To build or not to build:please help

[divinepwr]

I'm 6'2", 255lbs. About 18% bf. Not happy with the way I look...

Should I put all my efforts into losing bf, or should I continue try to gain as much muscle as possible. It seems that if I put all effort into losing fat than I wouldn't be gaining muscle. That would be fine, but I find it difficult to get motivated to go do cardio, but I can get really jacked when I'm about to deadlift 500lbs. That is more motivating to me. Should I just suck it up and strictly try to lose the bf, or keep lifting to gain muscle ???

[tboney]

It all depends on what your goals are? Either way you will have to get motivated to incorporate an overall plan of fitness tailored for you needs. By that I mean cardio, diet and lifting. I know its hard to get motivated, but it will get easier once you get into the habit.. Anyway best of luck!!

[chest6]

I am 10 lbs heavier than you..around 18% i am not sure..Im more interested in strength right now..but also...i really wanna lean up. Im kind of in a bind..im not really sure what I want.

[divinepwr]

I do some cardio now, but I'm not really in the mindset of really wanting to lean up. I'm still lifting real heavy, and doing a lot of power lifting excercises, deadlift, clean and presses, things like that. I have heard though not to do big core excercises like these when you are wanting to lean up. Is that true ?
I should probably be doing an hour of cardio too, but right now I'm only doing about 25 minutes per session, because I'm afraid to burn muscle.
When should I do cardio??? I'm at the gym by about 6am because I have absolutely no other time to do it. Should I do my cardio first and then lift. That would be best probably for fat loss, but will it take too much valuable energy from my lifting ? I'm all ass backwards and confused !!!

[max2extreme]

Like tboney said, depends on what you want, but how you're asking, seems like you really would like to lose some bf but keep your strength. everyone has their own thoughts on when is best to do cardio, when to lift, how much cardio, etc etc. some are just personal thoughts, some may have some sense behind it, but really i dont think theres anything thats really been proven over and over again. That being said, think about a few things. First, how much time do you have?? Do you have time to go to the gym 2x on some days? are you that motivated to really go to the gym knowing that its going to be just cardio?? If so, the best bet would be to suck it up and go 2x to the gym and separate your cardio and lifting. If not, then when and how much is really the keys. All I can give are my personal and my friends experiences. I never liked cardio either (and still dont). But i loved sports, so i got my cardio from doing things i liked...basketball, surfing, football (american). Now though, cant do any of that really where i am so im forced to do boring cardio at the gym. i go 2x a day on cardio days. what i do is i mix up my cardio songs so its always something new. seems lame but i hate cardio and it works for me. my friend seems to be like you. at his heaviest, he was about 270lbs, big and a beast! he decided to start doing cardio (his wife won that fight obviously..heh) and so he would lift first, since that was his main goal, and then only did 20 mins of cardio 3x a week and it worked for him. he got pretty lean in not that long of time..hes now sittin at around 245lbs. hope some of this has helped.

to answer your questions straight up, did you hear not to do big core exercises when you are trying to LEAN up or when you dont want to gain weight? Big core exercises and leanness has nothing to do with eachother....big core exercises and weight, usually come hand in hand. I do 40 mins of cardio every other day and it works for me. 25 mins may work for what goals you have, but an hour of cardio is not going to burn your muscle away,especially if you have fat that can be used... as for to lift or do cardio first...depends on how you lift and what you want more. yes, if you do cardio before lifting, and not just pedal lightly on a bike but monitor your HR and do it properly, you should not be able to lift as much. do you do heavy days and light days lifting?? id say you have 2 choices.

one: lift just like you normally would, and start with like 25-30 mins of cardio afterword and see if it works. if not, then up the time.

two: On heavy lifting days, do cardio after (or no cardio at all) and on light lifting days, do cardio before and then do your light lifting.

but the key factor in all this, as you know im sure is diet.

hope some of this helped...good luck!

[divinepwr]

Max, Thanks
How would you lift heavy one day and light another. Do you mean hitting each body part 2x a week, once heavy and once light ? I could probably try that. I would like to keep as much muscle as possible and lose weight. Hell, I would just like to be able to buy XL clothes at most mall stores and have them fit !!! I think I would benefit most physique wise to really blast off some fat. I do have a descent amount of muscle, and I'm pretty strong, but I don't get the full visual benefits of that because of the bf. Thanks, those were all good suggestions. I need to really decide what I want most, and go at it full force. Not just do what I enjoy all the time, which is lifting heavy.

[max2extreme]

Well, imo, i dont like to hit a body part again until 4 days after i hit it the first time. so, ill hit one body part in the same week, sometimes 2, but thats it. i was suggesting just doing your regular workout scheme with one cycle being pretty hard and then the next cycle kinda easy. By doing more cardio and cutting back on lifting (a little), you arent gonna lose a lot of muscle or strength. sure, perhaps you'll lose a little or you may not lose, you just wont gain strength. but muscle memory will bring what you little strength you do lose back in no time. i wouldnt worry so much about it.

i assume this is just a general thing you want to do with no deadline...like you arent going to the beach in a month and thats the reason correct? If so, id try to see what works for you. Get your bf measured accuratetly. keep lifting however you do. and thru in 30 mins of some form of cardio at least every other day (or every day if you feel inclined). just dont get burnt out on it... Do that for a month and check out your results. and again, #1 change your eating habits. you dont have to go crazy about it by measuring everything or counting numbers (for what you want out of it), just dont overfill yourself if you do (sometimes i cant help it though...heh, but thats not bad if you do it like once ever ever so often), eat less fatty stuff, drink mostly water, cut down on sodas and snacks, etc etc. if you are about to order something or eat something and you think to yourself "should i eat this?", then dont. after a month, if its not working then try another approach, maybe then cut back on lifting a little and do a little harder cardio workout. but you know, its really about what you eat. you could do cardio every day and if you eat like crap, its gonna show (well, after you hit like 25, heh). good luck. you know, maybe you should start a little journal here on your stats, etc etc. guys/girls here are pretty cool and can help keep you motivated. good luck!