Since so many people are asking about the pyramid style workouts and whether or not they fall into the strength or endurance category, I thought I would post some information.
Pyramid style workouts are an example of what is called High Intensity Training. High Intensity Training (HIT) is an advanced level of training for strength gains, used to break plateaus for people who have been dedicated strength trainers for a long period of time. As opposed to high volume work (strength training more times per week with longer workout sessions which can lead to burnout and overuse injuries), HIT was designed to bring the client more results within their same time schedule... to push them to a greater degree of fatigue.
HIT recruits muscle fibers that are not normally challenged in other workouts because with HIT, the fatigued muscle fibers are not given a chance to rest before being used again in the same exercise. The physical discomfort experienced from the pyramid workouts is supposed to happen due to the lack of recovery and our muscles being forced to work again when reaching momentary muscle fatigue. Because of this increased effort, HIT should only be done once or twice per week with a complete day off from strength training following the workout.
HIT is best done with a trainer or spotter, as the real purpose is to use an amount of weight for each set that will bring the muscle to momentary failure (the muscle cannot do one more rep after the last number chosen for the set). While we can still put our weights down after the last rep in a set with these videos, in a true HIT workout with a trainer, the client would need assistance. When pyrmading up, the rule of thumb is to increase the weight by about 5%, even less, so in the pyramid videos, the weight chosen for that first set of 12 is going to set the stage for how hard the rest of the sets feel as you go up the pyramid. This is why it is helpful to have in-between size weights, like 4's, 6's and 7's, as Cathe suggests. I have these at home and they really come in handy on shoulders when 3's were too easy to start with and 8's too hard to end with.
How your muscles respond in terms of definition to the pyramid workouts depends on your genetics and muscle fiber type and distribution - as has been stated in this forum repeatedly. Muscles can get stronger without getting bigger. The majority of strength gains within a program comes from the nervous system being able to recruit more dormant muscle fibers to contract, and a smaller percentage from your muscles getting bigger. A more efficient nervous system plays a larger role with strength training than the amount of muscle growth one experiences.
Honestly, your best bet is to simply experiment with the workouts and see how your body responds.
I hope this information is helpful.
-Roe
Pyramid style workouts are an example of what is called High Intensity Training. High Intensity Training (HIT) is an advanced level of training for strength gains, used to break plateaus for people who have been dedicated strength trainers for a long period of time. As opposed to high volume work (strength training more times per week with longer workout sessions which can lead to burnout and overuse injuries), HIT was designed to bring the client more results within their same time schedule... to push them to a greater degree of fatigue.
HIT recruits muscle fibers that are not normally challenged in other workouts because with HIT, the fatigued muscle fibers are not given a chance to rest before being used again in the same exercise. The physical discomfort experienced from the pyramid workouts is supposed to happen due to the lack of recovery and our muscles being forced to work again when reaching momentary muscle fatigue. Because of this increased effort, HIT should only be done once or twice per week with a complete day off from strength training following the workout.
HIT is best done with a trainer or spotter, as the real purpose is to use an amount of weight for each set that will bring the muscle to momentary failure (the muscle cannot do one more rep after the last number chosen for the set). While we can still put our weights down after the last rep in a set with these videos, in a true HIT workout with a trainer, the client would need assistance. When pyrmading up, the rule of thumb is to increase the weight by about 5%, even less, so in the pyramid videos, the weight chosen for that first set of 12 is going to set the stage for how hard the rest of the sets feel as you go up the pyramid. This is why it is helpful to have in-between size weights, like 4's, 6's and 7's, as Cathe suggests. I have these at home and they really come in handy on shoulders when 3's were too easy to start with and 8's too hard to end with.
How your muscles respond in terms of definition to the pyramid workouts depends on your genetics and muscle fiber type and distribution - as has been stated in this forum repeatedly. Muscles can get stronger without getting bigger. The majority of strength gains within a program comes from the nervous system being able to recruit more dormant muscle fibers to contract, and a smaller percentage from your muscles getting bigger. A more efficient nervous system plays a larger role with strength training than the amount of muscle growth one experiences.
Honestly, your best bet is to simply experiment with the workouts and see how your body responds.
I hope this information is helpful.
-Roe
Thanks Roe!