Jon-Erik Kawamoto, Personal Trainer
So earlier in the week, I was quoted on Women’s Health (my first appearance) with Lee Boyce (a colleague of mine and fellow fitness writer/trainer from Toronto) in a short article on how long it takes to see muscle definition.

Link here: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/muscle-definition

I was asked several questions about the topic and the author took my quotes, along with Lee’s, to write the article.

There has been an outrage that the article missed one very important piece of the “seeing muscle definition” puzzle: your body composition!!

I was even asked about fat levels and how it contributes to seeing muscles but he did not included my answer. So just to clear things up, here are a few of his questions about seeing defined muscles along with my answers:

Q: When should you start to see more muscle definition when you’re strength training? Could you give a rough ballpark?

JK: This is a tough question to answer as the timeframe can be influenced by several variables. If the trainee is a beginner in the gym, the initial improvements in strength are mostly neurological, meaning better movement and neuromuscular coordination. This usually takes 4-8 weeks depending on the frequency and consistency of training, exercises performed and the sets, reps and weights used for each exercise. Following this time period, muscle development and muscle definition become the prominent adaptation from weight lifting. Genetics, exercise technique, training intensity and nutritional support are additional factors that can play a role in how fast trainees can start seeing defined muscles in the mirror. If the trainee has past the beginner stage of training and is a novice or advanced lifter, muscle development can happen in a shorter time period.

Q: What things factor in when it comes to growing muscles and showing off muscle definition? Like body fat levels.

JK: You are totally right. Seeing defined muscles and even muscle striations requires a decrease in body fat percentage or in other words, better body composition. This can be achieved by modifying one’s diet and by expending many calories in the gym, from both weight lifting and cardiovascular workouts. To develop muscle, for the most part, weights lifted should be above 60% of your maximum weight lifted. For example, if you can bench press 100 lbs, you will need to lift over 60 lbs for various sets and reps to develop muscle. Science has also shown us recently that muscle damage caused by lifting weight, the intramuscular or mechanical tension placed on a muscle during exercise and metabolic stress resulting from energy production and substrate metabolism within muscle fibers, are three primary factors responsible for triggering the muscle growth response. For more information, you can refer to Brad Schoenfeld’s article The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and their Application to Resistance Training in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (pubmed link here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20847704).

Q: What about your diet? I know this will definitely play a role. What foods should you eat to help bulk up and show off your muscles?

JK: Diet plays a very influential role in determining how much muscle you can grow, how well you recover between workouts and how much lean and fat mass you have. The building blocks for muscles are proteins, so eating a diet that meets daily protein requirements is a must for developing muscles. Striving to eat 1.6 grams or protein/kg of body weight daily is a good goal to shoot for. So, for someone who weighs 60 kg should consume ~96 grams of protein throughout the day. Leans meats, beans, yogurt, cheese, and protein powders (e.g. whey, rice, pea, hemp, etc.) are good food choices that are high in protein.

So, there you have it. Seeing defined muscles requires an improvement in body composition: an increase in muscle mass and a decrease in fat mass. This applies to both females and males. What most refer to as toned, defined muscles (and when you see them) are influenced by several factors and requires work both in and out of the gym.

photo credit: Joint Base Lewis McChord via photopin cc

I’m 40 years old & started training at JKC in 2015. The gym I was working out at closed and my husband recommended JKC. JKC meets you where you are in your fitness journey and tailors the work to help achieve your goals. I’ve trained with Jon & Thomas pre pregnancy, while pregnant and now post baby and they have helped me enormously to stay fit through all life phases.

I joke with the guys often that I’ve seen no change in my fitness level since joining the gym, but the reality is I’m in far better shape at 40 than I ever was at 30 thanks to them.

I’m 29 and I just had my 3rd Liftiversary 🥳 at JKC. I chose to train here because of the great word on the street and the fact that at lululemon, we’re encouraged to support our local community. My day-to-day routine is very busy, and I love showing up and having to think very little about my workout. The vibes are always good, my music choice is usually accommodated, and the bys are incredibly supportive and compassionate, helping me reach my goals (even when I had a broken hand). I also get to be my weird self, and am embraced fully.

I had been struggling with work-life balance resulting in not exercising or playing hockey as much as I had been doing in the past. In addition to being out of shape, I was starting to experience some back/shoulder issues and realized I needed to make some changes. Around this time, a friend (who was also a client) recommended JKC and that’s when I started!

You really feel part of a community where everyone is welcoming and supportive. You get a program that is designed specifically to achieve your goals, with the ongoing coaching, progress tracking and support required to achieve them. The JKC team are very knowledgeable about fitness and conditioning, and very engaging with everyone to answer questions or discuss anything and everything training related. I also like the flexible scheduling and gym times that work for my schedule (I like early mornings and evenings).

I chose JKC originally to help prevent rowing injuries. I’m a rower and we won the St. John’s Regatta in 2019 but I rowed through a rib stress fracture and missed significant time in the boat during the racing season. Training at JKC consistently since the pandemic helped me stay injury free this year and made me the strongest I’ve ever felt, which helped me help my team win the 2021 St. John’s Regatta! Jon adds variety and mixes the exercises up well so that the workout goes by quickly and strength is gained. The gym is very personable and I like the eclectic mix of people that are there. JKC is much more intimate and personal than other gyms.

I came to JKC through recommendations from my peers from lululemon. As a current ambassador, I’ve been introduced to legacy ambassadors, like Jon, and I knew a bunch of other people from the store were working out here so I wanted to give it a go. I often dread lower body workouts so I started coming here to do legs. I’ve had such great progress that I now come twice a week— and, I no longer hate leg day!

I’ve never experienced this sort of hybrid between group workouts and personalized service. Many group strength training services offer a sort of one-size-fits-all workout for the general population, which has never been of interest to me, because I want my workout tailored to my needs! I LOVE that you can be in a group setting while doing your own personal program; I love the camaraderie and community at JKC, and, I’ve seen incredible results thus far! Jon is always so attuned to what I need.

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