Have a few questions for the fitness gurus.....

[volkl23]

So I'm thinking of losing a few pounds around the gut and building some muscle mass to get some definition. My question is this.... should I go all out and lose as much fat as possible via hard-core cardio and very little weights, say for the first month or so AND then replace it with weight-training?

I'm think although weight training does get rid of fat, it's not as productive/fast as cardio.

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[fuzzycuffs]

I always thought that building muscle first and then doing cardio is easier. More muscle you have, the more calories it needs to burn while doing cardio.

I'm just now going from all weights/little cardio to a 50/50 split to eventually mostly cardio. I got my stregnth up to about where I always wanted it (being able to bench my body weight, especially after shoulder injuries, was something I could never accomplish until recently).

[wallyman424]

Originally Posted by fuzzycuffs

I always thought that building muscle first and then doing cardio is easier. More muscle you have, the more calories it needs to burn while doing cardio.

I'm just now going from all weights/little cardio to a 50/50 split to eventually mostly cardio. I got my stregnth up to about where I always wanted it (being able to bench my body weight, especially after shoulder injuries, was something I could never accomplish until recently).

yup, if youre goal is to become more muscular and leaner, you NEED to do the muscle building part first. it is much easier, since to build muscle you need to eat alot and do less cardio. once you get to a level where you have the muscle you want, then start leaning out. eat less, but more often and run.

[Balishag]

you want to talk to scgt on this one, since he is the fitness guru around here. im pretty sure he'll ring in soon, if not already. weight loss and muscle build is gonna be different for certain folks. eating habits also play a major factor, but you want to talk to a nutrionist on this one tho.

what you should probably do for a general trim down is warm up on cardio for 10 mins to get your heart rate up, then work the weights. afterwards do 20 mins more of cardio to get all the sweat out. if you're not into the hardcore body building stuff, i think that as long as you work hard at it everyday, you're guaranteed to lose weight and look trimmer.

what i do now is a basic plain jane body building workout. meaning that i try to focus on one body part at a time, such as back, arms, legs, shoulders, chest, etc. each day. and usually 5 different types of lifts for each (for chest: bench, dumbells, cables, pushups, dips, etc.) i also do the 10 mins of cardio before lifting and the 20 mins after. try to vary up the lifts you do, meaning dont do flat bench every time you work on your chest, try dumbell presses instead.

[RKen]

Do circuit training.
Get strong, cut, and lose weight all at the same time.

[Sephro]

Do Both..
If you want to lose weight faster, eat lots of smaller healthy meals. (5-6/day)
Do your workout in the AM BEFORE breakfast.

[BacDoc]

Nothing burns fat like muscle mass.

[SCGT]

Build the muscle mass, train for hypertrophy (growth), which simultaneously cleaning up your diet SOME. After you're at a more muscular stage, then you can cut if you so desire.

-SCGT

[ShortThrow]

You can kill both by doing HIIT, high intensity interval training.