I've read a few of your posts about creating a calorie deficit, as well as browsed over the posts about weight training.
To be specific as possible, i need a series of exercises geared at burning fat.
Fat burning comes from being in a calorie deficit. When your body isn't provided enough energy to meet its demand, it must draw energy to fill the 'gap' or 'shortage'. It does so from fat stores.
A deficit can come from controlled eating or exercise alone. In a nutshell, a deficit is a deficit is a deficit... it doesn't matter how you slice or where it comes from.
Ideally, said deficit comes from a combination of the two; diet control and exercise.
When there's a lot of fat to lose, which is the case with you, what the exercise entails really isn't critical. I suppose your top priority should be energy expenditure. I say this since you want to ensure a caloric deficit large enough to make a significant difference in your fat storage.
When that is the case, lifting heavy weights isn't really ideal. It's simply not very calorically expensive. That said, you want to focus more on 'metabolic' exercises such as cardio and high rep, lighter weight resistance training.
You should know that this is individual advice for your patricular scenario. Did you read the interview I posted for you?
If you did, you'll know that the lighter weight, higher rep stuff shouldn't be maintained forever. You adapt your routine as your body changes and adapts. For instance, as your body fat falls, you should start using weight training more for muscle maintenance than for caloric expenditure.
Golds Gym has this 20 minute fit program, ......weight high rep, then move on to the next one.
Sounds like your basic circuit training, which is fine. I'm not a fan of machines for the most part. Especially since you're not completely new to weight training. I assume you lifted free weights back when you played football. That said, you should have some basic understanding of how to execute the various exercises. But exercise selection is really secondary to how you set up the routine, and in this case, as noted above, the higher rep, lighter weight stuff in circuit fashion is aok.
What muscle groups should i work on?
I already explained that you should have a full body focus. Keeping in mind the idea of expending the most energy as possible, you should be performing exercises that call on the most muscle mass to execute. More muscles working per rep = more energy expended.
Each day that you weight train you should be hitting your legs, back, chest, and core at the least.
I want my knees, calfs, and legs to be a lot stronger then they are now.
Since you've been sedentary, pretty much anything you do will help you get stronger.
How do i know when i have done enough for the day?
You don't want to go crazy. A handful of sets, maybe 2-4, for each muscle group from above will do. You can perform 15-20 reps per set and 1-2 exercises per muscle group.
Rest minimally between each set, maybe 30-45 seconds.
With each movement you should focus on lowering the bar under control and lifting it as fast as possible.
Suppose you're doing 5 exercises in a day and 3 sets of 15 reps per exercise. That's 225 total reps. Suppose each rep takes 4 seconds to complete. That's 15 minutes. If you rest 30 seconds after each set, that's another 7-8 minutes... leaving you with a total workout time of 20-25 minutes.
You can either do some cardio afterwords or whatever.
You seem to be looking for an exact plot of what to do. That's not wise. You should be educating yourself on the basics so you understand how to apply them to your individual case. This way you know how to troubleshoot your program since plateaus and setbacks will inevitably come along.
If someone simply hands you a routine and you know next to nothing pertaining to the 'whys' I promise you aren't going to have a lot of success. At least not long term.
How long should i do "cardio"
It's hard for me to say... I don't know what you're capable of.
5 minutes if you're really out of shape.
30-60 if you can manage.
(is running on a treadmill or an elliptical my only option?)
Nope. As I said above, you can do anything. Swim, ride a bike, elliptical, treamill, versaclimber, jump rope, walk, hike... the list is endless. Because of your weight, lower impact at first might be wise... that's your call.
No.
I would train with weights 2-3 days per week.
I would start with 3 sessions of cardio per week.
If it's not working, you can bump your cardio up to 5 sessions per week.
If that's not working, something is off with your nutrition. Nutrition is priority number one. You can't out exercise a piss poor diet... keep this in mind.
How hard should i push my self?
I answered this already. Don't take this the wrong way but you're asking me to spoon feed you and I really don't have a problem doing that but it's really doing you no good.
I said above, push yourself so you're not left gasping for air at any point thoughout the session. If that means you're walking... fine. If that means you're mixing walking with some light jogging, ok. If that means you're jogging the entire time... fantastic.
Let your ability to carry a conversation without gasping for air be your gauge.
should i go for distance? Time? Speed?
Focus on time now.
I want to train every day.
I wouldn't advise of it. Beating your body into submission looks real cool, I'm sure, when you see shows like Biggest Loser and whatnot. But it's not the way to go about things.
If you want to do 2-3 sessions of weights per week and 3 sessions of cardio per week... that's fine. If you really feel the need, you can then do light active recovery on the other 2 days which could consist of dynamic mobility stuff, unstructured walks around the neighborhood, some backyard sports.... whatever.
Rest is an important component of programming though.
