So to lose fat and gain muscle I should...

[syd]

This is what I have learned so far...

1. eating 5 or 6 times a day increases your metabolism so it can burn fat more effeciently so your BF should decrease
2. this will make more muscle, which will burn more muscle
3. spread your nutrients over all of the meals

so how much cardio is good? i workout 4 days a week...
Monday.....legs and cardio 15-30 minutes
Tuesday....arms and cardio 30 minutes
Wed...jack (off)
Thursday....Chest and 15 minutes cardio
Friday....Back and 30 minutes cardio

i want to lose BF foremost but want to get ripped then big....

am i doing this correctly?

[DBarcelo]

1) Most people would say that you should get big and then lose fat and get ripped.

2) Increasing your metabolism can lead to fat being burt and lowering your BF %, but that's not always the case. You have to watch what you eat. You have to find that inbetween spot where you're not taking in too many calories that your body can still store fat and that you're taking in enough calories to be able to burn the fat effectively.

3) Burning fat does not make more muscle.

4) You don't actually burn muscle during the loss of fat, your body has to deplete your muscles of it's energy stores before it moves on to the fat tissue. This usually results in some loss of size, but most of the loss of size is from the fat around the muscle being drawn out, as well as water.

5) Your rutine looks pretty good. I would just say that you should probably be doing cardio even on your off days.

[cb25]

1) Most people would say that you should get big and then lose fat and get ripped.

2) Increasing your metabolism can lead to fat being burt and lowering your BF %, but that's not always the case. You have to watch what you eat. You have to find that inbetween spot where you're not taking in too many calories that your body can still store fat and that you're taking in enough calories to be able to burn the fat effectively.

3) Burning fat does not make more muscle.

4) You don't actually burn muscle during the loss of fat, your body has to deplete your muscles of it's energy stores before it moves on to the fat tissue. This usually results in some loss of size, but most of the loss of size is from the fat around the muscle being drawn out, as well as water.

5) Your rutine looks pretty good. I would just say that you should probably be doing cardio even on your off days.

DB's right on about #1. I've heard it shown as a zig-zag weight gain patter. Basically you gain a bunch of weight (muscle and some fat) then you cut to rid your body of the fat, ending a little heavier than when you started. You then repeat, zigzagging your way up in body weight. Does that make sense?

I think you've got a lot of the right ideas. your routine looks good - keep at the work and always try to learn more....

cb