gvox
Ghost of Love
I think the problem with "toning" is that you end up going to the gym and seeing 80% of women in there lifting 2 lb. and 5 lb. dumbbells because they are "toning" and don't want to bulk up. This is really just a lot of nonsense, and you do need to lift heavier weights even if you want to tone. Now you don't have to follow the "few reps @ very heavy weights" obviously like you would if you were body building, but you really do need to put some elbow grease into it.
Even with light weights, I would never have only a 24 hour rest period. It's totally impossible for muscle to repair itself in that short of a time, and you're not really doing anything constructive then. I actually probably wouldn't do anything inside of 72 hours.
I don't have much experience in losing weight/toning, as I'm actually on a gain program. But from listening to the personal trainers in the gym who are working with larger people, they are telling them don't use anything over 10-15lbs. And even that, more medicine balls, cardio, situps, etc than anything. I agree that 24 hrs is too short, but for losing weight and toning 72 hrs is defintely too long. Here's why: the 72 hr rest period is for muscle tissue repair. Simple toning isn't supposed to tear your muscles, it's just supposed to use them more than you would as a sedentiary couch potato (and by "you" I don't mean you personally lol), in order to build core strength. I also got clued into this because my son started weight training in the spring, but due to his age, he has to limit himself to lighter weights, even though if he tries he can lift 3 times what his program tells him. When it's time for him to start really gaining muscle mass, he'll move into the more serious stuff. He has completely lost his baby fat doing this, maybe even a couple of useless pounds, and he's looking toned and more athletic (mind you he's an elite athlete so that likely helps but that just lends to what I said about playing at least one sport).
If you feel pain in your muscles when you do simple toning with light weights, you need to notch it down a couple of pounds, or you will be entering into that rip and repair zone of bulking up. Therefore you aren't looking to gain muscle mass, you just want to have small increase in basic core strength and the muscle groups around the joints. There isn't alot of tearing and repairing involved in that (AFAIK). You should be doing toning with light weights every other day coupled with Cardio every day, in order to lose weight and stay toned.
Muscle gaining goals are a totally different ball game. WHen you really weight lift, you are ripping muscle tissue with every rep. It's supposed to hurt, and you're right, in that case, you want to rest at least a good 2 days if you do heavy weightlifting. And definitely consume at least min 20-28g of protein within the hour after you heavy weightlift.
If you really think about it, life doesn't really let people who are working out *really let their muscles repair. If I leg press 2 X my weight on a Monday...does that mean I can't run up the stairs until Wednesday or Thursday? Ride my bike on the hardest gear up a hill? It's pretty much the same thing