A

To answer your questions, I think that with a little re-evaluation of your program you'll start seeing the results you're after. With Soccer, you're obviously doing what your coaches design for your workouts.  From there, you need to adapt everything else to work well with what you're doing on the field. Without knowing exactly what your goals are ("toned and tight" is very broad--you need muscle and a lower bodyfat total), I'll give you an overview that should help.

If you're aiming at adding muscle, make sure you're eating enough. With all that running playing soccer it would be very easy to be calorie deficient in your diet and prevent mass gains. The first step would be to increase your protein, healthy fat and complex carbohydrate intake above where you're at now. Do this gradually so you don't add unwanted bodyfat. Over time, you'll also notice your bodyfat diminishing because you're eating a proper quantity of quality food. As I've mentioned before, your body will very quickly slow down its metabolism to make up for the lack of food and all the exercise, so not eating enough is as bad as eating too much.

If you add a small extra meal and still aren't seeing the results, try increasing the meal size or add even another (I eat eight times each day for example). Eventually you'll find the right calorie amount for your body. As far as the gym, you should always strive to make progress. If you're doing the same exercises and same reps and with the same weight as always, you can't expect to see any positive changes. Each day in the gym try to lift more (with good form), add reps and/or increase your intensity. You have to push harder each day to continually making gains. If you walk out of the gym feeling the same way as when you walked in, you probably had a lot more effort to give.

Lastly, make sure you're doing a variety of movements. Personally, my husband (and trainer) and I change my program every six weeks. The body is awesome in the way it adapts to different stresses, but that can play against you in the gym. If you only know a few exercises for each body part, ask a knowledgeable trainer or pick up a book or DVD to get some new ideas. A word of warning though: Make sure you always--always--start light to develop proper form.

Good luck!

Megan

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