opinions wanted

ok guys .. ive been working out for about 3 months almost .. first month and a half was basically body weight stuff because i was BEYOND out of shape .. couldnt even do like 16 pushups in a min lol .. situps .. etc .. so basically im alot better now and recently .. almost a month a strictly compound exercises .. i can definitely see improvements in my body so far .. lost about 5% bf .. was like 29 or so .. who knows how accurate .. now im around 22-24% measured at my new gym with 4 point caliper test .. since ive started ive noticed my arms have gotten bigger .. chest and back have gotten wider .. not much but definitely noticeable to me and my family ..

im just wondering if i should just go on a hardcore cardio program to just get my bf into the mid teens .. then just start building muscle .. i know since i went from doing nothing to what im doing now is gonna help .. and i have build alot of muscle which in turn is helping burn the fat .. but maybe i should just try and burn as much fat as possible as fast as possible along with losing muscle and then when im at a good bf level then start to bulk up while keeping the bf % in check

also over the past 3 months of working out .. my weight hasnt really changed .. maybe like 4lbs if that .. i have a large frame to build on but i guess a belly runs in my family ,, and that is where 90% of my fat is
diet is alot better .. no sodas .. snapples .. etc .. mostly only water .. cut out all junk food .. etc .. i believe my maint calories is around 2200-2300 .. so im trying to cut that down ..

what do u guys think ? bw im 29 .. gonna be 30 :eek:
 
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cardio is not a magical trick to fat loss. Losing 3-4% bodyfat in a month or so without 'hardcore' weight training is nothign to shake a stick at, and doing a bunch of cardio isn't gonna shed the weight faster.

cardio is great for your heart, and building lung volume. its not a magic solution to burn off fat. it is part of a good routine though.
3 sessions a week, 20-30 mins per session is as hardcore as you need to get.

proper eating and keeping up on all your training is gonna keep the fat falling off.
 
so its ok to lift with all compound movements and just cut my calorie intake by 500 .. definitely wont get stronger .. and add in some cardio on the same days i lift .. of course after weights

also im guessing 4% loss .. since my first measurement was at another place with calipers and it came out to be like 29 % and the second reading was my new gym .. so ill take it again in october .. which will be 2 months since i got the 24%
 
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if you are still losing fat, you don't need to cut another 500 calories.

you can get stronger while cutting, you just can't really add much muscle mass. size and strength are not necessarily the same thing (ever met a wirey guy who's strong as an ox? like...a wrestler?)

i would do cardio on teh days you don't lift. again, cardio isn't the magic bullet to fat loss. do cardio for your heart. cardio is short for cardiovascular...meaning 'the heart and blood system'

20-30 mins, 3x a week, interval style...keepign the heart rate up. that's all you should need.
 
IMO if you're throwing in cardio keep your kcals right where they're at. So you avoid catabolism as much as possible.
 
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