[OnceUponADrive]

Okay, so after many years of diet and exercise I have come to discover a few things about my body.

1) I lose fat VERY slowly
2) I gain muscle VERY quickly

So my issue is trying to find the right balance of cardio and weight training. I have quite a bit of fat to lose and I already tend to be on the muscular side underneath all this fat. My leg muscles are really massive and I tend to bulk up VERY quickly. I don't want to get bigger by adding muscles under my fat, so I'm doing my best to lose a lot of the fat before I really start toning.

Should I concentrate on cardio for now or do I still need to incorporate some weight training in there? And if so, what kind of training can I do that won't bulk me up but just might keep me toned enough to get my calories burning?

[Ilene]

Should I concentrate on cardio for now or do I still need to incorporate some weight training in there? And if so, what kind of training can I do that won't bulk me up but just might keep me toned enough to get my calories burning?

Definitely do BOTH cardio and weight training.... I'm like that too I have thick thighs, but man when I concentrate on extra cardio, (my cardio of choice is running) AND heavy weight training, when that fat comes off my legs because of the cardio and clean eating, man I love my legs and the rest of my body because all the fat has gone and the muscles are showing through...

Plus the more muscle you have the higher your metabolism is to burn fat because muscle burns fat... So definitely keep weight training ...

[Vintage Glamour]

I would try Pilates, it is a great workout and it builds lean muscle rather than bulky. You might love it!

[Ilene]

I agree with Pilates and Yoga, what they do if you have muscle already is that it will elongate and make them look long... and that's a wonderful look... I do Yoga regularly too...

[cakses]

If you can swim, it's a good way to get long and lean versus stocky. I know if I just took my big butt to the pool I would change body shapes in just a few weeks.

[BlueToBlue]

I'm certainly not an expert on exercise, but you might want to give interval training at try for your cardio. You alternate between short bursts of intense effort and recovery periods. So, for example, if you are running, you might sprint for 1 min and then walk at a recovery pace for 1 min. If swimming, sprint for one lap, then swim at a recovery pace for 1 lap. You can do them with literally any type of cardio. Do the intervals for 15-20 minutes (you should be working at a level where you feel like you are done after this time--this isn't an endurance workout). I find it much easier to lose weight/fat when I have incorporated intervals into my workout.

[OnceUponADrive]

Thanks, I'd love to do swimming, but my "local" gym isn't quite local enough for me to get there regularly. I'll get some pilates and yoga dvd's and see what happens!