Advice on a fitness program for lean-ish female?!

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Hi everyone thanks for taking the time to read my post :)

Ok, so I'm looking for advice on a fitness program, more so how often I should be working out and on what. I've been doing this for about 7 months now, but just been doing whatever I have time for and whatever I feel like (the time I have available to workout is extremely limited and varies week to week) - I've done a lot of research and learnt a lot along the way and put a lot of it into practice but with no set routine - it's worked so far but I feel it's time to get a proper workout schedule going.

So me -

5'6.5'' (the .5 is very important!)
Currently 119lbs, (3lbs above pre Christmas weight)
I don't know what my body fat percentage is....

Muscle wise - I have some... my profile pic was taken before Christmas and I have lost some definition since then due to lack of exercise for a good few weeks, plus the profile pic is post workout and tensed (well we have to take the pics at the best time right?!). My abs are OK but could use improvement, same with my arms/back/shoulders. My bum and legs need a lot more work.

My goals -

I want to be lean and well defined but not too big, I want better abs and a nice lower abs 'V', I want to do a little more work on my arms/shoulders/back but not too much, I want to tone my legs but not make them much bigger and I need some serious work on my butt!!

I also want to increase my aerobic fitness and stamina, I currently do a bit of cardio but want to increase what I can do without losing muscle (is this possible?)

So I currently do a mix of heavy lifting 40%, body weight strength exercises 40% and cardio 20%, I think I am quite clued up on the type of exercises to be doing, but not so much the frequency..

Diet wise I'm set at 1600 net cals per day although I don't always reach this, I think my TDEE is around 2000. I'm eating around 100 protein per day but not really watching the rest. I eat pretty healthily though so I know my fat isn't high.

Hhmmm, so my questions are (if you've not got bored and stopped reading by now....)...

Am I doing the right mix of strength and cardio work to get the body I want?

I am very pushed for time, what is the minimum amount of time I should be spending on each thing per week?

Has anyone got any suggestions of a routine/program I should be sticking to?

Can I increase my aerobic fitness and my strength at the same time?

When is the correct time to do my first 'bulk'? I am pretty happy with my weight (could loose those 3 Christmas pounds...) but carrying a bit of fat on my belly/bum/thighs. Should I continue to eat at a deficit (whilst still strength training) and loose a bit more, or should I start eating at maintenance or even surplus and if I do will this bit of fat turn into muscle eventually? (I'm so scared of putting it back on!)

Thank you to anyone who takes the time to reply! :)

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Seeing as you struggle to reach your calorie goal at a deficit, you may struggle to bulk?

    i would try eating at maintenance and carrying on your exercise routine as it is for a bit of body recomposition.
  • FrauMama
    FrauMama Posts: 169 Member
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    Google/YouTube ZWOW. Great workouts. Also, you might want to consider eating a little more. :)
  • xmel123x
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    Thanks, I know there will come a time (and guess it will be sooner rather than later) that I have to up my calories but this scares the hell out of me - I guess when you have been in the mindset of eating low cals for so long it's a scary thought to eat more and put weight back on!!

    Any ideas on how often I should be strength training etc? :)
  • xmel123x
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    Just bumping this up :)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    Thanks, I know there will come a time (and guess it will be sooner rather than later) that I have to up my calories but this scares the hell out of me - I guess when you have been in the mindset of eating low cals for so long it's a scary thought to eat more and put weight back on!!

    Any ideas on how often I should be strength training etc? :)

    You can't build muscle without gaining weight. Thats why maintenance and recomp might be better.

    Full body strength 3x a week is recommended, or 4x if you split upper and lower body