I'm 5' 11" and 278 pounds (# in going down!) so I have a lot of flab. I'm doing lots of cardio, but I was wondering if I should do a hardcore pushup program (was looking at 100pushups in 6weeks: http://hundredpushups.com/)? I'm not sure because I always hear about if you have lots of fat and you do a lot of muscle training you'll end up with layers of fat on top of layers of muscle on top of layers of fat, etc.

Should I just stick to lots of cardio and light weights for now?

Hey I started that program. Doing day 2 tomorrow.

Try it. Push-ups are great. Can't hurt!

This is true. I have fat mainly on my abs, and I used to do abs almost daily and I only saw my stomach getting bigger. I know I have abs down there I just need to burn the fat off it lol, so I suggest you do that first, and you should try the hundred push-up challenge.

The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns.

The more muscle you have, the more toned you look.

I don't think you should wait till you are smaller to start working your muscles just because you don't want to get bigger. Pushups will only make you look better.

It is true that if you have a layer of fat over the muscle then you won't be able to see the muscle. I don't believe in layers of muscle being formed between layers of fat though so I can't say I've bought into that theory yet.

What you have is a chicken or the egg question here, which comes first?

If you build muscle first then it will be a while before you see the results. And if you strive to burn fat first you run the risk of losing all the muscle you already have, though you won't notice at first until the fat goes and are just left with a puny skeleton.

I would advocate a balance focusing on strength and power though. Ideally a 6 day week alternating between resistance and HIIT workouts. E.g

Mon - Chest, Tri's and Shoulders
Tues - 30 mins on bike (varying intensity to hit a peak every 5 mins then trail off)
Wed - Back and Bi's
Thurs - 30 mins X-Trainer
Fri - Legs and Abs
Sat - Row 30 mins

Or something like that. Initially I wouldn't get drawn into long hours of drag in the gym and marathon sessions on the kit. Just get in, train to HIGH intensity and get out within 45 mins.

Thats my two penny worth.

(P.S - Bodyweight exercises like push-ups are great for toning etc.. but not so potent for building muscle so I shouldn't worry too much about muscle gains from these exercises. It is worth considering getting some muscle gain though.)

That's a great push-up program, i'm going to start that next week!

thanks everyone for the advice! I'll put them to good use for sure. =D

I'm doing that programme too 18st 9lbs right now. So similar weight.

I do know from training the last time I was this weight that when I did chest exercises my moobs (manboobs for those uninitiated) grew excessively, to the point I stopped working out my chest because I actually started to get a cleavage in t-shirts.

This time around think I'll try and just work through it.

There are lots of places where fat turns up - but generally it is either:
1. Superficial - in the deep layers of the skin - Over the muscles.
2. Visceral - Around the inner organs and in between them - Below most muscles.

Also - you do not really build muscle layers. Actually once you are grown up you don't build new muscle at all! All that talk about gaining muscle mass is making your current muscle fibers bigger.

So I don't know where you heard this layers theory - but it sounds to me as unlikely as weight loss lotion - way more unlikely actually.