Quote:
Originally Posted by M_Six
Speaking from experience, losing fat is easier than adding muscle. 
I started cycling about 3-1/2 years ago and dropped 80lbs the first year. I keep it off by continuing to ride 100 miles/week, but I've stopped counting calories (which is a nice way of saying I eat whatever I want now), so the weight loss has stopped. But riding allows me to maintain my current weight.
I've no doubt strengthened my leg muscles from all the riding, but riding a bike does nada for your upper body strength. I really need to find the motivation to do some upper body and core exercises regularly.  |
Good for you sir!
I started the gym 3 years ago last month. You are 100% correct on losing fat is easier than building muscle. I'm 45, around 145 (I stopped weighing myself) and BMI (guessing around 13% BF at the moment, just started a bulk cycle) is unknown at this point. Aside from the lingering lose skin/tiny bit of fat left, I'm pretty lean.
When I started the gym I had dropped from 240 to 211 in the prior months. I lost all the big fat really fast. Eating 1500 cal/day and doing an hour of cardio 5 days a week. I dropped 70 pounds in a matter of a few months. It's crazy looking back at pictures. December 200 pounds, March 130. I also made myself crazy catabolic. If I sat down for 5 minutes and something wasn't keeping my attention, I feel asleep. At work, watching TV, etc. This is not the way to lose weight, but I did it. My weight resistance training, in the first year, was 30 minutes of weights, and then an hour of cardio...intense cardio. I'm talking 1100 - 1250 calories burned. Let's not discuss the amount of preworkout and other caffeine I was abusing. There were seriously times that I would get off one elliptical or treadmill and jump on the one next to it so I didn't have to wait on the computer to reset. The clocks only go to 1 hour 15 minutes on treadmills and ellipticals btw.
Now, I reversed the entire process. I do no form of cardio as I'm trying to use every calorie I can to build muscle. I'll do occasional cardio when cutting. The goal is to get to about 155 and between 10-12% BF. September I was 137 at 8.3%. Lots of work to be done.