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3 month into it

catsneck Posts: 38 Joined: 2003/06/15	2004/12/04, 05:53 PM having been lifting weights now for 3 1/2 months,my aim was to build upper body and lose my gut.I have lost about 6kg and am starting to get that toned look.Fat has definitely shifted from my gut.I need to lose some more fat though and have took on 1 1/2 hours of cardio per week as well as 4 nights on weights.Now im in a dilemma,do i stick to what im doing lose the bit more fat that i feel i need to and then start to build my top half,or do i stop my cardio right now,start eating more and then hopefully my fat will go anyway (with my diet) and concentrate on lower rep training.Im just not to sure what to do next, please help.
princesslodgey Posts: 1,748 Joined: 2004/02/21	2004/12/05, 08:00 AM It is important for general health reasons to do some cardio each week (a minimum of 20 mins 3 times a week) you said that you had lost some of your fat - did you feel that you were beginning to plateau or was the weight continuing to come off? If your program is working then stick with it. Have you only just started to do cardio or were you doing cardio before? If you have just added in cardio then you may well see an improvement with the extra calories you burn.
catsneck Posts: 38 Joined: 2003/06/15	2004/12/05, 05:30 PM i would say the weight was/is continuing to come off,I have just started the cardio in the last couple of weeks,my main concern is losing muscle with my cardio,my weights lifted seem to be stagnating,should i try creatine?? thnx
princesslodgey Posts: 1,748 Joined: 2004/02/21	2004/12/06, 09:34 AM The best way to avoid losing muscle with your cardio is to do the cardio sessions on a different day to your lifting days. If this is not possible try to do the weights early in the day and the cardio later. Keep your cardio sessions to 20 minutes at a time. Don't do cardio on an empty stomach. If you are trying to lose weight I wouldn't eat anything additional after your cardio sessions, but if you could time your sessions so that you are eating one of your meals reasonably soon afterwards, that will help. I would probably keep the creatine in reserve until you have been training for a bit longer. It may be worthwhile to invest in a whey protein supplement to take after your weights workout, if you aren't doing so already. Are you doing the same weights workout as when you started or have you changed your routine at all?
catsneck Posts: 38 Joined: 2003/06/15	2004/12/08, 05:36 PM thanks princess,I do cardio on its own on sundays,30 mins cross trainer/30 mins bike or rower.I also do 30mins every thursday running machine after my shoulders workout.I could knock these down to 20 mins although i do want to still lose fat.I do take whey protien after every workout,thats 5 nights a week.3 weeks ago i upped my weights routine but not by a fantastic amount.My weight at the moment is 76kg height 5 ft 11 in.I am happy that im losing the fat and am prepared to lose more weight/fat but my target weight is about 85kg but with the muscle and not the fat.any comments appreciated
princesslodgey Posts: 1,748 Joined: 2004/02/21	2004/12/09, 09:44 AM A lot of people go in cycles of gaining muscle and then cutting fat. The main difference for each cycle is in diet rather than in training. I've not really much experience in this, but if you are concerned about your lifting "stagnating" and you want to gain muscle maybe you could think about a bulking cycle? You could do a search using "fitbuddy" at the bottom of the page if you are interested. Was that what you were thinking or have I got the wrong end of the stick? :)
catsneck Posts: 38 Joined: 2003/06/15	2004/12/10, 05:11 PM yeah cheers princess.I have read up as you suggested,its certainly another way to go,I think i'll give it till january on my current program because i have just upped my training schedule.If im still not happy then bulking and cutting could be worth a try.
princesslodgey Posts: 1,748 Joined: 2004/02/21	2004/12/11, 08:20 AM okay good luck! :)