Muscle toning term used in fitness and sports: a critical confusion

The concept of 'tension in the relaxed muscle' or 'the resistance felt by the examiner during passive stretch of a joint when the muscles are at rest' (Campbell, WW; Barohn, 2019) is known as “muscle tone". In addition, this concept about tonic muscle tone in antigravity leg muscles, is responsible for the maintenance of posture and is fully determined by the monosynaptic stretch reflex. On the contrary, in the field of physical exercise and fitness, the term "muscle toning" is usually expressed referring to the obtaining of "stiffness in muscle fibers" resulting from strength training in various methodologies be misused by some coaches and health professionals in sport and exercise science. Objective: The purpose of this article is to redefine from the neurophysiological bases, the term 'muscle toning' in the field of fitness and physical exercise, explaining and proposing a theoretical contextualization towards health professionals. Methods: We conducted a systematic search of PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and EBSCO-host, (2000–2023) looking for muscle toning in science of exercise and sport. The selected publications included 44 articles. Results: No scientific studies were found in the consulted databases that define the term "muscle toning". Within the selection process, the neuromuscular and physiological adaptations are reaffirmed by the strength training program, but they differ from the term used in mention. Conclusions: Neuromuscular adaptations of skeletal fibers don’t define "muscle toning". Finally, instead of calling the inflammatory and vasodilator effect after a strength-resistance exercise “toning”, it is suggested that the term “neurostimulated muscle” be used in the contextualization and scientific evidence by sports and health professionals.

• Autores: Yanez, Cristian Andres
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2023
• Institución: Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales U.D.C.A
• Repositorio: Repositorio Institucional UDCA
• OAI Identifier: oai:repository.udca.edu.co:11158/5483
• Acceso en línea: https://repository.udca.edu.co/handle/11158/5483; https://doi.org/10.7752/jpes.2023.09290
• Palabra clave: Fibras Musculares Esqueléticas; Tono Muscular; Rigidez Muscular; Fortalecimiento
• Rights: openAccess
• License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/legalcode.es