Hey

I'm 6 foot and 214lbs, im 16 and im looking to lose some weight. I know that doing cardio is probably the best way to lose weight, but i was wondering, how many calories should i be looking to burn each work out if i work out 4-5 times a week and how long should i do it for. The other day, my first workout, i burnt about 275 calories running and biking, 15 minutes for both. Is this good enough so am i way off and should i be doing a lot more, i wanna do some drastic cutting/fat loss before bulking so im doing strictly cardio, is this wise? any comments crititicism and suggestions are welcome, thanks.

Shawn

So you want to do some drastic fat loss? Then I assume you want to keep the muscle you already have, right?

You must implement a strength training program in addition to your cardio to keep your muscle (or as much as possible) in order to keep your metabolism high and so you don't look like a skinny-fat. Without strength training, your body will drop the muscle since it is an active tissue and requires calories to stay alive.

I'm 6 foot and 214lbs, im 16 ....i wanna do some drastic cutting/fat loss before bulking so im doing strictly cardio, is this wise?

It's not the worst thing you could do, but I don't think it's the best either.

You probably want to include exercises to promote your muscle mass as much, or even more, than you want to just burn calories with cardio. At your age, you have great advantages for building muscle. And muscle burns calories even when you aren't using it.

Actually, cardio isn't the best way to lose weight.

A combination of cardio and resistance training with the right modifications to your nutrition is.

It's not wise to do strictly cardio, because you'll lose muscle mass and water weight. With weight training, studies show you will lose more fat in the same amount of time. Nutrition here is key as well, you can do cardio until you pass out every day and if you don't have the right nutrition, you won't lose much fat.

Jeremy


Hey

I'm 6 foot and 214lbs, im 16 and im looking to lose some weight. I know that doing cardio is probably the best way to lose weight, but i was wondering, how many calories should i be looking to burn each work out if i work out 4-5 times a week and how long should i do it for. The other day, my first workout, i burnt about 275 calories running and biking, 15 minutes for both. Is this good enough so am i way off and should i be doing a lot more, i wanna do some drastic cutting/fat loss before bulking so im doing strictly cardio, is this wise? any comments crititicism and suggestions are welcome, thanks.

Shawn

Nutrition here is key as well, you can do cardio until you pass out every day and if you don't have the right nutrition, you won't lose much fat.

Jeremy

Agreed. With proper nutrition, a lazy person will lose fat. With poor nutrition, a very active person will gain fat.

Don't be lazy, but don't think that you'll burn your fat by running a few times a week either. You'll be disappointed, I think.

You've come to the right place to find out about becoming more healthy, though. Read the stickies at the top of each of the forums, especially the one for beginners and the one for fat loss. Those are terrific guides to get you started. Keep us posted on your progress.

I know that doing cardio is probably the best way to lose weight...
Not really. Weightlifting and diet are both more important for losing fat, in my experience.