cardio and squat newbie questions

[Kneebiter]

I am on wbb #1 been lifting for two months and doing WBB #1 for 3 weeks. My goal is to gain muscle lose fat and just look better when my shirt is off. I am 40 years old. My friends tell me someone my age will get hurt doing squats and should just stick to leg presses and similar exercizes. Should I do squats???

Also, I have been doing 20 minutes of cardio 3 times a week on my nonlifting days usually on a treadmill and every time I try to burn one more calorie then I did last time i went.
My question is am I better off doing longer cardio not so hard or should I do intense cardio for 20minutes?? And is 3 days a week enough cardio or should I add some into my lifting days?? And how long should it be during my lifting days and with what intensity??
Thank you for your help,

SINcerely,
Knee

[Dedicated]

>>Should I do squats???
Yea just take it slow, work on form and start light.

>> My question is am I better off doing longer cardio not so hard or should I do intense cardio for 20minutes?? And is 3 days a week enough cardio or should I add some into my lifting days?? And how long should it be during my lifting days and with what intensity??
It's up to you as to how often. I would look into HIIT it's so much better than regular cardio, I plan to start it myself really soon. Basically it makes your body better at oxidizing fat, nothing better than that:)
Here is a link with all the info on it http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?threadid=23970

[defcon]

WEll, are you cutting or bulking?

If Cutting i would reccomend looking at HIIT if your cardiosystem can handle it, if not then start a light jog and work your way up to eventually being able to perform a true hiit sesion.

If bulking i would do 30 mins or so of lowmed intensity cardio, since this burns less overall calories, but more calories from fat storages.. and i believe there are studies showing that cardio in a calorie surplus helps with nutrient partitioning.