Well my bf is around 18% and i can tell you that my metabolism isn't the fastest.. after im done working out i usually run for like 40-50 minutes.. will this affect me catabolic wise although i do have a high bf percent?

so like i previously said 30 mins is the max amount of cardio you want to do. here is how you work out should look

when you get to the gym hit about 5-10 minutes of warm up cardio to get your merodic heart rate elevated

then after that do your normal work out routine ( I would suggest a lean out routine you can find any any muscle mag)

after you work out boom hit 30 minutes of split interval cardio here is what it should look like.

On tread mill

1 min at a fast pace
1 min at a walking pace
1 min at a fast pace
1 min at a walking pace

so on and so forth for 30 minutes

Does this make sense ?

this technique will keep spiking and lowering your blood level which in turn will start buring fatty acids to creat energy to allow you to keep running = fat loss

Tri is right with this but i would also have steady state cardio(one constant low intensity level) on your "rest" days to keep the blood moving, flush out some lactic acid, burn some calories, and boost your metabolism. Do that for about 45minutes breath a little hard and sweat good but to too much these ARE "rest" days after all.

big bump iron forgot to mentionthe off days and remember keep that diet in check at all times it is the biggest killer of them all.

HIT training is prolly the best & shortest cardio that you can do...

low intensity also works but you will be doing cardio longer...i normally do this in the a.m. on an empty stomach - Treadmill on incline of 3 or more w/ a speed of 3.3 - 3.5mph...its a pretty brisk walk on an incline (the more incline, the more intense the cardio)...

remember that you want to keep your heart in the "fat-burning" range & not get above that...if you go above you will be working on endurance & not burning the optimal amount of fat possible...

I completely agree with you on the warm up before lifting to get your core warm and heart rate up. What I disagree with is the cardio right after lifting weights. Wouldnt it be better to eat something before jumping on the treadmill, thereby not sacrificing muscle? Hell even chewing on a protein bar, or sipping on a RTD protein drink while on the treadmill is not a big deal.

Just seems like to me after a good warm up, hard lift, your blood sugar will be down and the fat burning mode will stop in its tracks. If your body doesnt have an energy source at that point, then it will go straight for your muscle. At least thats the way I understand it.

Whatcha think?

I do my cardio right after I workout with weights because when you train with weights, you burn the gluclose(carbs) in your body. So right after that you do cardio and burn nothing but fat. I like to take some BCAA's right after my weights workout before I do cardio to help preserve and feed the muscles a little bit.