By Kim Fischer
Muscular endurance is developed with a different "prescription" than strength. Muscle endurance implies the number of times a person can contract a muscle or muscle group without its fatigue or, in other words, contracting the muscle/muscle group until a person cannot perform another repetition of the load/weight. The more repetitions one can lift a load/weight, the more muscular endurance one has.
Muscular endurance is not to be confused with aerobic endurance. Aerobic endurance implies the "fitness" of the cardiorespiratory system, i.e., heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to the body tissues. More aerobic endurance implies a greater delivery of oxygen to the body tissues and the more "fit" the cardiorespiratory system. A person could have a higher level of aerobic or cardiorespiratory endurance without having corresponding muscular endurance or vice versa.
When a person desires to increase their muscular strength and/or endurance, there are general recommendations to follow to improve one or both dimensions of muscular fitness.
For strength, the usual "prescription" would be to determine the 1 RM for the exercise that a person would like to use. By taking 85% of this 1RM, one can get a load for a workout that will allow the development of muscle strength. There should be 1-6 repetitions performed per set and 2-3 sets of this exercise. The general rule is to have 2-5 minutes rest between sets to allow for maximum load lifted each set and rep.
For example, a common strength building exercise is the bench press for the chest and triceps brachii muscles. Let's say that I performed a maximum bench press and was able to press 100 pounds. I would multiply that by.85 (85%) to determine my initial load of 85 pounds. I would press that weight for 1-6 repetitions, then rest for 2-5 minutes. Following the rest period, I would perform another set with the same load for as many repetitions between 1-6 that I could. This lift and rest sequence would occur for 3 sets and then I would go on to another exercise.
If I wanted to improve the muscular endurance of the chest and triceps with this same exercise, I would take the maximum lift of 100 pounds and multiply it by.67 (67%). My endurance load would be 67 pounds or less (since getting 67 pounds is fairly unlikely!). The usual prescription for muscular endurance is to take 67% or less of 1 RM, perform 12 or more repetitions and 2-3 sets BUT rest only 30 seconds between sets.
For example, if I used the bench press to improve my endurance, I would perform 12 or more repetitions with a 65-pound load, rest for 30 seconds, and then perform another set of 12 or more reps. I would perform 3 sets and move to a different exercise.
Strength will be improved with an endurance program as will endurance with a strength program. However, following a different prescription for each dimension of muscular fitness will allow the focus of the efforts on that particular dimension. If you want to build the most strength quickly, you have to lift a heavy load! If you want to prevent your muscles from fatiguing, you need to do lots of repetitions with little rest between efforts.
Kim Fischer, Ph.D., ACSM cPT, NSCA CSCS, and owner of Empowered By Learning LLC, created a Personal Trainer Certification Exam Preparation Course and accompanying Study Outline, Action Plan for Passing a Recognized Personal Trainer Certification Exam, and other study materials to support people in reaching their goal of becoming a certified personal trainer by a "gold standard" organization in the industry. Kim guarantees that course participants will pass their exam or their next course is free. Learn more about how to simplify and organize the process and the content for one of the recognized Personal Trainer Certification Exams such as ACSM, AFAA, or ACE by getting a free excerpt of Kim's step-by-step Action Plan when you subscribe at http://www.EmpoweredByLearningLLC.com
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