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Chapter #11: Muscular Fitness
Basics
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Muscular Fitness
Muscle Fitness is
comprised of two
health-related parts
of physical fitness:

 Muscular
Endurance:
the ability to contract
muscles many times
without tiring
 Muscular Strength:
the amount of force a
muscle can exert
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Progressive Resistance Exercise

Progressive Resistance
Exercise: the gradual
increase of resistance used
in strength training
exercises
 Consistent
with the
principles of progression and
overload
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Muscular Endurance and Strength
Both muscular endurance and strength are developed by
resistance exercises



Resistance: is a force that acts against your muscles (usually
measured in terms of lbs.)
Muscular Endurance: is developed by doing an exercise
many times, but with less resistance
Muscular Strength: is developed by doing an exercise only a
few times, but with a lot of resistance

Strength: (size) tends to increase muscle size as they become
stronger (hypertrophy)



Hypertrophy: is the increase in muscle size
Endurance: (toning) because less weight is used, it does not cause as
much hypertrophy
EXAMPLE:…Weight lifting…


Higher reps, less weight = toning (endurance)
Lower reps, higher weight = size (strength)

Try to do 60-90% of your 1RM, and perform as few as 3 reps per set to
meet Fitness Target Zones for Strength
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Muscular Endurance-Strength
Continuum

Muscular EnduranceStrength Continuum:

Exercises done with high
reps and low weight are
for endurance and those
done with low reps and
high weight are for
strength…
 Exercises using middle of
the road weight and reps
will build both strength
and endurance
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Muscle Fitness Terminology


Repetitions: (reps) number of consecutive
times you do an exercise
Set: one group of repetitions


Principle of Overload:



Example: 2 sets of 8 reps bench-press (2
x 8)
Strength: 7-10 reps of heavy weight
Endurance: 11-25 reps of light weight
Once you can do 3 sets, move to the
principle of progression
Principle of Progression:

Once you can do 3 sets of a certain # of
reps and a certain weight, then increase
the weight (example: 3 x 10 of 65 lbs.
Bench press…then move to 3 x 8 of 70
lbs.)
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Structure of Muscles

Three types of muscles:
 Skeletal: attached to
the bone and make
movement possible
(voluntary)
 Contraction of the
muscle group thus
causes movement
 Cardiac: heart
(involuntary)
 Smooth: walls of your
internal
organs…stomach,
blood vessels, etc
(involuntary)
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Strength Building Exercises



Isometric: (static) exercises in which muscles
contract, but the body parts do not move (ex:
pressing against a wall)
Isotonic: (dynamic) exercises in which the
muscles contract and so do the body parts (ex:
leg curl, push-up, curl-up, lat-pull, etc.)
Isokinetic: exercises done with a special
apparatus that control the speed of the
movement of a body part so that it remains
constant, even when you try to move faster (for
rehabilitation purposes)
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Muscle Fibers

Muscle fibers: are muscle cells, which are long, thin, and
cylinder-shaped

The strength and endurance of skeletal muscle depends on
whether the muscles are made of slow, fast, or intermediate
fibers and how much exercise they get




Slow-twitch: contract at a slow rate and have good endurance
Fast-twitch: contract at a fast rate and used for strength activities
Intermediate: have characteristics of both slow and fast-twitch
(endurance and strength)
The types of fibers in our muscles are determined by our
genes; however, we can increase the strength and
endurance of our muscles by proper training
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Different Forms of Weight Training
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Weight Training: non-competitive form of exercise done
to increase strength and endurance
Resistance Training: involves the lifting of weights to
build strength and endurance w/machines (safer)
Circuit Weight Training: same as weight training except
it is usually done to develop aerobic training as well as
strength and muscular endurance
Weight Lifting: Olympic sport involving the use of free
weights. Athletes attempt to lift a maximum load (the
snatch and the clean and jerk)
Power Lifting: competitive sport using free weights,
athletes attempt to lift a maximum load (squat, bench
press and deadlift)
Body Building: sport can also be done for competition,
athletes are primarily concerned about how large and
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well-defined their muscles are
Muscle Fitness Assessment

One Repetition Maximum (1RM):
 The
amount of weight/resistance that can be
overcome in one repetition
 considered to be the best test for muscular strength
 Ex: Bench press, Leg press, Vertical Leap, etc

Calisthenics:
 Exercises
done using all or part of your body weight
for resistance
 Typically used for muscular endurance selfassessment
 Ex: Curl-ups, Push-ups, etc.
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Absolute Versus Relative Strength

Absolute Strength:
 Measured
by how much
weigh or resistance you
can overcome
regardless of your body
size

Relative Strength:
 Strength
adjusted for
your size
 Can be found dividing
your strength by your
body weight to give you
an estimate
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Health and Wellness Benefits
Strength: the amount of
force a muscle exerts
 Health and Wellness
Benefits:
 Helps
you jump and lift
 Helps you work and
play with less fatigue
 Prevents muscle
injuries and soreness
 Muscles burn more
calories than fat does
 Helps maintain good
posture
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Myths and Misconceptions

No pain, no gain!

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Body Dysmorphia



FALSE!...both males and females need strength to be healthy, to avoid
injury, to look good, and to be able to help themselves or others in an
emergency
Some women fear that strength training will cause their
bodies to look masculine


Term used when people become obsessed about with building muscle
Obsessive-compulsive disorder, and can be very dangerous
Some people think that only males need to be concerned
about their strength


FALSE! Pain is your bodies way of telling you it is hurting.
False…hormones in women’s bodies prevent them from developing
large bulky muscles
Both men and women look more attractive with strong
muscles because they are more likely to have good posture
and firm bodies
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Fitness Principles and Strength

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
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Overload: increase the load
so that the muscle can
contract harder than normal
Progression: gradually
increase resistance
Specificity: specifically
overload the muscles you
want to strengthen and do
exercises that closely
resemble the movement that
you want to use
Principle of Rest and
Recovery: you need to allow
your muscles to recover after
training (about 48 hours to
rebuild)
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Resistance Training Guidelines

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Do not hold your breath when you lift
Always be sure to use spotters when working with free
weights
Avoid maximal lifts, start with a moderate program
Avoid overhead lifts with free weights (use machines
instead)
Learn proper form, avoid positions that cause your lower
back to bend wrong or your wrists to bend backwards
Avoid plyometrics until you are old enough (power
moves too)
Never use weights carelessly
Concentrate on your technique and what you’re doing
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Resistance Training Guidelines
Continued

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Use resistance that you can lift 7-10 reps, your
muscles may be able to lift more, but your bones
are not
Do not compete when lifting weights, genetic
differences largely determine how strong a
person can be
Consider other forms of resistance such as
calisthenics, elastic bands, or isometrics
Do not try to become “muscle-bound”: to have
tight, bulky muscles that prevent individuals from
moving freely, it is not strength training, but rather
incorrect strength training (neglecting muscle
groups)
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