Dropping BF% Lifting then Cardio then EATING!!

[lazza411]

I am prepping for my first first cycle will be Test E + Var. I am currently at about 18.5% body fat. For the last three weeks I have been lifting hard after taking almost 6 months off. (BF went up during that time).

I have a question regarding my diet and workout and dropping BF without losing muscle:

I have been lifting/running 6 days a week. Weight train for 1-2 hours then follow that with a run 3-4 miles EVERYDAY. I am burning about 600 calories during the cardio. BUT I am also trying to build muscle and I am EATING A LOT. My muscles are constantly sore, and I am constantly hungry. Since i want muscle i eat, (i try to stick to proteins and veggies, but i love cheese i eat that too, and carbs from cereal and bread.


IF i continue doing this will I "shift" the weight from BF to Muscle? My understanding is that after doing a big session of lifting I should have used up the glycogenic stores within the muscles, so by the time i hit the cardio i should be 600 calories of FAT? (or muscle??). I am not on a calorie deficit, breaking even at best, will I be able to drop BF percentage while increasing muscle mass if I continue like this? I would like to get my BF down from the 18s to 15.0 or so before even starting the test/var cycle.

 

[stevesmi]

too much running .. you are running 20+ miles per week.. you are burning away fat but you are also gonna burn away muscle

seems like you are committed to your goal but you cannot conquer Rome in one day. i would reduce cardio to 1 mile EOD or half a mile a day. something light like that. and i would totally clean up your diet and use your diet to reduce body fat.. if you do not care about burning away muscle and just want to burn fat and don't care about anything else then keep running that much. but you will also need to have a solid diet!! i used to do endurance running and there was this chubby dude that would run with us, he got faster and was doing 5K's no problem.. but he never lost that damn gut totally because after the runs he would go to Wendy's.. if he would eat a fruit cup or a salad after that would make such a huge difference! see what i mean?

you can't turn your fat into muscle.. they are two different things. what you want to do is reduce body fat while growing muscle. it isn't easy to do, that is the challenge of bodybuilding and it takes time... seems like you have the ambition to do it though... lets see where you are at in 6 months.

 

[lazza411]

Ya i see what you mean... My question for you about the chubby dude running 5ks.. Did he lift too or just run?


I have lifted on and off for probably 8-10 years now so I do have some muscle to go along with my 18% BF. I feel like right now my goal is to get the BF percentage down while maintaining current muscle. I am def running 20+ miles a week, and its interval training to running hard to get heart rate up for a few min then letting it come down and running hard again.

Even with the cycle I am preparing to do my main goal is going to be to cut up... putting on a few pounds of muscle would be great but being lean is the main goal.

I am not tryin to "turn muscle into fat" but rather burn the fat and maintain the muscle until cycle.

 

[lazza411]

I guess an obvious way to really advance the fat loss along would be to go to a ketosis type diet..

 

[stevesmi]

Ya i see what you mean... My question for you about the chubby dude running 5ks.. Did he lift too or just run?

he lifted but not seriously at all. the issue with him is he got in a great run, sped up his metabolism but then after he ate fast food which has a counter effect and slows his metabolism right back down.. makes no sense!!

I have lifted on and off for probably 8-10 years now so I do have some muscle to go along with my 18% BF. I feel like right now my goal is to get the BF percentage down while maintaining current muscle. I am def running 20+ miles a week, and its interval training to running hard to get heart rate up for a few min then letting it come down and running hard again.

whether its interval training or long distance running you will burn away muscle doing that. go to a 5K or track meet and see what the runners look like.. now you will see some short distance runners with muscle, but nothing like what bodybuilders have.

Even with the cycle I am preparing to do my main goal is going to be to cut up... putting on a few pounds of muscle would be great but being lean is the main goal.

I am not tryin to "turn muscle into fat" but rather burn the fat and maintain the muscle until cycle
you can accomplish this 2 ways.. you can just go balls to the wall and cut down into the low teens, then start over and eat well, reduce your cardio. and hit the gym hard, and the track sparingly. OR you can do it the hard way and try to slowly drop your body fat while mantaining your muscle. the first way i described may frustrate you because you will lose a lot of strength and mass .. but in 1 year you will look way better then trying to do this the hard way.
.

bolded, just make sure whichever strategy you choose you don't slack again and go back up to a high body fat.. guys who let themselves get out of hand and then choose lots of cardio or stims to lose that body fat end up burning away a lot of mass and losing strength. sometimes you have to do that though and then put mass back on

 

[danplantpt]

Fuel used for cardio is carbs 85% + 15% protein - after around 20mins it turns to 45% carbs/fat each and 15% protein and stays that way till about an hour of steady exercise. After an hour when your carb stores are depleted you start to use more protein as a fuel source. As the body does not actively store protein anywhere (it uses it as and when) it turns to the storage of protein in your muscles. So your using muscle as a fuel source for your cardio...which ain't your goal! Stick to 30mins - mid intensity in my opinion!

 

[stevesmi]

Fuel used for cardio is carbs 85% + 15% protein - after around 20mins it turns to 45% carbs/fat each and 15% protein and stays that way till about an hour of steady exercise. After an hour when your carb stores are depleted you start to use more protein as a fuel source. As the body does not actively store protein anywhere (it uses it as and when) it turns to the storage of protein in your muscles. So your using muscle as a fuel source for your cardio...which ain't your goal! Stick to 30mins - mid intensity in my opinion!

not sure about the percentages but you are spot on here. not sure why guys want to put on muscle but also do a lot of cardio. makes zero sense. i mean go to a road race 5K or half marathon and see what the fast guys look like.. i'm sure someone will chime in and say they went and saw fat people or muscle heads. well those guys don't run much obviously and they definately don't place in those races.

as an endurace athlete I was 6% body fat at 135 pounds. as a bodybuilder I am 12% body fat at 185 pounds. its 2 different bodies.