Working out for girls... need some advice

I'm a 27 year old woman with an average BMI (23) but pretty flabby all over, especially tummy and arms. I really want to have a nicely toned body. I know this means getting rid of some of the fat, which is why I'm on here (exceeding my calorie intake by 500 on day two!! :|) but I also know it means building those muscles. I play badminton once a week, and tennis if the weather is nice (not often, I live in the UK), and I go to the gym once a week, sometimes twice. Usually I'll do 20-30 mins of running, then three sets of 10 crunches and then some of the machines for arms (usually fairly low weights and three sets of ten on each). Problem is, I don't really know if what I'm doing is what I should be doing. I also don't know what I should be eating before and after a workout, or how many times I need to do it. I guess this is partially gonna be a matter of experimenting, but the problem is I am one of those people who gains and loses weight very slowly. It's taken years for me to get to the weight I am now (142lbs), and I've been struggling on and off to get down to 135 or less for ages. I'm 5'5" and kind of pear-shaped (or curvy if you're kind), and the fact that I'm flabby is damaging my self-confidence.

So does anyone have any tips or advice on how much I should be working out, what kind of working out (I also swim, used to run outdoors a bit but have a hard time motivating myself to do it these days, and I love dancing and go to a salsa class on and off. I like yoga as well but don't like the class that's currently running in my area very much, and just can't seem to get motivated to do it at home). Also, any tips on what to eat/not to eat before and after exercising?

Try picking up a copy of the New Rules of Lifting for Women.  I've been following the workout plan for a while now and have noticed a difference.  I don't strictly follow the diet, though I do try to follow the general principles as much as possible.  I haven't lost much weight, but I feel "tighter" and I'm seeing more muscle definition.

I know there are a lot of other women on this site who also follow the plan.  I think it's a great place to start if you want to build muscle and lose some fat.  It has some really good workout and diet advice, as well as detailed descriptions and pictures of the exercises for you to follow.  That being said, it does not emphasize cardio at all (although in later stages you do some interval training) and from the sounds of it, you really enjoy cardio.  The author tells you how to incorporate cardio if it's something you love, but also cautions against over-doing it, so if you swim or dance or play tennis 6 days a week and don't want to give any of that up, this may not be the plan for you.

glad you are learning and reading before hand - it will save loads of time in the gym or at home. the above book has got to be great as so many have found their new routines (and new bodies) in it~ learn and read as much as you can. this forum is a perfect start :)

one of the oft mentioned sites stumptuous.com is what really started me, and others. super helpful site.

keep in mind, there is not much difference between mens and womens bodies in regards to fitness. use information geared towards men in the same fashion~

The Body Sculpting Bible for Women by James Villepigue and Hugo Rivera.  It has some great info and the best thing about it is that it has lots of pictures of all the exercises.  Most of them can be done with a simple set of dumbbells.  The only problem I have with the book is the nutritional advice.  They contradict themselves in some areas of nutrition.  I disagree with the idea of doing cardio on an empty stomach.  I stick to the 'build muscle during workout using glycogen (sugars converted from carbs) and burn calories at rest' ideal.  Muscle burns more calories than fat.  That is why you can't really take the eat & burn meters here too seriously.  I am 5'3" and weigh 142, but I wear a size 7.  I have been working out for about 20 years.  When I was in my 20's I got up to about 130 and was a size 10-12!  So I am heavier now and smaller.  I did that by gaining muscle and burning the fat at rest.  According to my BMI, I am overweight.  I am not.  I am a little heavier than I wanna be, but it's not a health risk. 

So, as for dietary stuff.  If you are healthy, no blood-sugar problems, then a little fruit & maybe a slice of whole grain toast in the morning before a cardio workout is good.  Maybe a cup o joe or tea if ya want the extra motivation (like me!) Then, later in the day, a couple of hours after a meal, like lunch has digested, do some weight training.  A peice of fruit before-hand is good, keep cold water on hand during, then have a low carb high protein snack right afterward to help your body to build the muscle.  I usually have a soy-protein shake with some unsweetened soy milk.  A little frozen fruit in it sweetens it a little and helps to replace the glycogen you burned during your workout.  The reason you want the easy to assimilate protein is that your muscles are being torn during weight lifting and for the 30-45 mins following your workout, you have burned most of your glycogen (sugars the muscles use to perform).  The protein feed the muscles and the fruit normalizes blood-sugar.  It is during this time your muscles will literally "drink up" the protein you give it, but it has to be easily digested, so meat is is not really appropriate.  I like the shakes because they are refreshing, the fruit replenishes my glycogen and I am usually a little hungry after I lift.  Also, lift on alternating days.  Like this:

1) Upper Body

2) off

3) Lower Body

4) off

4) Upper Body.... and so on.

You can do cardio 5 days a week if ou want, just don;t do it right before you lift.  I 20 minute warmup is fine, but no more than that before lifting. 

Also, another idea is to fluctuate your cals and exercises.  Change up the exercises every 2 weeks.  Everytime you work out, try adding a set or some weight until you get up to 3 sets.  When you get to where you can do the exercises all the way through, in about 2 weeks or so, change the workout and lower the weights or the number of reps.  Do another workout, but use lower weight and work up to the same # of sets.  During the lighter times, lower your cals, then up 'em when you increase the workout load.  This keeps your body challenged so you don't plateau in your workout and it also does the same for your metabolism by changing up the cals.  It's also easier to stick to it if you can have say, 200 more cals a day on the harder weeks.  Oh, and do cardio in the morning.  The hormones are at the best levels for burning fat then.  Keep your heart rate around 65%.  Do it within a couple of hours of waking up.  Some say you should do it within the first hour of waking, but I can't do that.  Just make sure you have something to eat before you do it, something light.

Sorry I wrote a book.  I have a lot of info in some of my journal entries.  If you check out my profile and look back through some of my older entries you will find an outline of my workout program and some links to some useful info like how to calculate your target heart range and so on.  Feel free to message me anytime if ya want.  I might be able to give you more detailed info if I know more about you.  I am always happy to distribute the info I have acquired over the years.  I hope it helps.  Let me know what you think and how you do with it. 

Wow, thanks all, this is fantastic info! I'm going to try to incorporate it as much as possible. I do like my cardio, part of that is about stress-busting. I tend to have a lot of kind of nervous energy and I'm studying at the moment which involves lots of sitting at a computer or at a desk reading, and trying to force myself to mentally process things.I worry a lot, so I find I need to do the cardio just to burn off that stress and keep me sane. I didn't know it wasn't good to do too much cardio before weights, but I'm cool with sticking to 20 mins of running and then doing weights. Also, I was under the impression that I needed to do cardio to raise my metabolism so I'd burn the fat.

My concern with weight machines is that because they don't really imitate anything you do in real life, and because I don't know how many reps to do of what, I'm worried I'll end up unbalancing myself somehow. I should probably get one of these books you're talking about so that I can be more scientific about it. I haven't ventured into free weights yet because I don't know what I'm doing at all! They also seem to be the domain of men at my gym. I never see women using them.

Ok, I've had an orange and a banana, two peices of wholegrain toast and a cup of tea for breakfast, just over an hour ago, and I am on my way to the gym!

Thanks for all the advice!  

i'm a huge yoga fan and would recommend it to you for strength training and toning. i practice hot hatha yoga about 5x a week and noticed changes in my muscle tone within the first 3 weeks! in addition to the physical improvements, i have also noticed improvements in my mood and stress levels.

if you're going to try yoga, i would suggest going to a studio first. you lose a lot of the practice when you try to do-it-yourself at home with dvd/vhs. bikram yoga is a good beginner practice and you have the heat element to help keep your body warm and flexible. it is also available all over the world, you just have to go to the website to find a studio.

good luck!