Muscle Max vs Muscle Endurance

Carmen829

Carmen829

Cathlete
I'd like to get a total body sculpting dvd to do two days per week in between my step workouts. I was thinking of one of these. I consider myself beginner/intermediate level. Which do you like better and why? Thank you.
 
These are my top two favorite total body workouts from Cathe. Muscle Max is more focused on strength while ME is more focused on endurance. Both are advanced. With MM you can use light weight and build up to heavier weight and use a pink band to start with instead of a green band for the dynaband exercises. Maximum Intensity Strength is another favorite of mine and one you might want to consider to start out with for strength training. It's bundled with two other workouts - Power Hour and Body Max, both of which are also good. Power Hour is a total body endurance workout like ME but I don't think it's as fun to do as ME.
 
I would suggest the Muscle Endurance DVD. 1) Because this workout is accompanied on the DVD with Cathe' Boot Camp workout (which is fairly advanced, but just do what you can). I think Muscle Endurance’s upper body work is easier than Muscle Max’s but I think Muscle Endurance’s lower body work is tougher than Muscle Max’s. With any workout, however, you can make it easier or harder depending on heavy you go with the weights. Simply start light (given that you’ve deemed yourself Beg/Int) and heavy up at your own pace.
 
I would recommend Muscle Endurance. What I like about this workout better are: the step ups and the additional leg work in this workout: the back exercises: the use of the medicine ball. PLUS as jillybean pointed out, you get bootcamp on that dvd.
Susan C.M.
 
I have both MM & ME they are both excellent, but I love ME the most! I have also started doing the ME & Bootcamp bonus combo. I have had a lot of fun with this pre-mix.
When I am trying to choose - I have found that reading the reviews at collage video also help.
Good Luck!

jooge
 
Agreed. I prefer MM for enjoyment and because of the emphasis on heavier weights. I don't want that much upper body endurance. It does nothing for my body type. However, it is true, as Jillybean says, that the lower body work on ME is superior. Tough choice!

Clare
 
Yeah, tough choice. I don't use ME that much but it comes with Bootcamp and lots of premixes. That's a lot of value for the money. But between ME and MM, I use MM more because I can go heavier, and it hits me right where I want it, as hard as I want it. I use PH and CTX-UB split more for endurance. I think PH is tougher than ME, but that's just me. I guess it all depends on what you're working towards and what you enjoy more.

Pinky
 
I just realized you said you were beginner/intermediate. If you are a BEGINNER to weight lifting, neither of these are really appropriate. You should really start with another instructor or Cathe's Basic Step with the add-ons of upper and lower body. However, if you are intermediate both of these are good, becuase they both have a shorter pre-mix and splits to upper body only and lower body only. They are both fantastic and fun workouts. If you have the extra money the ME comes with Bootcamp on it too which you will learn to enjoy over time!
Beth
 
Yes, that's right. For beginner/inter, a better choice would be push/pull, supersets. But to the question, which is better, I find MM more fun, ME is really a burner. Harder and more challenging.
Maybe because of all the extra leg exercises, but I'll do MM 100 times more than ME, just for laziness.
 
If you are a beginner/intermediate - I would suggest getting the PP/SS dvd. Tons of premixes and I LOVE Supersets - its just fun to do!

I have the ME and Bootcamp dvd also and I end up using BootCamp at least twice a month bc it is fun and you can lower your weight and still its a terrific circuit workout.........Power Hour is my favorite total body workout - I am currently doing a rotation using the cardio portions from CTX and doing PH twice per week. I think my legs get a great workout when doing Power Hour. Plus it seems quick and effective - clocks in right at or under 60 mins........

ME has leg presses in it, which are great if you enjoy those, but I really don't enjoy leg presses, so that is why I like power hour better.......

I don't have Muscle Max, but hoping Santa delivers :)
 
I have never done Muscle Max but I did Muscle Endurance last night for the first time, and I will say that "the jury is still out on ME". I am a beginner and I would have to recommend "Maximum Intensity Strength" instead of either of these, because it is more of an instructional tape than these are. First of all, Cathe tells you what you are going to be doing next and she shows you how to do it. Whereas in ME, she goes from one exercise to the next and you don't know what the next is going to be because she doesn't tell you. Also, MIS has short breaks in between exercises whereas ME does not, and I think this is important for beginners.

Another good tape for beginners is her "Pure Strength - Strong Legs and Abs" - it is probably my second favorite after MIS. Definetly worth purchasing.

Good luck with your choice!

Ellen
 
Actually I'm a little better than beginner because I trained a few years back with a personal trainer, so I do know about good form, etc. I just havent trained in a few years. The weights I've used are very light (3 or 5 pounds). So I'd like to get back into some weight work and tone up and lose some body fat. Thanks for all the great feedback.


Carmen
 
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