Cardio / weight traning question

OK ... so heres my question ...

I'm not looking to bulk more so just to maintain and define what I have for muscle right now ... and loose the layer of crap thats covering it all.

I KNOW that cardio is best done in the am for fat loss, but that isn't an option for me right now I work tooo **** early and can't justify getting up any earlier then i do.

My question is ... am I wasting my energy & time if I do 30-45min of cardio everyday pre workout then do my weight training?

Or will I be able to shed some flab this way ...

I want to loose a good % of my body fat before I start my 1st cycle.

27
5'10
175lbs
roughly (using calipers 18-23% BF)

My goal is to loose about 8-10% of that ... and I'm looking to do it by March.

here is a current picture of me ... it's taken cold first thing in the a.m. no pump whatsoever.

I do not think you have enough muscle to be concerned with cutting.
I would adopt a clean bulking diet from the diet forum to Increase Lean
Body Mass (LBM) over the next couple years. There is no need for
AAS either.

Looks like you need a bit more of a base foundation to work with so I agree with Hyper. However, I can say that doing cardio first then weight training is not good. Either separate them or perform the lifting first then cardio . You need to determine your immediate goals but it sounds like fat loss is your major concern as 10% in 4 months is too agressive and if you can do it, the compromise is loss of muscle too. Losing or gaining much in a short time is not always healthy best bet is patience doing it methodically but I realize thats the hard way.. Overall your pic is not bad, good luck.

My "base" that i have is as good as it's gonna get ... I'm very stong for my size and have been in the gym for 2 years now ... with little size gain, although the strength has gone up incremently.

My goal is 8-10% bf loss ... Thats 2% / month ... and as far as many are concerned, a very resonable goal ... aim high right.

So the main response to my actual quesiton was weights first the cardio after?

My diet is clean, no sugars, no white flours etc ... roughly 2500 cals right now 6-7 meals / day.

Bulking isn't my goal right now, and neither is cutting ... fat loss is though without sacrificing on the muscle that I have now, as like i mentioned what I have is very dense and strong, and to feel ... already cut ... but i need to lose the layer of crap over it ...

Weights before cardio can lower/deplete your blood glucose/glyocogen stores, leading to faster lipolysis when doing cardio post workout. However, this is also a crucial time for glycogen replenishment/recovery to start. So you are delaying the remodeling phase, which could lead to atrophy over-time. Another downside is that your total gym time doing both would be around 2 hours. Cardio first would act as a warm-up and done the proper way will spare glucose/glycogen and metabolize a high percent of fat. Leaving energy (carbs) to hit the weights after. Then you could take you PWO nutrition immediately after the weights. This could also cause you to be tired after cardio, slacking on the weights, which will lead to atrophy also. It is a double edge sword, so pick whatever you think is best.

Is 45min of cardio post weight training that bad? ... a pwo shake etc would be taken after that to feed the muscles.

And as far as cardio first ... I'm not too worried about it wearing me out ... I keep my workouts very intese and focused (I only workout one group/day) ... and on Leg days there would be no cardio ... so would 30-45 min cardio at a moderate pace (still able to speak without shotrness of breath) really be detrimental to the workout?

As far as supplements ... on top of my meals I take a whey protien shake, Satur8 Creatine twice daily and a fast absobring protien pwo.

not to be rude, but it seems everytime someone suggests something, you have a response to trump it...perhaps you dont need/want advice at all?

I agree with hypertrophy. You could try both to see which one works best for you. I've read that it takes 20 minutes before you even begin to start burning fat, so take that into account. If your doing cardio for 45 min. you're actually burning fat calories for 25 minutes.

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Originally Posted by 6_pak

I agree with hypertrophy. You could try both to see which one works best for you. I've read that it takes 20 minutes before you even begin to start burning fat, so take that into account. If your doing cardio for 45 min. you're actually burning fat calories for 25 minutes.

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20 minutes to start burning fat...i've never heard of that...if he does his cardio post lift he would immediately burning fat because he would be completely warmed up after his workout. As soon as he burns one calorie the fat burning process begins. I would reccomend you do your cardio post lift if there is no other time you can do it. 2% body fat a month is a very obtainable goal with proper diet and training.

-SHRED

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Originally Posted by dr.shred

20 minutes to start burning fat...i've never heard of that...if he does his cardio post lift he would immediately burning fat because he would be completely warmed up after his workout. As soon as he burns one calorie the fat burning process begins. I would reccomend you do your cardio post lift if there is no other time you can do it. 2% body fat a month is a very obtainable goal with proper diet and training.

-SHRED

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Thank you

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Originally Posted by jmillerdls

not to be rude, but it seems everytime someone suggests something, you have a response to trump it...perhaps you dont need/want advice at all?

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I noticed this as well and have no advice to offer. :scratch:


I only pray to god Swole does'nt see this one. :lol: