Tired of being skinny, I want to be fit!

I personally love yoga, I do at least 15 minutes per day. People assume because it's such a low impact exercise it isn't much good, but I noticed a difference in muscle in a few days. Definitely worth looking at doing daily as it's easy to fit into schedules and all you need is a yoga mat.

Lift weights! You won't get bulky like a guy, but you'll tone and get stronger.

^^this

Pick up lots of heavy stuff, build a base (look into Jamie easons life fit, new rules of lifting for women or stronglifts for beginners routines) maybe gain some weight. Then watch your nutrition and lose fat as abs are made in the kitchen

Simple answer.... Lift!!!

I think the best advice is find an activity you like, and be consistent.

"abs" are muscle, but they are hard to really develop. They become visible when you lose body fat - in other words, lifting "heavy" abs won't make them visible if they are under a substantial layer of fat.

I know lots of people (esp. women) that hate working out indoors, especially the gym. So from a few friends that previously hated "working out" about half desisted after a couple of months. One took cross-country running. Another started beach volleyball, and the most funny one did orienteering. They all are notably fitter than they were, simply because they stuck at it. Another did ultimate frisbee and got pretty serious at it, but rolled an ankle and had to stop 4 weeks. Boo.

Try lots of things; find something you like (heck, even ballroom dancing is active) and stick at it.

Lift weights! You won't get bulky like a guy, but you'll tone and get stronger.

^^this

Pick up lots of heavy stuff, build a base (look into Jamie easons life fit, new rules of lifting for women or stronglifts for beginners routines) maybe gain some weight. Then watch your nutrition and lose fat as abs are made in the kitchen

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/560459-stronglifts-5x5-summary

Eat an extra 3,500 calories a week. But eat things that make u fain healthy weight (whole wheat, avocado, whole milk, bananas, REAL peanut butter, etc.) When you exercise make sure to use a lot of resistence and heavy weights and less reps. I was 111lbs in January and am now 117. Make sure not to over work your muscles as they will get smaller. Hope this helps

Hit the weights, as everyone else has already suggested, and maybe add in some HIIT or boxing...boxing is a brilliant all round workout and went very well as a compliment to my weights.

Definately weight training plus I would second the yoga as well. That **** is hard! Or pole dancing if you like that sort of thing. It sure takes some strong core muscles to be able to hold your own bodyweight horizontally from a pole or in a sustained position for any length of time. Add boxing and some sort of cardio as well to lose fat and mix it up a bit. As long as it is something you enjoy and can sustain for the amount of time it takes to build those muscles.

Deny everything everyone has said here - go swimming. :bigsmile:

Deny everything everyone has said here - go swimming. :bigsmile:

No

Why wouldn't she? Swimming is considered the best sport there is. And definitely more fun than fitness. I can tell; I do both.

find something you love - and try to mix it up with a little cardio, some weights/resistance, something social and maybe something a little competitive

My mix so far is: swimming, pilates, static bike and hiking on the weekend (this suits me - and is not intended as a recommendation - I can't do high impact and have serious spinal damage so core strength and stability, with low impact are key for my rehab)

so why not start by trying out a few local groups and classes? both to try the activity and to decide whether you could see yourself spending more time with those folks - then pick one or two to try for a few months - group activities may not suit you - but you won't know 'till you try a few and some people find it really motivational and supportive

good luck

Deny everything everyone has said here - go swimming. :bigsmile:

No

Why wouldn't she? Swimming is considered the best sport there is. And definitely more fun than fitness. I can tell; I do both.

Swimming is a good option for fitness, but many swimmers also incorporate resistance training etc on non-swim days (Land training) for the reasons outlined above. I am an ex-county standard swimmer myself.

Yes of course! I do that myself, too.
Bad translation on my part perhaps, in Dutch we mean by fitness both weight and cardio training)

Deny everything everyone has said here - go swimming. :bigsmile:

No

Why wouldn't she? Swimming is considered the best sport there is. And definitely more fun than fitness. I can tell; I do both.

I never said she shouldn't go swimming. When I say no I mean no to you, because you say "deny everything everyone has said here". You tell her not to weight train is bad advice. Saying swimming is considered the best sport there is and more fun than fitness is subjective. That's your opinion. And just because it's your opinion doesn't make it true across the board. So making a blanket statement like that is incorrect. Do you need more of an explanation?

Also, by "fitness" I'm assuming you mean weight training which also makes no sense. As in fitness is only weight train training.

Sergeant Serious.

But on a serious side note, and trust me on this one: All the girls I train with look bloody fit.

This is interesting. I'm a slim build with some wobble in my belly. I hadn't thought of weights as helping abs, just for arms! I am new to working out tho. I run and cycle but I have little-to-no upper body strength. What weight should you start with? I mean I'm feebly weak and don't want to end up injuring myself. Also, are push ups going to do my midsection any good?

I joined up with Nerd Fitness and am following some of the workouts there for fitness.

I also mountain-bike, and would recommend that to anyone.