Muscular strength and endurance are two important parts of your body’s ability to move, lift things and do day-to-day activities. Muscular strength is the amount of force you can put out or the amount of weight you can lift. Muscular endurance is how many times you can move that weight
without getting exhausted (very tired). Muscular strength and endurance are important for many reasons: There are many ways to improve muscular strength and endurance. A gym or fitness centre is a good place to go if you’re interested in doing resistance training (also called strength training, weight training or weight lifting). This involves working a muscle or group of muscles against resistance to increase strength
and power. Resistance training can include using:
Of course, you don’t have to go to a gym or buy exercise equipment to improve muscular strength and endurance. Doing normal daily activities like lifting groceries or walking up and down stairs can also help. You can also do many exercises at home that don’t need equipment, such as push-ups and sit-ups. All you have to do is challenge your muscles to work harder or longer than they usually do. Remember, if you’re going to do strengthening exercises that involve lifting, it’s important to use the correct techniques. Last Reviewed: November, 2016 © 2016 Province of British Columbia. All rights reserved. May be reproduced in its entirety provided the source is acknowledged. This information is not meant to replace advice from your medical doctor or individual counselling with a health professional. It is intended for educational and informational purposes only. What is strength and endurance?In practical terms, muscle strength is how strong the child is and muscular endurance is how long the child’s muscles can work. In more specific terms: Muscular strength is the ability to exert force against resistance. Exerting force may or may not mean there is movement of the joints or body. It might be that you carry an object in front of you and you contract your biceps, but there is no movement as your arms are neither raising nor lowering. This is called an isometric contraction. When the muscles contract and there is movement at a joint, such as a bicep curl, this is called an isotonic contraction. Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert force repeatedly. Muscular endurance is similar to muscular strength in that strength is required to initiate movements, but it is the muscles endurance capacity that enables it to continue for multiple efforts. Why are strength and endurance important?Strength and endurance are important to enable children to perform every day functions such as fine motor skills (e.g. holding a pencil appropriately, cleaning teeth), gross motor skills (e.g. carrying heavy school bags, walking, running, skipping, playground skills such as climbing, and sporting skills such as catching, throwing and hitting a ball with a bat). Muscular endurance helps maintain proper posture all day long. Improving strength and endurance contributes to a higher metabolism, which increases caloric use both while at work and rest, which in turn reduces the risk of obesity. Another important benefit to note is that when a child has good strength, they are more likely to have stronger tendons, ligaments and general joint health which reduces the risk of serious injury. What are the building blocks necessary to develop strength and endurance?
How can I tell if my child has problems with strength and endurance?A child with problems with strength and endurance might:
When other difficulties might occur
when a child has difficulties with strength and endurance?When a child has difficulties with strength and endurance, they might also have difficulty with:
What can be done to improve strength and endurance?
What activities can help improve strength and endurance?
Why should I seek therapy if I notice difficulties with strength and endurance in my child?Therapeutic intervention to help develops the child’s strength and endurance difficulties is important to:
If left untreated what can difficulties with strength and endurance lead to?When children have difficulties with strength and endurance, they might also have difficulties with:
What type of therapy is recommended for strength and endurance difficulties?If your child has difficulties with strength and endurance, it is recommended they consult an Occupational Therapist. Other useful resourcesWhat is the ability of the muscle to exert force repeatedly?Muscular Endurance: the ability to efficiently use muscles over a longer period of time. The ability of a muscle to repeatedly contract or sustain continuous contraction involving less than maximum force. Muscular endurance can be tested by performing the one minute sit-up test or push-up test.
What is the ability of a muscle or group of muscle to sustain repeated contraction against a resistance for an extended period?Muscular endurance refers to the ability of a muscle to sustain repeated contractions against resistance for an extended period of time. Activities that build muscular endurance include long-distance running, cycling, or swimming, along with circuit training and bodyweight exercises.
What terms describes the ability of a muscle or group of muscles to exert force for extended periods?Muscular endurance is the ability of muscle or muscle group to continue work over a long period of time.
What is it called when your muscles can exert a force?Muscular strength is the ability to exert maximal force in one single contraction, such as lifting a weight that you could lift only once before needing a short break. Muscular power refers to a great force production over a short period of time, such as in fast leg kicks and explosive jumping.
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