Muscular Endurance vs Strength

Workout programming can be based on muscular endurance or muscular strength (or segments of both). Incorporating both into your weekly routine can help you build and maintain a well-rounded body. Some workouts are meant to be performed at a fast pace for longer durations with minimal resistance (endurance) while some are meant to be performed at a slow pace for shorter durations with greater resistance (strength). Before we break it down a bit further, here are some examples of endurance and strength training at Active Lifestyle Fitness:

Muscular Endurance:
Indoor Cycling
Barre
Boot Camp

Muscular Strength:
Guts & Butts/Guns
TRX*
Small Group*

*(sometimes also includes segments of muscular endurance training)

Booty BarreMuscular endurance is defined as the ability to sustain a muscular effort for an extended period of time (1). This type of training can be beneficial to you in every day life performing tasks such as raking leaves, shoveling snow, and climbing stairs. Success in a Cycling class, for instance, is being able to maintain the RPMs recommended by the instructor at a given resistance. The resistance will be different for everyone, but if it’s causing a decrease in your RPMs, you should lower the gear. Similarly, success in a barre class is being able to to do all of the repetitions to the beat of the music. The arm segment has added resistance (dumbbells and bands), but if you’re not able to perform all of the repetitions to the beat of the music, you should lighten the resistance.

Muscular strength is defined as the maximal force a muscle or muscle group can generate (1). This type of training can be beneficial to you in every day life performing tasks such as moving boxes or furniture and picking up your children. There are many ways to design a strength training program so it’s important to consult with your instructor, but generally speaking, you should feel a struggle to complete the reps at the end of a set while maintaining proper form. If your resistance is not high enough to feel this struggle, your strength will not increase. Also, if you are trying to fly through a strength workout without adequate rest in between sets, you are not allowing enough time for your energy supply to re-generate (ATP) and will not be getting the most out of your workout.

It is important to understand the purpose of your workout as well as how to perform it properly. Your instructor will be able to help you gauge proper resistance, pace, and rest periods for each workout. All workouts do not have the same purpose. It may not be appropriate to use as much resistance as you can or to move as quickly as you can because our bodies have different types of muscle fibers that we train in different ways. It’s a good idea to take advantage of both muscular endurance and muscular strength training while making sure to follow the instructor’s guidelines for each!

(1) Boone, T. (2014). Introduction to Exercise Physiology. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning, LLC.