cardio question?

[William Wallace]

I started in the gym about three months ago doing 30mins on the eliptical (bad knees keep me off the tread mill) and then 30mins immidately on the stair master at a moderate level.

I was trying to lose some belly fat. I started weighing 238 lbs and am now down to 193, after three months. I have since started to do alot of heavy lifting to get bigger and try to cut up a bit. I do still have a little bit of the belly fat left I want to get rid of.

My question is do I need to maintain this hour of cardio everyday or can I cut it down to 30mins as long as I am doing the complete weight training I have started. Or will I continue to need the extra cardio to lose the fat off the waist?

I do alot of ab work aswell and was wondering if your abs are like your other muscles where you want to let them rest between working them, or can you work your abs on a daily basis and see results? I know you have to let your muscles rest so that they can grow before you tear them down again. Are your abs the same way?

[The Raven]

As long as there is fat to burn, keep up the cardio. Your diet will be the main priority though, when trying to lose that last few pounds. You don't "have" to do a full hour of cardio, but more cardio means more fat burned. There is a point of diminishing returns though, if you are burning too much more than you are eating, especially if you are concerned with maintaining or adding lean mass.

Abs and calves are fast twitch muscles, and have no problem being worked every other day. Every day is a waste of time IMO.

[William Wallace]

that helps alot, thanks.

[Baron]

Good info here, I am doing the same thing.

[Geronimo]

wow congrats on the weight loss..im still trying to burn my stomach fat..still kinda their.. tho but im workin on it

[CJD]

I'm in the same boat because I haven't altered my diet enough while attempting my weight loss. Be forewarned though, after several months, your body will get relatively used to the cardio so you probably do need to scale it back just to give your body a chance to relax, then hit the cardio hard again, and just cycle on and off.

You know, the most work I do to my legs is when I do cardio. I go to the gym 5 days a week, and I do cardio first thing for about 30 minutes. I usually increase the resistance on the elliptical machine to really work my legs, and I do light lifting on my legs about once a week.

Doing ab exercises will also help, but like the cardio and the lifting, your body will get used to it.