Muscular strength is the ability to exert a maximal amount of force for a short time frame. Endurance, or aerobic endurance as it is sometimes called, involves having the lung capacity to exert light force for an extended period of time. If you are trying to increase both of these parameters, there are several workouts that focus on each.
Identification
Muscular strength and aerobic endurance are important to sport performance. In some sports, both of these parameters are necessary and in others, only one. Take football for example. You need to continually make tackles, jump in the air, run down the field and block defenders. This takes muscular strength, aerobic endurance and muscular endurance. Muscular endurance involves being able to do multiple muscle contractions with light resistance for long periods of time. Running is a sport where you need less muscular strength and more aerobic and muscular endurance. The muscular endurance is seen in the legs.
Types
Muscular strength workouts generally consist of compound exercises. These involve more than one muscle and joint working at the same time. By doing these exercises, a maximal amount of muscle is recruited which boosts strength gains. Bench presses, shoulder presses, bent-over rows, dips, twist curls and deadlifts are examples of exercises.
Muscular endurance workouts consist of either conventional exercises like curls, triceps extensions and squats, or calisthenic exercises like push-ups, dips, lunges, jumping jacks, squat jumps, crunches and supermans.
Aerobic endurance training involves all forms of cardio. The style that is performed is usually dependent on the sport. For example, if someone is a runner or plays a sport that involves constant running, then he runs for endurance. If someone is a cyclist, he rides a bike for his endurance. If someone is a rower, he uses a rowing machine to build endurance.
Resistance
The biggest difference between muscular strength and muscular endurance workouts is the resistance used. When you are trying to build strength, use the heaviest weights you are capable of lifting. When you are trying to gain muscular endurance, lift a light to moderate weight. This is why calisthenic exercises are used for muscular endurance. With aerobic endurance, the weight of the body is also used, but the resistance is light enough that you are capable of moving for extended periods of time.
Features
Muscular strength workouts involve doing 8 to 12 reps and 3 to 4 sets of exercises three to four times a week. Workouts are performed with at least one day of rest in between. Muscular endurance workouts are performed the same way, except the rep counts are higher. A basic muscular endurance workout would involve 15 to 25 reps per exercise, or the sets get timed for 30 to 60 seconds.
Aerobic endurance workouts are performed several different ways. Long slow distance training involves 30-minute to two-hour workouts at a slow and steady pace. Pace/tempo training involves exercising at a pace congruent to race pace or slightly above it. This type of training is performed for no longer than 30 minutes, and slow tempo intervals are often mixed in. Interval training involves alternating back and forth between bursts of all-out effort and light effort. These workouts have a one-to-one ratio of work to rest and they last 30 to 45 minutes. Fartlek training is basically unorganized interval training. A steady pace is performed and short bursts of high-intensity effort are mixed into the workout sporadically. The reason for all of these types of training is to get the body ready for what takes place in an actual game or race.
Benefits
Even though muscular strength, aerobic endurance and muscular endurance are all necessary for sports, they also impact your performance with daily life. For example, helping someone push a car out of a ditch takes muscular strength. Shoveling snow takes muscular endurance. Cutting the grass with a push lawn mower takes aerobic endurance.
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