Workout for 8-5-10 Muscle Endurance

This workout I did by myself as Jason went rock climbing. But he got home in time to do core work with me. :-)
Details for the workout:


Muscle Endurance This high rep, total body conditioning workout not only increases functional fitness gains, but it promotes nicely shaped and defined muscles. You'll experience maximum muscular endurance gains along with strength gains as you challenge each of the major muscle groups through a wide variety of exercises. Do this workout one to three times per week and you'll soon enjoy the benefits of improved posture, increased bone density, and an overall healthy, happier you. Equipment needed: A step bench, barbell, various weighted dumbbells, and a medicine ball (we will use an 8 pound medicine ball)
Muscle Endurance Format: warm-up (6 min.), weight training (45 min.), Abs (9 1/2 min.), stretch (4 min.) Total = 64 1/2 min.

Preview for DVD:

For this workout I wasn't nearly as tired as I was for Bootcamp. I made sure I got extra sleep last night and ate better to make sure I had energy to really push myself. I forgot how many leg presses and glute raises are in this workout. Holy moly I'm sure my booty will be very sore tomorrow!
I also didn't need to chug as much water. You should sip water throughout a workout but you don't want to chug a whole lot as you can get sick and even vomit. Which is no fun. So I try to drink a tall glass of water, sipping it here and there until it's gone. It's important to keep your muscles hydrated and you will perform better.

So I want to talk a bit about different types of workout DVD's. I get a lot people asking me about what kind of workout they should try. Not all workouts are good for everyone. Some people workout to lose weight and get into shape, while others workout to maintain their shape/fitness, bulk up and build strength, stamina and endurance.

For the folks who are interested in getting into shape, a good starting point is a decent short workout that challenges you, makes you sweat and makes you feel like you really did something and shows results. There are quick workouts that cram a lot of hard exercises into a very short period of time. They are developed to shock your body and make you burn fat while toning muscle. Those DVD's are good for beginners and/or people who don't have that much time to work out.

Then there are long more strenuous workouts that are more time consuming and offer more quality of a workout for people who have the time to really effectively and efficiently workout their muscles for sculpting and building strength. These are good to move onto once you've gotten used to the short workouts. People who have been working out a really long time have a lot more endurance and stamina. So shorter workouts aren't for me because they aren't that challenging. However, I do them when I'm tired or not feeling well but know I still need to do something physical, and my regular evil workouts would be too draining at that particular time.

I'm not saying that one style is better than the other. I'm saying that one is better for some people depending on what your goals are and what your level is. So choose wisely.
If you're just starting out, short workouts that build up intensity over time are for you. Don't throw yourself into an insanely hard workout that feels impossible to do because you will set yourself up for failure. But if you're already quite active, then it's good to really challenge yourself and take it to the next level by working out longer and spending more quality time on each muscle group.

My goals? Well, like I have said before, I'm skinny I always have been so I'm not trying to lose weight at all. I don't even know what my weight is currently.
So I work on sculpting, building strength, stamina, endurance and flexibility. While my preferred workout is lifting weights (I love it because muscle builds sexy shapely curves), I try not too lift weights that are too heavy because I want to keep my feminine shape as my hubby complained that I was starting to look "manly". I don't want that!

Another thing is when you stay active in doing the same workouts regularly, you can plateau. That goes for beginners as well as intermediate/expert levels. Meaning your body gets used to the workout and it's no longer challenging. If something isn't challenging you, then it's time to move onto the next level. It's good to workout, but if what you're doing doesn't make you sweat or make you feel like you really worked, then it's not enough.

I hope that all makes sense in understanding what kind of workout is for you. I prefer the really hardcore, long workouts because those are the best challenge for my level. If you ever get to the point of feeling like you could have done more after a workout, like I said, it's time to move up to the next level and really challenge your body. That's what gets results.

Thanks for reading!

~BLIX