cardio and building

L

lukibug

0
hey everyone,

got a quick question that's been bugging me for a while.

i just got back from studying abroad for a year in australia. while there i did boxing, surfing, rock climbing, lots of gym, etc. and lost 24 lbs going from 184-160. now being back in the states for the past months, i've gradually gained back to about 170.

i've heard that it's a good idea to always tone down first before you start bulking up muscle wise, but my work out buddy tells me it's a myth; that it's easy to pack on the muscle and still cut down your fat to get the muscular-yet-cut look. Any thoughts?

Thanks :)
 
Dont know where you heared that.
Its easyer to bulk up, then strip of the fat. this is due to the fact that the bigger your muscles, the faster your metabolism.
However if you dont have many years of weight lifting under your belt, you may find that it would be much better to diet and exercise well to lose weight, while you spend 3 months getting a good weight training program together and practice tennique. This way, when you start your bulking you can really go for it and get the best out of your training.
 
When someone tries to gain mass, they usually pack on a considerable amount of body fat during the process.

I would recommend adding high intensity cardio sessions to your fitness schedule. Combining a high intensity weight training routine with a high intensity cardio program, will enable your body to drop fat and build quality muscle mass
 
If you're brand new to training, yes its easy to put on some muscle while shedding fat. But after a couple months, you'll get stuck, and you'll have to decide whether you need to shed fat, or build muscle. You can really only do one or the other at optimum efficiency, since they both require different dietary needs. You need caloric deficit to lose fat. You need extra calories to build muscle. See the paradox?

New trainees, and a few lucky genetic freaks, can do both because the body hasn't adapated to exercise yet...so any stimulus to the muscle causes some growth. If they don't gorge on food, they'll lose weight, again because the body had reached an equilibrium with their food intake and sedentary lifestyle. Hop on a cardio machine and they expend more calories than 'normal' and the fat melts.

2-4 months is the typical 'new trainee' period where they can pull off both at the same time. After that, you gotta choose a side and stick to your guns.
 
thanks.

i'm not new to training. i've been weight-lifting consistently since fall 2004 and going heavy since january of last year, so it's been a while. i guess should try things out, see what my body is capable of and best suited for. through a drastic change in lifestyle and an increase in exercise while studying abroad, i was able to drop 24 pounds in about 3 months. now i want to see how much muscle i can pack on. my goal is to add muscle to all the places that i have muscle now, and still trim off the bit of fat hiding here and there.

:)
 
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