Creatine while doing just cardio?

[PlasticJanus]

Well I have been taking creatine to preserve my muscle

That's not how it works.

Okay so doing weights aswell as cardio is what your reccomending right? I am not opposed to changing my plan I just want to get the fat off and keep it off. What if I do some weights at home after my workout with 10 pound dumbells for maybe a half hour? Working a little bit on all my muscle groups would that work?

You won't preserve adequate amounts of muscle unless you're actually working your muscles, which means lifting heavy, not light. If 10 pound dumbbells are all you have, lift at the gym, and lift heavy so as to keep as much muscle as possible.

[naslund33]

Yes, and even doing a retarded routine that you put together yourself is going to put some muscle on you because you are new to lifting.

Look up "full body barbell routine" that should get you started in the right direction.


Even doing pushups and chinups + all the cardio you plan would work. I highly recommend pushups, if you haven't guess by now, they'll get you strong pretty quickly.

What do you think would be a realistic push up routine for someone of my stature and strength (im not very strong).

[nlite2000]

What do you think would be a realistic push up routine for someone of my stature and strength (im not very strong).

right now---


how many pushups can you do at once before you can't do anymore.

[naslund33]

right now---


how many pushups can you do at once before you can't do anymore.

10 full legit push ups and then my back starts hurting and my right shoulder =(

[284Shooter]

Man up.

Listen to what these guys are saying, STOP making excuses. If you want advise then take it, or just do what you wanted to in the first place.

[nlite2000]

10 full legit push ups and then my back starts hurting and my right shoulder =(

2 days on 1 day off 3 sets of pushups at 1 rep to each set after each off day so, it would be



monday 5/5/5
tuesday 5/5/5
wednesday off
thurs 6/6/6/
friday 6/6/6
sat off
sun 7/7/7
etc

By the time you get to 3 sets of 20 (not that long), you'll be a)stronger b)look a little better c)have an idea why people lift weights.

[adanac23]

You ask for help and you seem to ignore the extremely good advice.

The most important things to focus on for weight loss are
1)Diet
2)Lifting Weights
3)Cardio

Get you nutrition in order. Figure out your BMR and adjust calories based on activity level. Make sure you are eating in a slight defecit 250-500. Lift heavy 3 days a week. add in some cardio running, bike, Swimming, roller blade, as a way to help meet your 250-500 calorie defacit.

Weight training will do a couple things it will increase your BMR as well as help you preserve muscle mass. Taking Creatine as a way to preserve muscle mass while only running is kinda pointless. You still need to lift weight.

You wanna lose that gut you need to lift dude listen to the people on here that have had results.

A good weight training program that I would consider is Starting Strength. It is normally used as a bulking program but I have had good results with it while cutting. Very simple lifting routine lots of squats and dead lifts which will increase your core strength and help get rid of the stubborn stomach fat.

if you wanna lose the gut it won't happen running alone. You will drop weight and look the same.

[bdrusse]

Okay so doing weights aswell as cardio is what your reccomending right? I am not opposed to changing my plan I just want to get the fat off and keep it off. What if I do some weights at home after my workout with 10 pound dumbells for maybe a half hour? Working a little bit on all my muscle groups would that work?

here is the deal. eat at a deficit, lift weights heavy enough to take you to failure. if that is 10lbs for 100 reps or 10lbs for ten reps. Go to failure or as close as you can get if you dont have a spotter. That will be your best way to retain your muscles. Not creatine.

Do cardio, heck, do all the cardio you want, but know that at the end of a cardio workout, your body is said to stop burning fat within an hour or 2. Lifting weights continues to burn fat for about the next 36 to 39 hours.

As far as what to work out, go to the workout routines or exercise forum. Yes, you need to do more than chest and arms or one day you will look in the mirror and realize you look like a lop sided lucy. Aside from asthetics, there are other reasons you dont want one muscle group getting too much bigger than a counter muscle group.

Example, too much chest, not enough back. it will pull your shoulders forward and ruin your posture. The tight chest muscles wont have the counter force of tight back muscles pulling back.

Too much abs not enough back, can produce the same problems, even lower back pain.

Work you legs too. your biggest fat burning muscles are in your lower body. glutes and quads. build those up and they will help burn fat 24/7. when you run, they will burn even more fat. Cardio and weights mixed are win/win. Do cardio 4 or 5 times a week and weights only a couple if you want, but dont get rid of weights completely.

[SimonThePieman]

So basically for the next 2 months or so ill be doing all cardio with strict diet do lose all my stomach fat (1:30hr a day 6x a week 600-700 calories burned a day) eating around 1000-1250 calories a day. It may seem low but im only 5'6 132pounds. Anyways during this hardcore cardio phase I have been taking creatine to preserve what little muscle I have and for more energy. But will it effect my stomach fat loss? I know I will gain water weight but will I lose the fat just as easy on creatine as I would off it?

THis is like someone finding their house has been burnt to the ground and asking what colour lampshade he needs to fix it

[naslund33]

Okay well thanks to your guys's help ive adjusted my workout plan to look like this let me know if you think this will be more effective, I tried it out today.

Monday-Weight training, 2 different workouts for each part of the body.

Tuesday- Cardio

Wednesday- Cardio

Thursday- Cardio

Friday- Weight training like monday

Saturday- Cardio

Sunday- Cardio if im not taking a day off.

Does this look better and more effective? Im open to other ideas

[NeedANick]

Okay well thanks to your guys's help ive adjusted my workout plan to look like this let me know if you think this will be more effective, I tried it out today.

Monday-Weight training, 2 different workouts for each part of the body.

Tuesday- Cardio

Wednesday- Cardio

Thursday- Cardio

Friday- Weight training like monday

Saturday- Cardio

Sunday- Cardio if im not taking a day off.

Does this look better and more effective? Im open to other ideas

Do you have a gym available?

[naslund33]

Do you have a gym available?

What do you mean? Like this second? I have a gym membership if thats what your asking.

[NeedANick]

What do you mean? Like this second? I have a gym membership if thats what your asking.

Yeah, that's what I'm asking.

What I would recommend is the following:

Go here:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=115643271

Pick one of those routines and stick to it. 3 days a week is good. A typical 3 day split is Monday, Wednesday and Friday, with Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday off.

If after working out you still got fire in you, do your beloved cardio.

On rest days do as much cardio as your little heart asks for.

Report back in 5 months, when you have a full 8 pack.

[StacksItRich]

OP drop all cardio. You want to look ripped, not a skinny twig...

If you don't want to bulk which I don't think you have to. People who usually bulk find that they need to bulk because they lack muscle tone and a lot of LBM. They increase their LBM, cut more weight, maybe bulk again to gain more LBM, then cut again to a low bf% to get ripped.

If you want fast results to look like a twig/average looking skinny kid then cardio and low cals is what your going for and no one here can convince you otherwise.

However, what I would do If I was you. Since your a growing young kid and probably starting lifting, you will have not only noob gains but gains because of your age. You will gain more LBM while lifting compared to most. Instead of taking the bulking route, you could easily just maintain your weight and lift 4x a week for an hour and eat at maintenance. Then you will see progress but maybe a little slow. Then eventually you may need to cut, but only a fraction to what you needed to and you will look much better at a bigger weight.

[Electricheadd]

To answer your original question OP. There is no point in taking creatine while doing only cardio. Creatine shines by allowing you to store a bit more energy in the muscle so you can blast out a few more reps during your workouts.

That said, I would like to point out a few things. Your body fat is based on a percentage of fat to lean body mass. Lowering your body fat can happen two ways, lose fat or increase lean body mass. In an untrained individual like yourself you are going to have a ton of what we call nooby gains. This means your going to gain a bunch of muscle simply because you started lifting. If you pair this muscle with a reasonable caloric intake. (somewhere close or slightly below your maintenance your going to see great results) The reason we don't recommend you cut with cardio only is because in the absence of proper resistance training the likelihood of you losing muscle mass along with the fat is very high. You may very well end up a smaller version of the fat you. (skinny fat) Or worse yet have to cut to twig status.

[naslund33]

To answer your original question OP. There is no point in taking creatine while doing only cardio. Creatine shines by allowing you to store a bit more energy in the muscle so you can blast out a few more reps during your workouts.

That said, I would like to point out a few things. Your body fat is based on a percentage of fat to lean body mass. Lowering your body fat can happen two ways, lose fat or increase lean body mass. In an untrained individual like yourself you are going to have a ton of what we call nooby gains. This means your going to gain a bunch of muscle simply because you started lifting. If you pair this muscle with a reasonable caloric intake. (somewhere close or slightly below your maintenance your going to see great results) The reason we don't recommend you cut with cardio only is because in the absence of proper resistance training the likelihood of you losing muscle mass along with the fat is very high. You may very well end up a smaller version of the fat you. (skinny fat) Or worse yet have to cut to twig status.

Okay that makes sense but I have a couple questions, I have heard to gain muscle you need to eat more not less, does that not apply to a person like me because ill get (nooby gains?). Also I plan on going hard on the weights 2 days a week 1hr-1.20hr per day, would that not be enough? The average fit person only lifts 3 days a week anyways.

[NeedANick]

Okay that makes sense but I have a couple questions, I have heard to gain muscle you need to eat more not less, does that not apply to a person like me because ill get (nooby gains?). Also I plan on going hard on the weights 2 days a week 1hr-1.20hr per day, would that not be enough? The average fit person only lifts 3 days a week anyways.

Why do you seem to ignore everything I tell you?

[Young_One]

Okay that makes sense but I have a couple questions, I have heard to gain muscle you need to eat more not less, does that not apply to a person like me because ill get (nooby gains?). Also I plan on going hard on the weights 2 days a week 1hr-1.20hr per day, would that not be enough? The average fit person only lifts 3 days a week anyways.

Listen you ****, lift 3 days a week with one of the routines they posted, something simple for a beginner like a full body routine. Stop being a damn pussy, the average fit person doesnt lift 3 days a week shut the hell up. Why the hell would you not lift, it burns calories more then cardio because the more muscle you have the more fat you burn, lift your damn weights.

[naslund33]

Listen you ****, lift 3 days a week with one of the routines they posted, something simple for a beginner like a full body routine. Stop being a damn pussy, the average fit person doesnt lift 3 days a week shut the hell up. Why the hell would you not lift, it burns calories more then cardio because the more muscle you have the more fat you burn, lift your damn weights.

Its interesting you say that, I mean I hear so many different things I dont know what to do. I hear on these forums it burns more then cardio but then I read articles like thisnevermind I need 30 posts to post links ill do it later) but it basically told me the exact opposite

[NeedANick]

Its interesting you say that, I mean I hear so many different things I dont know what to do. I hear on these forums it burns more then cardio but then I read articles like thisnevermind I need 30 posts to post links ill do it later) but it basically told me the exact opposite

We all told you the SAME thing: lift and eat at a caloric deficit.

[naslund33]

Why do you seem to ignore everything I tell you?

Ignore?? Because of yours and lite's insight and help i've restructured my routine do include 2 days of weight lifting per week. Do you think I should make it 3? I am definetly listening to your suggestions

[NeedANick]

Ignore?? Because of yours and lite's insight and help i've restructured my routine do include 2 days of weight lifting per week. Do you think I should make it 3? I am definetly listening to your suggestions

Yes. As I mentioned a few hours ago, grab a 3day split from this thread:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=115643271

Learn proper form (Youtube the exercises, don't do them wrong), do your cardio AFTER workout and on your rest days.

By the end of the year you'll look completely different.

Don't worry about counting calories, honestly, you're young and whatever you do, I doubt you'll gain any weight unless you only eat complete sh*t.

[bdrusse]

http://www.livestrong.com/article/29...s-than-cardio/
here is one of many things out there explaining it. In short you can get the gist in the two paragraphs below.

Cardiovascular Exercise
A 160-pound person who jogs for an hour uses 584 calories, while the 240-pound exerciser uses 872 calories per hour, according to MayoClinic.com. By session, cardiovascular workouts clearly burn more calories than weightlifting exercise.
Post-Exercise Burn


"While it is evident that cardiovascular exercise burns more calories than lifting weights, the amount of calories burned after weight training is higher," reports the CTER Eportfolio System website. Metabolism increases after cardiovascular exercise only lasts 30 to 60 minutes, whereas post weight training metabolism increases up to 48 hours.



In short, doing both is ideal.

edit: if you want to do two, do two. Just be sure you get all the muscle groups as discussed. It will just make for one way more intense session. People usually break them into more sessions because they are so taxing on the body, and indirect muscles get worked from one workout to another making it harder to get optimal lifts.


Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/29...#ixzz1QWwRMgYz

[Electricheadd]

Okay that makes sense but I have a couple questions, I have heard to gain muscle you need to eat more not less, does that not apply to a person like me because ill get (nooby gains?). Also I plan on going hard on the weights 2 days a week 1hr-1.20hr per day, would that not be enough? The average fit person only lifts 3 days a week anyways.

2-3 days a week is fine but lift heavy with proper form using a professionally designed program. (maddcows 5x5 is great if nobody has mentioned it). I would eat at a slight deficit or maintenance, your gains will be solid for 3-6 months. Then will likely plateau. Reassess your goals at that point. Be sure you eat adequate protein/fat and calories.

[Delgadido]

i would have to disagree with alot of the posts here about building muscle nad losing fat at the same time. which doesnt work like that

only exclusion are newbies and teens.

teens are growing one way or another. lifting weights may still have you pack on muscle mass. and lifting weights are more beneficial for weight loss than cardio is.

and at 5'6 132. trying to drop weight is pretty dumb imo.
there is no such thing as stomach fat loss. just fat loss. you cant target your stomach to lose fat.


you should bulk. no reason to cut to a twig.

[Electricheadd]

i would have to disagree with alot of the posts here about building muscle nad losing fat at the same time. which doesnt work like that

only exclusion are newbies and teens.

teens are growing one way or another. lifting weights may still have you pack on muscle mass. and lifting weights are more beneficial for weight loss than cardio is.

and at 5'6 132. trying to drop weight is pretty dumb imo.
there is no such thing as stomach fat loss. just fat loss. you cant target your stomach to lose fat.


you should bulk. no reason to cut to a twig.

The OP is both a noobie and a teen.

[NeedANick]

i would have to disagree with alot of the posts here about building muscle nad losing fat at the same time. which doesnt work like that

only exclusion are newbies and teens.

teens are growing one way or another. lifting weights may still have you pack on muscle mass. and lifting weights are more beneficial for weight loss than cardio is.

and at 5'6 132. trying to drop weight is pretty dumb imo.
there is no such thing as stomach fat loss. just fat loss. you cant target your stomach to lose fat.


you should bulk. no reason to cut to a twig.

He IS a newbie AND a teen, that's why we are telling him he will gain muscle.

You're actually agreeing with us.

[Delgadido]

The OP is both a noobie and a teen.

He IS a newbie AND a teen, that's why we are telling him he will gain muscle.

You're actually agreeing with us.

i know you all are. i am just telling him there are exclusions to the rule =).

[Kgetfit89]

Agreed with most of these others. Cardio alone is good for conditioning and burning calories, but you should start eating clean and lifting weights. You are still growing so take advantage of the hormones going through your body. Stick with a solid Split and you will see great results.

[naslund33]

Well Im going to start off at 2 days a week weight lifting and well see how it goes. Ill post a updated picutre in this thread in a couple months with hopefully some good progress =) Thanks for all the advice!