i have seen getting some bcaa's post lift but during cardio can help preserve the muscle.

any opinions on that?

If you could incorporate intervals into the swimming, would it make it a better fat burning workout? Say, do like 2 laps in a quick, racing fashion (high intensity), then 3 to 4 at a moderate/low pace, then once again pick it up for another 2-3 and repeat?

Just wondering. :)

IMO think running outside is THE BEST, because it seems like the whole body gets worked, but that is my opinion. Swimming sucks to me because my MP3 player can't get wet. :biglaugh:

Lol. Agreed with the mp3 player comment.
Still, if you make the swimming intense enough with intervals, it could be a shorter, better workout?? Maybe?
I'll stick to jogging. :)

Wind Sprints/Monsters
 

I've always had good luck dropping some percentage points with doing wind sprints or "monsters" as my high school coach called them. Great for improving agility too.

Hard to do if you don't have a fairly big open area outside or a basketball court though. Need a good 50-100 yards to do them right.

IMHO try working a heavy bag some. I can run miles and never work a sweat like hitting a heavy bag. Total body and fun too.. If nothing else you can relieve a little stress while your at it. The more affluent you become with the bag the more fun it becomes as well. If you feeling really froggy throw in some leg kicks if you have access to big enough bag. Great cardio.

How long does everyone that runs, run in the morning? When I manage to find the energy to do it, I run for around 40 minutes each time. Is that to much to be doing on an empty stomach?

I want to try to run outside in the morning about 3 times a week. Maybe replace one run with some jump roping every once in a while.