realize that muscle definition depends largely on your body composition. "You can have very toned and firm muscles, but if there's a lot of fat on top of them, you won't see it," says Los Angeles fitness trainer Ken Alan. How much fat you carry depends, of course, on your genetics and your eating habits, as well as your exercise program.

As for your strength routine, right now you're at the upper end of the repetition range generally recommended. It's great that you're pushing to "failure" -- that point at which the last repetition is so difficult that you can't do one more. "Most people just stop at 15 whether they're tired or not, so they're cheating themselves out of the benefit of the set," Alan says.

There's no magic formula for best results, but to gain more strength and muscle tone, try increasing your weight a bit and dropping to the eight- to 12-rep range for a few weeks. Then boost the weight even more and drop to six to eight reps. After a few weeks, change the exercises. Use moderate weight, do eight to 12 reps and focus on technique. After a week, increase the weight to challenge your muscles more. "For many people, changing their program seems to offer the best results," Alan says.

Meanwhile, don't worry about getting bulky, even if your muscles get slightly bigger at first. "It's hard enough for men to put on bulk," Alan says. "For women to have significant girth changes, you'd have to train like a professional bodybuilder."