The majority of fitness fanatics incorporate muscular strength exercises in their daily workout routine while totally ignoring “muscle endurance”, which is an equally important component for body fitness as muscle strength.
Thus, fitness experts recommend incorporating adequate Muscular Endurance Exercises into your daily workout routine for increased fitness.
What Is Muscular Endurance?
Muscular Endurance is the ability of muscles to continue contracting against any resistance. In simple words, muscular endurance can be defined as how constantly you can repeat an exercise without getting exhausted.
Lesli Shooter, a Performance Coach explains muscle endurance as, “Muscular endurance is the ability of the muscle to repeatedly contract, produce force overtime, and delay fatigue. It is the ability of the muscle to maintain efficient contraction and force production as long as possible.”
Having greater muscle endurance will help you complete more reps of intense exercises such as squats and Push-Ups. It is also the only component that lets you run a marathon without killing your squads.
If you get exhausted following just a few reps of any exercise, you are in dire need of working on your muscle endurance.
Benefits Of Muscular Endurance
As revealed by American Council On Exercise improved muscle endurance can reap the following benefits:
- Slotting in muscular endurance exercises in your daily workout routine can enhance your overall health.
- It improves your posture and improves your body flexibility.
- An increased muscular endurance can help improve the aerobic capacity of your muscles.
- It also aids to your athletic performance.
- It improves your ability to smoothly carry out your daily activities.
- Helps improve your bone health thus alleviating the chances of getting injuries.
- It leads to stronger and healthier muscles.
- With improved muscular endurance you can increase your ability to lift the weight without getting exhausted.
- It also prepares you for performing HIIT exercises.
- Muscle endurance is also beneficial to maintaining a healthy body weight.
If you get worn out while carrying out the simplest tasks like lifting your baby or running to catch your bus, your muscles lack the endurance they need the most.
To meet this deficiency of your body, there are numerous Muscular Endurance Exercises that directly work on your ability to complete a task without getting bushed. Also, the only way to improve the endurance of any muscle is to strengthen it in the first place.
Below are some of the dedicated Muscular Endurance Exercises suggested by health experts to reach the optimum level of muscle endurance really quickly.
- Planks
- Push-Ups
- Lunges
- Abdominal Crunches
- Body Weight Squats
Before discussing each of the above muscular endurance exercises, let’s discuss the precautionary measure to avoid any potential injuries.
Preventive Measures
- It is always a good idea to consult your health advisor before incorporating any new exercise into your normal routine.
- Warm up for at least 5 minutes before hopping into the main course.
- Keep breathing during all workouts. Exhale during moments that require more effort while inhaling on the easy parts.
- Make sure you are following the right technique.
- Do not overdo any exercise. Asserting more pressure than your body parts can bear, can result in severe injuries.
- Don’t forget to relax your muscles at the end of the session. Cooling down is as important as the warm-up sessions.
Let’s discuss the most effective muscular endurances exercises now.
Planks
Planks are isometric body-weight exercises that involve a tremendous number of muscles, making this exercise appealing for different pieces of training. This exercise particularly works on your muscle endurance but is also well-suited for people wanting to indulge in cardio training.
Marian Barnick a Kinesiologist and cancer movement therapist says, “Planks — as with any good core exercise — do not work on strengthening, but work to improve muscle endurance”.
The Accurate Technique For Doing A Plank
- Get into a Push-up position and rise to the top of this position while placing your elbows on the floor.
- Make sure your elbows are placed right under your shoulders while your feet are shoulder-width apart.
- Push your body upwards asserting pressure on your elbows and hold the position for as long as you can.
- For beginners, it is recommended to hold this position for 30 seconds only.
- You can also shift to a forearm plank right after the basic plank, it’s considerably easier than the plank described earlier and you can hold it for a little longer.
- Make sure to keep your body straight while you are in a plank position.
Push Ups
Push-Ups are not just the upper body workouts; this easy-to-follow exercise can engage all body muscles thus amplifying your overall strength and muscle endurance. Incorporating this exercise into your normal workout routine can improve your functional strength and ability.
The Right Technique To Perform A Push-Up
- Get down on an even surface and place your hands (a little wider than your shoulders) on the floor.
- Straighten your arms and legs in a way that your body forms a straight line.
- Now, lower your upper body by bending your elbows to a level that creates a 90-degree angle with your shoulders.
- You have to lower your body to a level where your chest touches the ground.
- Pull yourself to your initial position and repeat the steps for as long as you can without breaking your form.
Slotting this workout into your normal exercise routine can help you increase your muscle endurance, muscular strength, cardiovascular health, and athletic performance.
Lunges
With added variations, Lunges is among the go-to muscular endurance exercises that can help you reap numerous benefits.
By hitting your abs, buttocks, hips, and thighs, lunges can boost your athletic performance, the motion of range, and overall fitness. Practicing a few lunges a day can provide a massive boost to your muscle endurance and strength.
How To Perform A Lunge?
- Stand straight on a flat surface with your feet placed at your shoulder width.
- Take a step forward with your left foot and drop down your body slowly so that your right leg touches the ground.
- Push back to your initial position by asserting pressure on your front heel.
- Repeat the same steps using your right foot.
- Perform at least a set of 15 lunges for a day.
- While you drop down your body towards the floor, make sure to keep your abdomen straight.
Abdominal Crunches
You can add any variation of crunches into your daily workout routine if you are looking for a worthy muscle endurance exercise.
According to a study conducted in 2015, even a small dose of crunch workout performed one day a week can increase abdominal muscular endurance to a considerable level.
This exercise is a simple way to boost the endurance of your abs, and rectus abdominis. It further amplifies your smooth mobility thus dropping off your chances to get exhausted. To increase your muscular endurance, aim for at least 15 to 20 reps of a crunch each day.
How To Perform A Crunch?
- Lie down on a yoga mate with your arms tucked under your head.
- Your arms must be positioned as if you are resting your head on a pillow while facing the ceiling.
- If you find this position difficult, you can keep any one of your arms under your neck while the other resting free. The purpose of placing your arms under your neck is to provide support and to cut off any chances of muscle strain.
- Bend your knees, leaving ample space between your hips and legs.
- Gently contract your abdomen, and bring your shoulders up from the floor without moving your feet.
- Exhale as you lift your shoulders up from the floor.
- Keep your chin up.
- Hold the position for a few seconds and push back to your initial position slowly.
- Continue the steps without breaking your form.
- Repeat as many reps as you can, but don’t overdo it.
Some of the common mistakes that most people do while performing the crunches are, lifting their shoulder blades up too high and jerking them back with sudden force. Try not to do this as it may cause you severe injuries.
Also, do not pull your neck as it may only strain your neck.
Body Weight Squats
The bodyweight squats can build your leg muscle endurance. Besides improving your muscular endurance, bodyweight squats can add to your overall body strength and are also crucial to tone your lower body.
It also works on the smooth mobility of your hips thus are less likely to face get injured. Also, by hitting your legs hard, this exercise involves multiple muscles as a result your get strengthened body muscles.
The Right Technique To Perform A Body Weight Squat
- Place your feet slightly wider than your shoulder width on a plain surface.
- Keep your toes pointed straight ahead.
- Bend your legs and drop your upper body to the height of your knees.
- Your knees must create a 90-degree angle as your body comes to the level of your knees.
- Keep your hands straight ahead to maintain balance and also make sure to keep your back straight.
- Holding your weight on your heels, push back to your starting position.
- Perform as many reps as you can.
- You can also add any variance to aid your muscle endurance.
To avoid muscle strain and injuries, keep your chest out and shoulders back. Make sure your torso doesn’t become parallel to the floor.