question

[gocards1]

I am 24 currently weighting in at 235ish. I have been on a pretty strict diet for the past 2 months. I have lost 15lbs and now i have come to a point where its getting tough to loose anymore weight. I look alot better and i am continuing to do cardio5x/week and I do a circuit workout 3x/week. I would like to start lifting more and more often. I would like to get into a strenght training program. My concern is that I am not at my goal as far as weight loss goes. If I start to lift harder and still continue with 3-5 days/week cardio do you think I will keep slimming down?? I know I will build muscle but will i burn more fat? I have heard muscle burns fat. Is it true?? I plan on taking protein and creatine while i work out. Let me know what you guys think.

[Flexor]

Every pound of lean muscle burns 100 more calories daily at rest.

Make sure your cardio is about 45mins at 65% of your MHR as this optimises calories burnt from fat. Don't worry about creatine, its not worth it for what you will be doing. Eating plenty of lean red meat will give you all the creatine you need. Also morning cardio is far better than cardio at any other time of day. This is because the body is starved of glucose and glycogen and it burns fat, whilst preserving lean muscle mass.

See this thread ---> http://67.18.108.244/showthread.php?t=215793

Pinnacle explains there.

For now you could just stick with the 5x a week cardio until you reach your goal. It is harder to reach two goals at once, so you could concentrate on one. Alternatively you could do a weights program and continue the 5x a week cardio, as long as your protein intake is high enough you will be able to build muscle as well.

Diet is more important than cardio though, so make sure that is in check. See the sticky in the diet forum for a rough guide.

[aspengc8]

So theoretically, you can continue a lean mass type diet, and perform no cardio, inorder to put on muscle while keeping fat gain at a minimum. Since you add more muscle, you burn more daily calories, making less cardio required to shed the rest of the fat? Am I on the right track?

[Flexor]

So theoretically, you can continue a lean mass type diet, and perform no cardio, inorder to put on muscle while keeping fat gain at a minimum. Since you add more muscle, you burn more daily calories, making less cardio required to shed the rest of the fat? Am I on the right track?

The cardio allows you to burn calories so that you can afford to intake more used in mass building. Doing cardio while bulking is a good idea because of that, and it also helps to keep you slightly leaner. Putting on some fat will mean you can gain more muscle though, up to a point. You don't want to go higher than 15% on a bulker. Theoretically, yes you wouldn't need as much cardio if you had a lot of lean muscle mass. Then again you would have to be eating a lot of carbs and protein to maintain that mass, which can lead to weight gain.

[aspengc8]

So the morning cardio helps you burn fat, then you get to eat that back during the day with good food? Also, ive been sticking to the cutting sticky diet, and I have been slacking this past 2 weeks and sleeping in on my days off, rather than doing AM cardio. What will happen I continue the lower carb, higher fat diet from the sticky, and just contiue to lift and not do cardio? I get all my carbs from breakfast, and PWO, PPWO, which is 8am, 9am, 10am respectively. Rest of the meals are pro/fat or pro/green veggies.

[Flexor]

So the morning cardio helps you burn fat, then you get to eat that back during the day with good food? Also, ive been sticking to the cutting sticky diet, and I have been slacking this past 2 weeks and sleeping in on my days off, rather than doing AM cardio. What will happen I continue the lower carb, higher fat diet from the sticky, and just contiue to lift and not do cardio? I get all my carbs from breakfast, and PWO, PPWO, which is 8am, 9am, 10am respectively. Rest of the meals are pro/fat or pro/green veggies.

It sounds as if you need carbs from other sources in your diet. All your carbs from breakfast is a very bad idea, they will probably go on as fat instead of being utilised. You need to eat carbs with the protein at other times of the day to protect the protein, otherwise you will be using it as fuel.