I have lost a lot of fat NOT doing cardio

[dcarrera]

I don't get it...these past years ive done an extremely high amount of cardio to lose fat, but i would always end up getting skinny fat.

These past 2 months i have done nothing more than lift weights (very stricly and intensily), and kept my diet in check, and i have noticed that my six pack is showing and my body is "fuller" in the biceps/chest area whereas before my chest and arms would get kinda saggy.

Anyone know why this happens?

[.aeterna]

maybe ur diet is actually good for once

[ICEshot]

ya it must be your diet.... maybe your intake in calories is less.. and your getting in more protein that you normally did

[Lezgetitdone]

I don't get it...these past years ive done an extremely high amount of cardio to lose fat, but i would always end up getting skinny fat.

These past 2 months i have done nothing more than lift weights (very stricly and intensily), and kept my diet in check, and i have noticed that my six pack is showing and my body is "fuller" in the biceps/chest area whereas before my chest and arms would get kinda saggy.

Anyone know why this happens?

It's your diet bruh. Dcarrera who does the same intensive lifting WITH cardio will get better and faster gains than dcarrera who does just intensive lifting.

[dcarrera]

It's your diet bruh. Dcarrera who does the same intensive lifting WITH cardio will get better and faster gains than dcarrera who does just intensive lifting.

Haha. I guess you are right. I guess i kinda wanted to know if doing too much cardio or too much weight lifting will hurt me. What i am doing right now is perfect, but i dont know if i can do more things to speed up the process, without doing too much, do you know what im saying?

[TheNormalMan]

Doing too much of anything will hurt you.

I could eat nothing but bananas all day long, but that doesn't mean it's good for me.

Balance is what they say we should strive for.

I don't particularly care for balance though and fine pleasure from the pain of excess.

Especially when I abuse myself at the gym.

[snorkelman]

in addition to diet controlling the "calories in" side of the equation, many people completely fail to recognize that intense weight training provides many cardio-esque benefits. Simply from a calories-out aspect, it comes close if not surpasses cardio. It also gives you EPOC if you keep your between set rest periods short.

Bottom line, bro, you found what is giving YOU results, so don't change anything (including your eating) and just keep going until you stop getting results and THEN make some tweaks.

[giussepe20]

so you did strictly intense cardio the past few years and are surprised that your muscles werent "fuller"? that seems logical since cardio isnt really intended to build muscle as much as it is to burn fat. or maybe you mean you were doing cardio+lifting in which case it probably would be your diet and maybe a lack of balance between the two as well (too much cardio maybe?) that prevented you from getting the results you want.

nothing wrong with cardio though, i dont understand why it has such a bad rap on here.

[Beaujangles]

Muscle burns more calories than fat, maybe you've raised your metabolism a bit. Every pound of muscle adds about 50 calories to your BMR is what I've read. Check out Dr. Willeys article "America is not overfat, It is undermuscled" I've recently started doing the same as you and it's worked for me as well. On another note.. Cardio only burns calories while you're doing it, building more muscles burns more calories all the time. Keep heading in the right direction.

[csbrown147]

Its your diet and the weight training. When you do cardio you are burning calories at the moment. When you lift weights depending on your intensity and workouts you are burning calories during your workout, but when you finish your workout your body is continuously burning calories. Building muscles involving breaking your muscles down and building them bigger and stronger. That process of building muscles means your body is always working and burning calories.

[Modest_Force]

Muscle burns more calories than fat, maybe you've raised your metabolism a bit. Every pound of muscle adds about 50 calories to your BMR is what I've read. Check out Dr. Willeys article "America is not overfat, It is undermuscled" I've recently started doing the same as you and it's worked for me as well. On another note.. Cardio only burns calories while you're doing it, building more muscles burns more calories all the time. Keep heading in the right direction.

I wasn't aware that fat burned calories. o_O El oh el.

And 50 calories per pound of muscle? So you're telling me Jay Cutler is burning close to 9000 calories per day just by existing?

I'm just busting your balls. Muscle does burn more calories per pound of muscle, but it's not 50 calories/pound.

[Modest_Force]

As for the OP's question, like the fellow above me said, you found something that works for you. A lot of people say that running is catabolic (meaning it burns muscle if done for too long). If you want proof of this claim, look at cross country or track runners. Most of them are skin and bones.

If you're lifting, you probably experienced some good noob gains on top of your already lean body (because of all the running). It was probably just a matter of filling out a bit and filling up that extra skin with some muscle.

These are just a few ideas. I think I avoided broscience. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you got your results, it's that what you are doing is getting you results. Keep it up and you'll only get better.

Hope this helps. =)