Fat Loss for Men - Cardio and Strength???

I would start strength training as well. Building muscle can also help you burn fat by raising you base metabolic rate because muscles uses more energy than fat.

Start the strength training now....You will lose fat and tone up doing strength training...your diet dictates which direction you go...Whether it's gaining muscle or just cutting fat....BUT!

When you do decide to gain muscle or bulk up or put on mass...cut some of that cardio out

You need a mix for the best results. Strength builds muscle which burns fat.

I do 3 days of cardio which is mostly running, but has been biking, ice skating or rollerblading. I do two days of cross-training which includes strength. But a 30 minute bike ride and 20 minutes of ST 3 times a week is a great start. You can extend your cardio times as you get fit.

I also started lifting to help maintain muscle. I lift 4/days per week (lower/upper split). On lifting days I'll do 15 minutes of intervals on various cardio machines. On one non-lifting day I'll do approx 45 min of light to moderate cardio.

And realistically, you could just lift and keep the calories down without doing any cardio, and you'd probably get the physical results you want. I don't like the way I feel when I have to restrict my calories that much, so I do the cardio. Plus it's good for the heart, etc.

Find out what your heart rate should be to stay in the fat burning mode. You don't want to burn muscle right now.

You can actually do both, reduce fat and build muscle, but you can't use the scale as your choice of measure. My husband is doing the same thing. He gets mad when the doctors tell him he's obese because of the BMI, but yet his body fat is very low. He's almost all muscle.

I've done it both ways, for a while I did hours and hours of cardio with some heavy lifting and lost a lot of weight, but I just looked skinny and not toned like I wanted. Right now I'm doing mostly heavy lifting and haven't lost as much weight, but my physique looks much better to me. The amount of weight you lose will still depend a lot on your diet though.

Trust me on this one, strength training now. I just got done with a solid year of nothing but cardio, lost a good 60 lbs. But a lot of it was muscle, don't make the same mistake. If you do cardio only, make sure you eat a minimum 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight. If your body dosn't have the protein in the stomach the only other place to go is muscle, and it will I guarantee it.

As has been said, do both.

I lost a lot of weight through cardio. I was not happy with the way I looked.

When I started strength training I started seeing really great results and only wish I had done it sooner.

If you're looking for a program I recommend Stronglifts 5x5. But any good program is going to have you doing compound lifts, squats, bench, deadlifts, etc.

You can go straight into weight training right away and get the desired effects. What you want to do is make sure that when you are lifting weights you are working in the higher range of your target heart rate.

To do this you will need to increase your intensity. This is done by increasing reps (typically 10-12 reps), and decreasing rest periods (rest periods vary by what you are trying to accomplish, for you keep yours to 1 min). You can also introduce super sets, giant sets and drop sets to increase the intensity and really get the sweat flowing. Finally you can do dynamic exercises. Instead of doing a leg press do a walking lunge with a shoulder press, instead of a squat do a squat jump etc...

You can get a great cardio workout with weights, too many ppl think they must do cardio, not knowing they can get a great cardio workout and do weights at the same time.

From your post, it seems like you are after more of a hollywood lean look. A good example is Brad Pitt in Fight Club. If that's correct, then you have to do both cardio and weight training. To do it correctly to achieve such a physique, you can't go by what muscle mags tell you.... or even worse bro science. You need a good program to follow that is proven to get you there.

The only program I know works that comes to mind is Visual Impact. It was specifically created for those men, and now women who want that lean look. If I were you, I'd take a look at this website where it's reviewed from a personal standpoint.... http://realmensworkoutreviews.com/

It is the second product reviewed.

Hopefully that helps.

Thanx for the all the responses guys, Iv been doing more reading around too, and from what I read, It seems I should do both. I'm a beginner so what kind of strength training should I be looking at? I'm talking about specifics here because I haven't done any before.

As someone mentioned your main lifts will be squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. I also agree that stronglifts 5x5 is a good routine to follow. Just make sure you start light and focus on form for the first couple weeks so you don't hurt yourself. And eat a lot of protein.

You don't need cardio to lose weight, it's more about diet. If you can't eat less than you may need to add some cardio to burn some extra calories. And once you decide you are thin enough but want bigger muscles, then you start eating more.

I also focused mainly on weight loss last year. I dropped almost 60 lbs before a friend told me that I looked "weird". I did a self check in the mirror at home and agreed with his comment!
Another friend (who used to be a trainer) gave me a simple weights plan to try. This was one of the best things ever! I am slowly seeing a more toned body and my strength has increased enormously since I started the weights (Last Nov.).
My suggestion is that if you can, add in some strength training now. I wish that I had started with the weights right from the start!

This is pretty much the same path I took. But I have a question: How long did it take to start noticing results?

Basically, I hit the cardio hard from July 11 - January 12 changed my diet drastically and ended up losing 50+ pounds. In February I noticed I was still "soft" and not happy with how my body was looking at all, so I started lifting. I've been doing a 5x5 program and adding weight every workout as instructed. But I still look "soft" (especially in the belly area) and can't seem to get the toned look I'm after.

I'm eating enough (2100+ of lean protein, whole wheats and healthy fats), suplimenting with a whey based protein drink after workouts and only doing 1 day of intense cardio a week when I play racquetball with a friend.

Basically, I think I've followed every rule and guideline I can find on the proper way to lose fat, and still seem doughy.