Abs and Weight Training

I'm kind of stumped as to which direction I should be going in. I've
been strength training for the past six months and notice a major
difference in my upper body strength. I have also been doing crunches
and leg raises, but my abs still have a small layer of fat over them.
Some people tell me I need to up my calorie intake to build muscle,
while others say I need to cut my calorie intake to burn the fat. If
I cut my calorie intake, will it negatively affect my muscle growth,
or will I just lose fat? I've been doing some major cardio exercise
lately (20-25mi bicycle rides daily) but am not sure if that is the
right thing to be doing.

Thanks.

On Aug 1, 9:00 am, kb1....TakeThisOut@gmail.com wrote:
> I'm kind of stumped as to which direction I should be going in. I've
> been strength training for the past six months and notice a major
> difference in my upper body strength. I have also been doing crunches
> and leg raises, but my abs still have a small layer of fat over them.
> Some people tell me I need to up my calorie intake to build muscle,
> while others say I need to cut my calorie intake to burn the fat. If
> I cut my calorie intake, will it negatively affect my muscle growth,
> or will I just lose fat? I've been doing some major cardio exercise
> lately (20-25mi bicycle rides daily) but am not sure if that is the
> right thing to be doing.
>
> Thanks.


First thing to note, for the record, is that you may be genetically
predisposed to storing most of your fat around the abs. Men in
general are like this, relative to women, but certain racial/ethnic
groups, like indigenous Mexicans, seem to really store fat around the
waist -- just the facts, that -- so bear that in mind when all else
fails. (Don't know how much you know, but a lot of people don't
realize that -- or the natural effects of age, for that matter.)

Having said that, if you lose your weight very slowly, like only half
a pound a week, you should be able to maintain your muscle mass while
burning off the fat. It appears that the body turns to protein as a
last resort, so if you're supplying just enough calories for muscle
maintenance (and not necessarily further growth), and you diet and
exercise such that you're only losing half a pound to no more than a
pound a week, then over the course of a year (maybe even half a year)
you'll see your abs nicely defined.

The trick is in finding out that magic sweet spot where you're taking
in just enough calories, not too much, not too little, but just a
little bit less than what you need to make the body start burning fat
but not resort to also cannibalizing muscle.