Muscle Fitness

"Muscular strength is the ability of muscles to exert maximal effort. Muscular endurance is the ability of muscles to exert submaximal effort repetitively, contract over and over again, or hold a contraction for a long time. Activities for muscular strength and endurance include resistance training, lifting weights, using elastic bands, and using body weight for resistance, such as with push-ups. These activities have three components: intensity, or how much weight or force is used; frequency, or how often a person does muscle-strengthening activity; and repetitions, or how many times a person lifts a weight. Low repetitions with more weight focus more on muscular strength, while high repetitions with less weight focus more on muscular endurance. It is important to work all the major muscle groups of the body, including the legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms. Muscle-strengthening activities for all the major muscle groups should be done at least 2 days a week. One set of 8 to 12 repetitions of each exercise is effective, although two or three sets may be more effective."