About Muscular Strength And Endurance

Muscular strength and muscular endurance are two important components of physical fitness and should be a part of your exercise routine, according to the American College of Sports Medicine, or ACSM. Exercises to help you increase your muscular strength and endurance can be safe for you, no matter your age, and can improve your physical and mental health.

Muscular Strength

The ACSM defines muscular strength as the ability of a muscle or muscle group to exert force. A common way of measuring muscular strength is by finding your "one-repetition maximum," which is the maximum amount of resistance you can move through the full range of motion while maintaining control and good form. Muscular strength varies with each different muscle and muscle group.

Muscular Endurance

Muscular endurance is defined as the ability of a muscle or a group of muscles to contract repeatedly over a period of time, according to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Doing a pushup test is a method the ACSM uses to assess muscular endurance of arm and shoulder muscles. This test is done by doing as many consecutive pushups as you can while maintaining proper form.

Ways to Improve

All types of resistance training exercises can improve your muscular strength and endurance, as long as you performed them correctly. The ACSM reports that to improve muscular strength, you should do fewer repetitions with more weight, and to improve muscular endurance, more repetitions with less weight may be appropriate. You can do resistance training exercises using free weights, weight machines, resistance bands or by using your own body weight as resistance.

Benefits

Improving your muscular strength and endurance can help you control your weight, manage symptoms of arthritis and depression and strengthen your bones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The American Council on Fitness adds that resistance training can improve your cholesterol levels and help reduce your risk of developing diabetes. To gain these benefits, you should do resistance training exercises for your major muscle groups at least two times per week.

Considerations

Although numerous benefits are associated with improved muscular strength and endurance, if you are new to resistance training exercises or have any health conditions that concern you, visit with your doctor or a trained exercise professional to develop a resistance training program that is right for you. Both men and women of all ages can benefit from resistance training, and the ACSM suggests that resistance training exercises may be more important as you age to improve your balance and avoid other chronic diseases associated with aging.