ok, now i'm confused and in need of help...

[Lil]

i was really set on getting power hour and then i noticed the slow and heavy series and i decided that i would enjoy that more, so i ordered it today. however i've been seeing some posts that are talking about muscle ENDURANCE and muscle STRENGTH and was wondering what, besides the obvious, is the difference. i know the difference between endurance and strength, so you don't need to explain that to me, i guess what i'm asking is how do i know which tapes are for me. like the slow and heavy series...i've Firmed for 2 yrs now, but like someone here posted cathe's style is different from the firm's, so am i going to "die" doing this series? is the slow and heavy series muscle endurance or strength or both? how do i find out about the other weight workouts cathe puts out? sorry if i sound totally ignorant, but i'm kind of worried...of course, in a good sense. oh, and how do i know if a weight will be too light or too heavy? thank you for being so patient while i rambled on!

 

[LauraPinWA]

Hmmm . . . I'm confused about this myself, but my understanding muscle strength relates to how much weight you can lift, and muscle endurance relates to how long you can go. For that reason strength-building workouts use heavier weights and fewer total reps, and endurance workouts use lighter weights and more reps. The Firm workouts are more endurance oriented although you do make strength gains, especially when you first start doing the tapes. Of Cathe's workouts, I think the S&H series is most oriented toward strength gains. The PS series is also great for building strength. MIS is both a strength and an endurance tape, though I find that you can make it more of a strength tape if you split it up and do lower body one day and upper body the next. It's easier to go all out if I'm not trying to work every muscle group in a single session! If I do the whole thing I generally can't go quite as heavy and it becomes more of an endurance workout. Body Max is definitely an endurance workout, though if you use challenging weights you will make strength gains. I don't yet have Power Hour and Circuit Max (though they are on their way to me--am I an addict or what?) but from the descriptions I've read, I would say that they are more endurance oriented than strength oriented.

Does that help at all, or have I just confused you more? I do think you will love Cathe's weight tapes--they are a wonderful complement to the Firm.

Laura

 

[Marnie]

Hi Lil - have you checked out the descriptions of her videos? Cathe's website does a great job of describing each workout, what to expect, how long, equipment needed, etc etc. I would say that Power Hour compliments the S&H series, but I don't think one substitutes the other. I use Power Hour once a week to compliment my slow & heavy training, whether that's S&H, PS or MIS - I like to rotate between all, but I prefer going slow & heavy, so I do the endurance workout (Power Hour) once a week. Power Hour uses lighter weights, faster reps, less rest time, so you are building muscle endurance, which allows your muscles to handle heavier weights. Heavier weights allow you to build size & strength. So they compliment each other - does this make sense? Maybe you can post your question to Ask Cathe -she is wonderful at answering us and providing guidance in our training. Go for it!

PS - I also did the Firm for several years, hit a plateau in terms of gaining muscle size, found Cathe, and now getting the results I've wanted. It's the next level!

 

[Lea2191]

I've been trying to decide myself how much of my workout time to devote to strength and how much to endurance. I am not an expert, but I think this is a pretty complex process. For any movement there are different types of muscle fibers that are recruited. It doesn't take the same type of muscle fibers for a quick movement like kicking a ball that it does to lift something heavy.
I had a problem with an effusion in my knee and was working out at the gym reguarly. My Physical therapist told me to quit doing some exercises that might make it worse and start doing one exercise for the quads seperately rather than both legs together. I was doing 10 reps where I completely maxed out at the 10 th rep. I other words I wouldn't have done 11 reps.
It didn't help. So then I had my quads tested and I had a 60% deficit in the quick movements of the quads in my left knee. The slow/heavy movement was a little different from one leg to the other, but the quick movement was very different in the affected leg. Anyway, I added 30 reps of the same movement, where I maxed out the exercise at 30. (Actually, I was dying by the 30th rep) Within two weeks my effusion went away. The PT told me that when I was working the endurance type exercise, it would help with very quick movements like you use with aerobics, kicking, running ect. Of course, you gain some strenth with this type of exercise, it really is a different kind of strength, strength with relatively quick movements as opposed to heavy lifing. My thighs really kill me after a few miles up a mountain, and that's a perfect example of where endurance training would really help. For any given movement different types of muscle fibers are recruited, but both are always recruited to some extent. So if you pick an endurance workout, it will still help with "strength", but not to the same extent. If you can only do one, it seems to me the strength training is a better complement to say aerobics or running. To maximize a sport, it might be different. A lot of older people have problems just getting out of a chair because of weak muscles. That's a problem with absolute strenth, not endurance. That's just an example of how much our muscles deteriorate over the years without any resistance training. I was thinking of asking Cathe, how much she devotes to differnt types of lifing.

 

[Debra]

Hi Lil,

You also asked how to chose an appropriate weight. You just have to experiment & maybe take notes while you learn the workout. It's best to go light the first time through any workout. I'm sure you'll enjoy Power Hour if you chose an appropriate weight.

I used the Firm for years & still use them when I'm just maintaining strength & focusing on cardio. Like most people, I found that I could lift heavier with Cathe's workouts because she doesn't bounce from legs to biceps to shoulders. It's tough to go heavy when you're making quick changes. Because Cathe's workouts (strength & endurance) work a muscle group to exhaustion you'll get more strength gains than a Firm workout which lets the muscle rest for awhile before working it again.

 

[ErinF]

We're all "ignorant" . . .

when we go outside our own frame of reference! I'd be totally lost if I started trying to kayak, for example. Your questions are very common for someone venturing out of one type of training and into another.

People have already done a great job in answering the strength vs. endurance question. NO, you won't die doing the Slow and Heavy series if you choose a weight that is appropriate for you. This brings us to your question of how to do that: The person who said you need to experiment is right. When you're experimenting, you're looking for a weight that allows you to finish the reps, but only JUST. You don't want to finish the set and feel like you could do a bunch more. If you do, you know your weights are too light. You also don't want to die on the 3rd rep OR be unable to use good form. If you're finding that you can finish, but only by using poor form, your weight is too heavy. I keep a fitness log, and each workout I write down what weights I used and make any notes necessary. That way I can open the log to the last time I did a particular workout and refresh my memory about what I used. Sometimes I'll make notes like, "DON'T try this with 15s!" so I remember that I tried it and was either hitting failure too soon or struggling with my form. This is especially helpful with workouts I haven't used in a while, or when I'm trying figure out the appropriate weights for a new workout. I'm going through that process now myself with the Slow and Heavy series. It doesn't matter what weights you use, as long as they are appropriate for YOU.

Good luck!
Erin

 

[Lil]

thank you all for your comments/advice. it does help and has made sense to me. i'm looking forward to seeing some different results with the cathe tapes than i have been seeing with the firm! thanks again!