Surely on more than one occasion you have heard about muscle tone, but you may not really know what muscle tone is. Similarly, whoever referred to this term may not actually know what it really is. There are many people who come to confuse what muscle tone is with muscle toning, so below we will explain what hypotonia and hypertonia are, two terms directly linked to muscle tone, as well as other data of interest.
What is muscle tone
Muscle tone is the state of tension in which muscles meet when they are in a state of rest. The muscles are always in a state of contraction and relaxation, continuously, which means that they can offer an appropriate muscle tone with which to carry out the movements of our day to day. In addition, it also helps to maintain good body posture. In combination with bones, muscles are what allow humans to move, stand, bend and do all other movements. Without muscles we wouldn’t be able to stand. It should be borne in mind that muscle tone depends on each person, being determined by different factors. Among this are the age, the type of exercise that is being done and the time of day in which we are. In the event that it is night the muscles will be more relaxed by sleep, which causes muscle tone to be reduced considerably, but when you wake up again it recovers its normal state.
Hypotonia and hypertonia
In relation to the above, in those moments in which muscle tone is diminished we can speak of hypotonia. In this case the elasticity of the muscle is in an excessive state and has little consistency. The joints are not well fixed even though the muscle may be contracted. This makes you feel flaccidity and too wide movements when moving. Hypertonia, on the other hand, is the opposite. That is, it is the excess of muscle tone. This causes the joints to be fixed in abnormal postures. When trying to move them, resistance will be noticed. Both in one case and another, the cause may be given by the muscle itself and by its nerve structures, which control muscle tone. In the event that any of them are suffered, it is important to contact a specialist who assesses the development and carries out an exploration. In this way you can start with an appropriate treatment.
What to do to improve muscle tone
There are an infinity of physical activities that can be carried out at different times and places, from some simple ones such as walking to team sports, through cycling, swimming, etc. All of them can help the muscle tone of those who practice them improve, that is, to be healthier, more flexible, stronger and look better, among other advantages. However, the training that offers the best results for this is strength training, which is the one that intervenes in a more direct way on the muscles. However, before indicating a series of guidelines about improving muscle tone, you should know that the human body is made up of three different types of tissues (striated / skeletal, cardiac and smooth), the first being responsible for generating strength and allowing physical exercise. This is the most abundant in the human body.
Strength training
For the improvement of muscle tone, it is advisable, as we have mentioned, to do strength training, for which you can use weights, rubbers, tapes, machines or your own body weight.
It is very important that the type of exercise is adapted to the possibilities and needs of each person. The force can be worked in three different ways:
Maximum strength: It is used mainly in the field of a more demanding sports performance, not being advisable for novices. Hypertrophy: If you want to increase muscle volume you will have to work this type of strength. Strength resistance: This training is used to subject the muscle to continuously perform contractions.
These types of training must be adapted to the objectives of each person, differentiating these by the volume, load and intensity of the exercise. In this way, depending on the training option chosen, a number of series or another should be done, more or less repetitions, a greater or lesser weight, different recovery time, different number of exercises … In any case, to achieve obvious results it will be necessary that the muscular structures are subjected to a physical stress greater than they are accustomed, that is, tend to overload. With them it will be possible to favor the physiological adaptation and achieve the changes that are desired.