Strength and Endurance Training

mariatina

Member
Hi Cathe,

As I am pretty new to your workouts, I am hoping you can tell me what is the difference between strength workouts and endurance workouts. Do you need to do both or is it a matter of preference?

Thanks for your help and you are awesome!!!!
 
Maria, hi and welcome,obviously I am not Cathe but I can answer your question.

Strength workouts emphasize heavier weights with slower or less reps. While Endurance workouts tend to have lower weight and higher number of reps. You really do need them both to build and sculpt your muscles, into the shapeliness that we want for them.

As for doing them together or separately that is an individual choice. You can do a strength rotation followed by a endurance one or do strength and endurance all in one week (which happens to be what I did this week). I used the Pyramids the first part of the week followed by the CTX weight work the 2nd half of the week.

I hope I have answered some of your questions:7

Maybe others will have different insight into this question also!:D
 
Welcome Maria!

I, too, am obviously not Cathe, but can tell you what the different types of weight training have done for me.

When I began working out with Cathe in April, I had minimal muscle size and strength. I used mostly the Pyramids to build up both and was really pleased with my results after about three months of strength training (I learned that I built muscle very quickly, especially in the lower body). Since July I've been doing endurance training only and have noticed greater sculpting and definition benefits, along with being able to lift for a longer period of time before tiring (hence the term "endurance" training:) ). The other day however, I noticed I've lost a bit of strength in my bi- and triceps, so I'll be going back to a strength rotation in September (I think I'll be doing a shorter endurance rotation next time around!). I'm still very new to fitness--both weight and cardiovascular training--so I'm still working out all the kinks in regards to what works best for me. I know what I want to achieve in terms of muscle size, strength and definition, and now it's all about finding the correct balance of strength and endurance training to maintain those goals (and half the fun for me is trying)! I've never tried doing both strength and endurance together, so maybe I'll give that a try--I'm always up for new things.:)

Hopes this helps even just a little bit, Maria, and I wish you all the best as you work to achieve your fitness goals! Have fun!
 
Hi Annette and Kim!!

Thanks so much for your input. I have been using the Firm workouts for about a year and wanted something so much more challenging and I know I have found it with Cathe. The Firm workouts and Cathe's are way different so that is why I am not too sure as to what I need to be doing with Cathe. I started with her Basic Step and Body Fusion and have now started doing her Classics DVD in order to get better acquainted with her step patterns before I attempt something like IMAX2. I then purchased her Bootcamp/Muscle Endurance because I wanted to do weights. Tried Bootcamp but too advanced for me at this point, but love Muscle Endurance as you can adjust the poundage of the weights. Then I started reading about strength training and endurance on the posts and well this is when the confustion set in.

I am looking to tone and get definition in my lower body especially getting my glutes lifted and want definition in my upper body as well. Would the Pyramid series help with this? And what would be the differnce between doing Pyramid Lower Body as opposed to Legs and Glutes? Sorry for all the questions but Cathe has so many workouts that I really don't know where to start as far as weight training.

Any input again would be much appreciated!!!
 
Hi again, from what I have learned from this board going from strength to endurance Cathe's tapes rank as follows:

Slow and Heavy
Pure Strength
Pyramids
MIS
ME
PH

Legs and Glutes is a endurance leg workout as is Leaner Legs.

So to answer your question yes Pyramids would help to build and shape your muscle because is falls in the strength end of the ranking while Legs and Glutes is endurance and could be used to sculpt and shape and tone up the legs. Clear a mud?!?:p :eek: :+ I hope not. I am not sure how the newer Body Blast weight tapes rank (I only have KP&C/L&G myself) but maybe someone else can help you there.

Hope that helps you some more!:7
 
Hi Annette,

Thank you for the breakdown on Cathe's workouts. I am beginning to understand the difference between strength and endurance training. I will be ordering the Pyramids and start to incorporate them into my routine and figure out how to rotate them with Muscle Endurance to achieve the look I want.

Thanks again for your all of your help.
 

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