Muscle endurance V. Muscle strength

Muscular endurance is what allows you, for example, to hold a 30 lb bag for an extended period of time. Muscular strength, is what allows you to pick that bag up to begin with.

Each muscle is comprised of two different types of fibers (hopefully I won't confuse them). Slow twitch fibers are what you engage when doing endurance based weight training (i.e. Power Hour). Fast twitch fibers are used when doing heavier/strength building training (i.e. S&H series or PS).

Hope that makes sense!
Happy Workouts :)
Nicole
 
I'd like to know what type of body composition changes we can expect to see with an endurance workout vs. a strength workout.

Thanks,
Lynn
 
Hi Lynn -

Results differ from person to person due to genetics. That said however, typically endurance based weight training (like Power Hour) will result in more muscular definition, while heavier strength training (S&H or PS series) will result in added size/muscular growth. Results from any weight training is also heavily influenced by the other factors of overall fitness and health, such as cardio, clean eating, etc.

Hopefully Cathe will chime in and offer more insight and knowledge for you both.

Hope that helped! :)
Nicole
 
Hi Nicole-

Thanks for answering my question.!! So if you want to look "more cut" would an endurance based rotation assist in achieving that?
(Obviously, if cardio and diet were good as well.)

Thanks again for your help!

Lynn
 
Hi Lynn :)

Yes, if you're looking to achieve more definition or "cut" to the muscle, you would want to focus more on endurance style weight training, using lighter weights with more reps such as Power Hour, or the CTX weight segments. S&H or the PS series would allow you to achieve more size and mass to the muscle due to heavier lifting with less reps. Right now I'm on the tank top arm rotation, and have experienced some nice definition as a result. I probably would've seen even greater results if I could just give up my nutritional weaknesses .. :)

Nicole :)
 
Hi Nicole-

Thanks for the clarification. I am glad you are having success with the "Tank Top rotaion" I haven't tried that one and was curious about it. Although summer is almost over, maybe somebody will come up w/ a "turtleneck rotation"?!

And, yes, I know what you mean.. when are Reese's Pieces going to be considered "nutritional powerhouses?" :)

Lynn
 
Hey Lynn :)

Well .. when Reese's get added to the top 10 list of stellar foods .. can we please have them add cheesecake right next to it?!? :)

I'm about to embark on a S&H rotation now that summer is almost over. I'm hoping to achieve some nice strength gains for shoveling myself through our next Chicago winter! :)

~ Nicole
 
Oh please tell me I'm not wasting my time with heavier weights? lately I've been really pushing myself. All I want is more definition, if I can achieve this with CTX, Power Hour and Pure Strength. I would be one happy person????????
 
Well .. IMHO, weight training whether endurance or strength oriented is never a waste of time! Each has their own place in a well rounded fitness regime.

If you're seeking mainly to define but not necessarily build muscle, then I would recommend the Tank Top Arms Rotation. The concept is to work legs, chest & back twice per week, shoulders, biceps and triceps three times per week for maximum definition. Here's the rotation:

Day #1: Pure Strength Chest, Back, Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps
Day #2: CTX Leaner Legs
Day #3: CTX Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps plus cardio
Day #4: Cardio
Day #5: MIS
Day #6: Cardio
Day #7: Cardio or rest

I did this for about 6 weeks, and saw nice results with it.

Happy Workouts!
Nicole
 
On days 1 and 3 in the TTR, about how much time do you spend working out?

Also, do you do the ab sections of all the strength tapes?

Thanks,

Susan G.
 
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Sep-13-02 AT 10:51PM (Est)[/font][p]Oops, sorry, double-post.

Susan G.
 
Hi Susan :)

Well, on Day 1, the workout comes in at just over an hour. I do the warm up of CST, and skip the warm up on BBA. On day 3, I'll usually tack about 30 minutes of cardio on beforehand, and then move into the weight work. That portion is about 30 mins total, so just about an hour there too.

I usually work my abs 4-5 times per week using a mixture of traditional ab work on a couple of the days, and the remaining workouts are geared more towards plank/core stabilization work.

Hope that answers your questions!
~ Nicole
 
I think a balanced weight training regime needs both endurance and strength oriented routines since they complement one another. The best bet, and this is just my personal opinion, is to do both with emphasis on one over the other depending on what works for you and your genetics. The only way to figure that out is to experiment. In my mind, you can achieve a better endurance workout if you have strong muscles, and the stronger muscles come as a result of heavier, more strength-based lifting which in turn provides you with the muscle size that you can better define with endurance types of routines....is that a run-on sentence or what??

:)Stacy
 

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