I posted this in my journal and thought I would get more answers here.



Okay started to work out finally I just am so confused about doing cardio (burning fat) and lifting weights (building muscle). Well I have read numerous articles which state that burning fat and building muscle are impossible do do at the same time..... and well I guess if I could just get a clear answer to what I should be doing right now I would feel more confident with my time being spent in the gym..... If I want to burn fat should I just do cardio everyday for 30 minutes a day until I finally lose the fat?....and then lift weights to put on the muscle I need to help maintain the weight loss. Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found a wonderful thread called "Cardio Before or After Weights?" on this very forum just last night. It's a long read, but a very informative and most helpful one. I'd start looking for my answer there if it were me.

If you've never trained with weights before you can probably do both. Almost everybody does when they inititally start using weights. After a while it becomes harder. Some people can do both but most can't very effectively. What happens is it becomes easier and much faster to go on bulking and cutting cycles. When you bulk you commit yourself to gaining a little bit of fat.

If I were to go on a bulking cycle I might gain 10 pounds. 7 of lean muscle and then 3 of fat. On my cutting cycle I could probably lose 10 pounds, 6 of fat and 4 of muscle. Net result is very good - 3 lbs less fat and 3 lbs up muscle - just done in a roundabout way.

If you're a beginner I wouldn't worry about this aspect much at all. I personally believe that you can do both at the same time if you eat and exercise correctly but your progress will be slower than if you cycle it. But even that is largely dependent on genetics. Mesomorphic body types will be most successful at doing both at the same time.

I do both at the same time. It is possible, but you will go in the direction of mean and lean. That is why bodybuilder's don't do this. They want to be bulky...

I know people say this is a myth...


but you can accomplish both at the same time.

if you have to choose one direction...build muscle first...it will make leaning out ALOT easier.

this is exactly the kind of sh*t that you get when you read mainstream "bodybuilding" articles...

why don't you save yourself the trouble of the inevitable joint knee shoulder and back injuries that you get from wasting your time lifting weight, and learn how to do bodyweight exercises?

with bodyweight exercises you are doing BOTH a "cardio" and a "strength" workout at the same time, while also improving your flexibility, and strengthening your joints instead of grinding them down.

pushups, bodyweight leg work, pullups, handstands, etc... this is the "body building" of the future. this is real strength -- being able to work with your own body...

do you need big "puffy" muscles that aren't really even that strong? it's like when you eat chicken...these "body builders" have big, puffy, but soft white meat muscle...plus, they are destroying their flexibility and joints.
functional exercises give you the dark, oxygen-filled useful muscle that makes you more alive!

there you go...some nice propoganda for you!

I don't know what any body-building magazines say...

but I have managed to lose 52 pounds of total weight while also significantly changing my muscles. Soooo... I say that you can burn fat and build muscle at the same time.

I'm certainly no expert but all the information I've read indicates a good mixture of weight training and cardio will allow you to do both.

All I can say is from my experience...I seem to be doing both. What was flabby fat is now slimming and turning into nice toned muscle. I do aerobics 3 times a week and light weights 2 times a week. I give myself 2 days rest as well.

You can burn fat and build lean muscle mass at the same time. I've done it...I'm doing it.

Do both. Eat a diet which is slightly below maintenance calories and includes a lot (more than you would normally eat) of protein and omega 3 fats.
Lift weights - what 2-4 times a week? It depends on how you split up your exercise routine, what exercises you do and how much sleep you get.
Cardio.. again, how often you do it depends on how well your body is able to recover. Is it interfering with the recovery of your leg workouts? Is it high intensity.. low intensity..?

Take a look at my before and my current photo for proof that you can lose weight and put on muscle at the same time.

I would certainly recommend a combination of cardio and weights... but here's the important point, pick something that you enjoy and will stick with. Cause the best training program is one that you will do week in and week out.

its not a case of one or the other or both. it is widely accepted and common knowledge that the more muscle you have the more fat you burn.
In other words you will burn fat by building muscle - its not one or the other. Cardio helps burn calories and can create weight loss by creating a calorific deficit (if you don't overeat to counteract your exercise) however, once those calories have been used up the weight loss benefit is gone (apart from getting fitter) Which means that every time you wanted to burn some more calories you would have to go and do some more cardio. cardio does not accumulate for ongoing weight loss, and fat just sits there, not using energy and not increasing your metabolism.

however, muscle uses energy (burns calories) with every move it makes, so the more lean muscle you have, the more calories you burn even when you're just sitting there. As you can see, building muscle means you will be a calorie burning engine, reaping the benefits of higher metabolism and more calories burned all day every day on an ongoing basis.

Any trainer worth their salt will tell you that building muscle is imperitive for ongoing successful long term weight loss and body re-shaping. (unless you want to eat like a sparrow to maintain your goal weight)

I agree that bodyweight exercises are great, however I also like to lift the iron, so that choice is yours to make.

balance is always the key, so get a good programme which has a nice mix of cardio to increase fitness and burn some calories, and weight training to reshape your body, and build calorie burning muscles. all the best!

and bigdaddy99 ------ your looking goooood!!! nice job on the delts, pecs, and tric.

bet you feel like a different person

physiologically, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to build muscle and lose bodyweight at the same time. What you are doing is removing the fat above the muscle to create definition--basically, it appears as though you are gaining muscle because the muscle you had is now visible. If you dont believe me, take a look at measurements, I doubt some of these before and after shots (where body fat is reduced drastically) would have an arm, for example, at a larger circumference.

That is because you can lose fat and gain muscle. The fat loss is going to be more than the muscle gained because of the difficulty in gaining muscle while attempting to lose fat, therefore of course an arm measurement would end up smaller...or it might stay the same.