Muscular Strength and Endurance

Muscular strength and muscular endurance are two very important

components of health-related fitness. Muscular endurance refers to the ability of an
individual to contract a skeletal muscle numerous times over a long period of time,
while muscular strength is defined as the ability of a muscle to contract with great
force one time. Individuals who are fit possess both muscular strength and muscular
endurance.
Programs for developing maximal muscular strength require individuals to train
with heavy weights or resistance (70 to 100 percent of maximum) and to perform
relatively few repetitions (1 to 7) while overloading the muscle with heavy loads.
Strength training, which builds muscle, is considered a prime preventative
measure in the treatment or prevention of osteoporosis, and in controlling the
excessive accumulation of body fat. Muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells,
even at rest, so a person can increase his metabolism or calorie-burning ability by
increasing his muscle mass. An individual training for strength will gain more
muscle mass as he is increasing the size of his muscle fibers through training.
Muscular strength is obviously an important factor in sport (skill)-related fitness
because most sports require explosive movements. Explosive movements require the
generation of great forces very quickly; this is termed power. The stronger an athlete
is, the greater the power output will be, and in most instances the more successful the
athlete will be in competition.
The individual training for muscular endurance will employ relatively light
resistance or weight (50 to 60 percent) and complete a high number of repetitions (12
to 20) to overload the muscle. Fortunately, muscular strength and muscular endurance
are related, and through the use of one program, both can be developed to a
satisfactory level of fitness. The higher the level of muscular endurance an individual
possesses, the longer he or she can engage in repetitive movement activities, whether
for work or play, and will not experience as much fatigue. Training for muscular
endurance will not increase muscle size, but will cause muscles to appear tone as
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body fat decreases. Training for muscular endurance will give a person a more lean
looking body versus a bulky, muscular look.

Muscle weakness or imbalance can lead to postural deviations that can affect both
health and appearance. One of the most significant health problems in the United
States today is lower-back pain. It has been estimated that as many as 80 percent of
all lower-back problems are related to an imbalance in muscular strength between
abdominals and the hip flexor muscles. In most instances the abdominal muscles are
too weak and the hip flexor muscle too strong, and a postural condition known as
lordosis, or sway-back, develops, causing an excessive posterior compression of the
lumbar vertebral discs.
Resistance Training
Program Sequence for Muscular Strength

Recommendations: Large muscles before small muscles, multiple-joint before

single-joint, and high intensity before lower intensity
Beginners: 8-12 RM Frequency: 2-3 days a week

Intermediate: 1-12 periodized Frequency: 2-3 days a week

Advanced: 1-6 RM Frequency 4-5 days a week

Rest periods: 2-3 minutes for core exercises (multiple joint), 1-2 minutes for
assistance exercises (single joint)
Loads of 5-6 reps are best for maximal dynamic strength, and varying the loads
is most effective.
Weight-Lifting Recommendations

OBJECTIVE REPS SETS WEIGHT REST

Strength/Power 1-7 3-6 70-100% of 1RM 2-5 min
Size* 8-12 3-6 70-80% of 1RM 30-90 sec
Endurance** 15-20 2-3 40-60% 1RM 30 sec – 2 min

*Size would develop increased muscle mass (i.e., bulk).

**Endurance would develop a more lean, tone appearance.

1RM = one repetition maximum

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The Principles of Training:

How They Are Used to Structure a Strength-Training Workout

For a muscle to increase in strength or functional capacity, a load greater than

normal must be applied to it. This is known as the overload principle and is the basis for
all types of training programs including weight training. In general, muscles adapt to the
load they are subjected to. If they are not overloaded, they will not increase in size or
strength, whereas if they are forced to contract at maximum tension, they are overloaded
or forced to work harder than normal and increase in size and strength. In other words,
the demands of exercise must be sufficient to force muscles to adapt to the workload they
are exposed to. The muscle fibers have to become larger in order to meet the demands
placed upon the body. If a person were never to increase the weight that he or she lifted
the muscles would not have to adapt and their muscles would never grow larger.
In time, muscles adapt to the workload placed upon them. Once this muscle
adjustment occurs, the work of the exercise load is no longer considered an overload. For
this reason, the workload must gradually increase as a muscle adapts to new demands.
For adaptation to occur, the amount of work to be performed must be increased
progressively. For strength increases, this progression is through as increase in resistance
(i.e., weight lifted) while for endurance increases, the progression is through an increase
in repetitions and/or resistance.
A major principle in strength training is known as specificity of training.
Basically, this principle states that gains that result from training are specific to the type
of stress imposed upon the systems. The term has two meanings. First, it means that the
muscle to be developed must be exercised specifically, and second, the muscle must be
exercised specifically for what you want to develop, be it strength, size, or endurance.
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It is important to keep muscle balance in mind as exercises are selected.

Beginners should select exercises with overall development in mind. It is also important,
especially for beginners, to select compound exercises that require more than one joint or
muscle to move the weight. For example, squats use a large number of muscles at the
same time to perform the exercise. Generally speaking, beginning weight trainers should
select one exercise per body part. This will result in a training program with about eight
to twelve basic exercises.
Usually, weight trainers begin their workouts by exercising the largest muscles
first and the smallest muscles last. The reason for this is that large muscles require more
energy and need the smaller muscles to assist in the performance of a lift. If the smaller
muscles are exercised first, they will be fatigues when they are needed in large-muscle
training. The largest muscles are located on the torso. Muscle groups are progressively
smaller away from the torso and toward the arms and legs.
The amount of weight used when performing lifts depends on what an individual
wants to develop. The general rule is that for strength development, lifters should use a
heavy weight and low reps, generally 70 to 100 percent of their 1 repetition maximum
lift. For muscle endurance, they should use the light weights with high repetitions, about
40 to 60 percent of their 1 repetition maximum lift. For muscle size development, lifters
should use a moderate weight with moderate repetitions, about 70 to 80 percent of their 1
repetition maximum lift.
Beginners should start with a light weight that allows an individual to easily
perform the exercise correctly. As they become comfortable with lifting mechanics, they
should gradually increase the resistance.
The resistance one chooses will affect the number of repetitions that can be
performed. Again, the number of repetitions selected depends on one’s workout
objective. The following guidelines are generally followed: for strength development, 1
to 7 repetitions per set; for size development, 8 to 12 repetitions per set; and for
endurance development, 12 to 15 repetitions per set. Most weight trainers use moderate
to high repetitions when they exercise abdominals, lower back, forearms, and calves.
The number of sets selected is dependent to some degree on the resistance and the
number of repetitions to be performed for each exercise. Again, the following guidelines
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can be used: for strength development, 3 to 5 more sets of each exercise; for size
development, 3 to 6 sets of each exercise; and for endurance development, 2 to 3 sets of
each exercise. Generally, there is a leveling off of gains after 3 sets have been performed.
Additional sets after the third set produces gains, but the amount of this increase is less
than that during the first 3 sets. Lifters must work harder for fewer results after 3 sets than
they do for the first 3 sets.
The amount of rest between sets is also determined by what an individual is trying
to develop. For strength development the rest period should be 2 to 5 minutes between
sets; for size development it should be 30 to 90 seconds between sets; and for endurance
development it should be 20 to 30 seconds between sets.

Progression is a gradual increase in overload necessary for

achieving higher levels of fitness. The following are general rules regarding progression:
increase only one variable at a time; increase repetitions or sets before increasing
resistance; decrease repetitions when increasing resistance or sets; and decrease the rest
interval between sets to increase the workload for muscular endurance.
Most individuals require two or three days of rest for their muscles to recover and
adapt following an intense muscular workout. Generally, exercising a muscle three days
per week with 48 to 72 hours rest between training sessions works very well for most
weight trainers. Advanced trainers perform different exercises on different days so they
may exercise four, five, or six days per week. They can do this because they do not
exercise the same body parts each day.