Want to do some SERIOUS cutting!

[Wond3rland3r]

Hey, so I'm 20yo, 6', and 280lbs. I know I have a good deal of muscle mass, but I really just wanna lose the weight around my waist and chest, while keeping my muscle mass around the same. Any tips?

FYI, I go to the gym every Monday and Wednesday (for this quarter - I attend college - it's really all that my schedule will allow) and mix it up with different routines on the recumbent bike and arm cycle machine for cardio, with minor strength training in between. On average, I burn around 500 calories on cardio.

Any tips would be nice! :D

[BloodySalad]

Get your diet sorted. All the exercise in the world is absolutely worthless if your diet isn't up to scratch.

Work out your BMR and your daily calorie expenditure and then cut calories. Make sure you're eating properly taking onboard the right vitamins and minerals and the correct amount of proteins and fats.

As for where you want to lose weight? Sorry. It doesn't work that way. You can't spot reduce fat. You just have to get leaner and it will come off there eventually. If you want to retain mass, then try to lose no more than 1 to 2lbs a week. Any more and you may eat into your lbm. Minor strength training will not help though - you will need to lift heavy using a proper training regime. You can cut out some of the cardio to compensate.

[Wond3rland3r]

My approximate BMR is around 2588 calories. With some exercise, my maintaining caloric intake is around 3560. Will a difference in calories result in a greater weight loss gradient?

[BloodySalad]

Obviously, the more you cut calories and the more you burn, the more you will lose.
To begin with I would cut to 3000. You'll probably find that you'll drop weight pretty quick to begin with but in a few weeks that should stabilise and it'll slow down. Adjust calories as needed to keep losing that 1 to 2 lbs.
At this stage, you need to focus on diet and lifting. Keep cardio in reserve and use it sparingly or if you do want to do it, don't go too overboard. Cardio is a useful tool for when you plateau later down the line (it happens to us all). That's when it comes into it's own - you can use it to kickstart weightloss again. There's no point in playing all the best cards from your hand at the beginning of the game.
But again, it's got to be repeated - lift heavy.

Go to the Workout forum and look for Starting Strength or All Pro's Beginners program (I began with that one). Choose one and stick to it religiously. You'll eventually get the results you're looking for. Heavy weight lifting for fat loss and muscle retention/building beats out cardio by a country mile.