trimming up

I am 19 years old, and mainly into weight lifting and bodybuilding. but as i have been taking in so many calories to gain muscle im starting to get a little fat. i do 20 minutes of cardio AFTER every workout to burn fat. Will this actually burn fat or do i need to run for longer? thanx
 
If you are trying to gain muscle then you will gain some fat. The two go hand in hand, just with smart training and a smart surpluss of calories you should be gaining mostly muscle, but no matter what you do some fat is going to come. If you try and keep it off your gains will be less. So just bite the bullet, train hard, eat smart and cut back down after you hit your goal.
 
This is true. but i would rather burn my fat than build muscle. some people say that running on the treadmill for 20 minutes after a workout will not burn fat. Is this true?
 
Then if you are looking to not gain any more muscle and cut off the fat you need to be eating for it, its mostly diet. Best plan of attack is figure out your maintenance calories, eat in a deficit of that (about 500) and combine that with a 3x a week full body training program and if you want to preserve your muscle I would got with some HIIT cardio vs. a steady state. Check out the HIIT section for more info on that and read the stuck threads at the top of the forum sections for more nutrition and routine info.
 
I know how to change my diet, that wasnt my question. I just dont want to lose my strength so i will still lift weights. I just dont know how long to run for after my workout in order to actually burn fat.
 
You have to understand that this is the answer to your question. "fat burning zones" aren't a real thing. You have to be burning more calories than your body needs for maintenance to lose fat. There isn't a magic number for how long to do something added to the fact that everyones body is different. If you want to keep your strength and muscle but lose body fat you need to be in a healthy caloric deficit, still do your lifting and again as I said look in to HIIT style of cardio as it better preserves muscle over steady state.
 
Just remember, it's much much much easier for your body to store fat and carbohydrates as fat than it is protein. As mentioned above, you must burn more calories than you take in to burn fat. You can strategically raise your metabolism, burning more calories, all while fueling your muscle. High-protein diet could be your answer. A 24 hour juice fast or other detoxifying plan can rejuvenate you and your metabolism, and get rid of some unwanted fat as well. Just don't deprive yourself of nutrients.. and remember, when your stomach growls it doesn't mean "i need food", it's a signal that it's needing some type of nutrient.
 
Actually, food for thought...read a recent article & saw the accompanying article a couple weeks ago from MSNBC that investigates juice fasts/detox diets. Essentially, the nutritionist says they're a bunch of nonsense. The article and video are here if anyone wants to check it out:
 
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