Endurance vs. Power

K

Kath

Cathlete
What are the advantages of each, in strength training? I focus on the power, slow, mass building type training because if I understand right, that's what adds the most muscle fiber, which makes us stronger and uses more calories to maintain itself.

Does endurance strength training, which doesn't seem to add mass to muscles, also add more muscle fiber, but you just don't see the size increase? What are the reasons for doing an endurance type strength workout?

Where am I not getting it? If anyone can help me fill in the holes or correct my misunderstanding, I'd be glad to learn from them.

I'm not talking about cardio endurance, like running...only strength. Thanks all.
 
Hi -
Sorry, no answers here, but I just want to say I have the exact same question. Which type of strength training is going to make me look great in a bathing suit????!

Candice
 
Let's bump this one up!

I have been staying away from Body Pump classes because I read some book (Business Plan for the Body) saying our joints were not meant to do such high reps at that speed...plus I blame my elbow pain on it. I want to get arm muscles and shoulders for tank top season and got S&H...anyway, last week I went back to Body pump to shake things up after a long stint with S&H...I was able to up my plates and OMG...the bicep track was soooooo good, I could see my biceps moving underneath...felt the upper part of my arm too like I never have before. (Lets not talk squats though because I died)...anyway, endurance may not pack on the muscle but it must do something, because the arms felt pumped! Was that just lactic acid?
 
I just know from my own experience, ever since I started doing Power Hour(which I love)LL and MIS are easier. I lift heavier on those tapes than Power Hour, but after PH I was able to increase the weight I was using on the others. The bicep work in MIS always did me in with the crazy eights, but even they were easier after PH.
 
HI Kiwi,

I just got S/H! I'm hoping to get the same results you did. How long was your rotation and did you do S/H once or twice a week or once a week plus Power Hour(or another full body weight tape)? And how much cardio did you do? I hope that I'm not pestering you with these questions. I'm also curious about this thread. I would be so happy if I could increase my muscle mass and definition! I want to look like Cathe!
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Jan-28-02 AT 01:27PM (Est)[/font][p]S&H x 4 weeks with no cardio to get used to it. I slept and ate a lot. Dont wonder why if you dont get sore, you know it'll work if you feel tired and sleepy. lost weight from arms...very noticeable, was shocked since I did not do cardio.

S&H x 2 weeks with 2 cardios ... I did Cardio kicks and spinning.

1 week off...did whatever tape I felt like doing.

S&H x 2 weeks with 3 cardios and watched what I ate = lost 5 lbs/2 weeks...squat weight upped from 25 to 40. Felt great, lost fat from arms and pooch.

2 weeks off...using Body pump at gym, feel nice pump from endurance work... like the way arms feel...don't like the way they shrink my legs!!! Went back to S&H legs to get the legs to look bigger and get shape. I am apple shaped...it is a constant battle to build legs and S&H is the answer!
 
Hi Kath! To answer your question let me just side track a bit.

In order to lead an overall productive and healthy lifestyle, is is important to participate in exercise and healthy eating habits that improve your overall quality of life. This involves incorporating the 5 components of physical fitness. They are:

1) Engaging in activities that promote muscular strength

2) Engaging in activities that improve muscular endurance

3) Engaging in activities that promote cardiovascular fitness

4) Engaging in activities that promote flexibility

5) Engaging in activities that improve body composition

So to answer your question as to what are the reasons for doing strength and endurance workouts is that simply they are part of the equation to leading a balanced and healthy lifestyle.

But to answer your question more directly, muscular endurance workouts "condition" the muscles to respond under tension for longer periods of time rather than encourage hypertrophy. The benefits of training in this manner will help you be more efficient in everyday activities. For instance, if you were stuck in a long express line at the super market holding an armful of goods (including those darn gallons of milk that get heavy after a while ;-)) you would be able to hold those items much longer before you felt the discomfort set in as a result of training with muscular endurance workouts.

Muscular strength workouts increase muscle size and overall strength. These workouts come in handy for times when you need to use power. For instance, if you are buying dog food and need to lift one of those 40 pound bags onto your cart, you will find this much easier to do as a result of your strength training workouts.

Hope this helps clarify things a bit!
 
Endurance type workouts, like Power Hour amd CTX tend to give me more cuts. But videos like PS and S&H have given my muscles shape and that nice vein along the bicep. I recommend doing each type. But if you don't like it, you won't do it, so make sure you have fun!
 
Thank you for your reply. I currently own MIS, the PS series, and Leaner Legs. I just started my third week of the tank top rotaion. I subsitute Cory Everson Get Hard Shoulders, Biceps, and Triceps. Do you recommend I buy the Upper Body tape from the CTX series? Also could you recommend a rotation I could do after the Tank Top Rotation? I am looking for a more cut look.
 
In order to get a muscle to grow, you have to ask it to do more than it is comfortably capable of currently doing. The type of training that will give optimal results depends a great deal on your body type.

Regardless of body type, though, maximal muscular hypertrophy is achieved through relatively high volume work that allows for optimal overload of both fast twitch and slow twitch fibers.

Please check out the my post on muscularity for specifics as to the hows and whys. Remember, too, what works well for one body type will not be best for someone of a different type.
Maribeth
 
I have something to add here. Suprise!!:)

I think one thing everyone forgets is what effect a given workout has on YOU. For instance, for MIS I can lift pretty heavy and yes, those last few reps are a hard push. However, for PH, although I have to use less weight, I don't use that much less weight and by the time the 30 million bicep crazy eights are over, my biceps feel just as wasted as during my MIS heavier session. Maribeth...even though PH is endurance, would it not be correct to say that in this example my biceps muscles were still being presented with something they were not previously accustomed to, assuming I am upping weight at the proper times?? Even though I am doing PH, an ENDURANCE workout, my muscles were so challenged that possibly they do not know the difference and will still GROW??

I mean, I don't know about you all, but S & H has proven to be no more difficult for me than PH. The "burn" is the same, the exhaustion is the same, how can the results be SO different??

I would love for someone to elaborate on this.

Janice
 
Janice,
You are EXACTLY right! A given workout will have different results, depending on body type. And, muscular endurance is a relative term as well as a function of strength, to boot!

Local muscular endurance is different from cardiovascular endurance. Local muscular endurance involves lifting a submaximal load multiple times, most often over a period of less than 2 minutes. Local muscular endurance training is still considered as a type of strength training because it involves a particular muscle group moving a percentage of a one rep max for a set number of repetitions or for a set period of time. It also relies primarily on one of the anaerobic systems to provide the energy for the contractions.

Shhh...I have neither the S&H, nor the PH workouts, so I'm at a disadvantage. Describe the differences, other than the fact that S&H uses very heavy weights and longer rests between sets.
Maribeth
 
Maribeth..

S&H does have longer rests between sets, but it almost seems like TOO MUCH to me. I have to resist the temptation each time to FF through all Cathe's talk in between exercises. I figure the rest is there for a reason, and I take the extra time to stretch. However, I don't seem to feel like I worked as hard as in PH. Hard to tell what S&H is doing..hopefully something. The chest and back tape I think is the hardest..chest gets worked VERY well.

As far as the exercises go, I think they are pretty similar. There is nothing like the low end lunges in PH though. Very tough. Wow, Maribeth, you really NEED to get these tapes. Some of the best IMO.

I have always been curious about the strength/ endurance thing. Say you max on bench is 100 pounds. Next week you manage to lift 110 pounds. You have gained strength. BUT, lets say you can bench 50 pounds 30 times this week. Well, next week if you can now bench 50 pounds 50 times you have also gained strength, EVEN THOUGH your poundage has stayed the same. You can measure strength gains in both a strength and an endurance routine.

Ok, I am going to reach a little further out there now..Would you say if you feel an intense "burn" in each muscle group as you work them that you will inevitably grow in size?? If the "burn" is there, will you build more muscle mass assuming your nutrition is in line???

Janice
 
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