Muscular Strength Endurance and Flexibility: Assessing and Improving Overall Health and Fitness

Question
Define Muscular strength and give an example of this concept.
Define Muscular endurance and give an example of this activity.
Define Flexibility and name three types of stretching.
In the video, muscular strength, endurance, and flexibility are used to assess how well the ____________________ functions.
How can you improve your overall health and fitness in each of these areas?

Answer
Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility: Assessing and Improving Overall Health and Fitness
1. Definition and Example of Muscular Strength
The term muscular strength refers to the amount of force a muscle or group of muscles can generate. Muscles differ in strength. Some are strong and can exert a great amount of force using short movements over a brief period of time; these are called power muscles. An example of this would be the muscles of the arm and shoulder which are used when playing a smash in badminton. Other muscles are weaker and can only exert a small force using long movements, or using a small force over a long period of time; these are called endurance muscles. An example of this would be the muscles of the legs when running. There is an almost direct link between bone and muscle strength, i.e. the stronger the muscles the stronger the forces that can be applied to bones and the greater the load they can bear. An example of this is again the muscles of the legs. As well as the advantage of being able to perform everyday tasks more easily, it is also important to have good muscular strength in order to prevent injury. For example, a person who participates in manual handling tasks will be more likely to suffer from back problems if they don’t have good muscle strength in the muscles of the back and abdominal.
1.1. Definition of Muscular Strength
Muscular strength is the capacity of the muscles to apply force to lift weight or carry heavy objects (Fleck and Kraemer, 1987). It is the maximal force a muscle or muscle group can generate. Although the usage of the term force is useful in mathematics and physics, you will notice that in some literature the term strength and force is used interchangeably. For example, when a person speaks about increasing their muscular strength, they are actually referring to increasing the force a particular muscle or muscle group can generate. Using the term force can be confusing, so we will refer to maximal force as muscular strength throughout this subject. Given the conditions in the definition, it is plain that strength is not an all or none quality and will depend on the muscle group being tested, and so the demonstrations of strength will vary.
1.2. Example of Muscular Strength
A good example of muscular strength would be where an individual begins a resistance training program with a health or fitness professional, and progresses to lifting 150 pounds against resistance in a leg press exercise for 8 to 12 repetitions. The same individual could then progress to lifting 230 pounds against resistance for one repetition. This is a good example that demonstrates that the individual has improved the muscular strength in the specific muscle groups involved in the leg press exercise. The increase in the amount of weight being lifted shows an improvement in the strength of the muscles involved. The more the muscles are worked to lift the heavier weight, the more strength is developed. Muscular strength is the ability of the muscles to lift a heavy weight or exert a force against a resistance. A press of greater than body weight shows higher than average leg strength. This individual could then change the type of resistance machine to one that involves a different set of leg muscles and has a different seat angle and pushing direction. If the amount of weight lifted is increased over time, then this would be more evidence of improvement in muscular strength. This is an advantage if the individual had a work or sports requirement to improve strength of these particular muscle groups, or improve overall leg strength. This is because a change or increase in the amount of resistance being pushed, pulled or lifted is one of the major factors that affects strength improvement in specific muscle groups. This case of strength improvement in fitness would best be done using isotonic exercises.
2. Definition and Example of Muscular Endurance
2.1. Definition of Muscular Endurance
2.2. Example of Muscular Endurance
3. Definition of Flexibility
3.1. Definition of Flexibility
4. Types of Stretching
4.1. Static Stretching
4.2. Dynamic Stretching
4.3. Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF) Stretching
5. Assessing the Functionality of Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility
5.1. Importance of Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility Assessment
5.2. How Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility Affect Functionality
6. Improving Muscular Strength for Overall Health and Fitness
6.1. Importance of Muscular Strength
6.2. Resistance Training for Muscular Strength Improvement
6.3. Incorporating Compound Exercises for Muscular Strength
7. Enhancing Muscular Endurance for Overall Health and Fitness
7.1. Importance of Muscular Endurance
7.2. Endurance Training Methods
7.3. Circuit Training for Muscular Endurance
8. Enhancing Flexibility for Overall Health and Fitness
8.1. Importance of Flexibility
8.2. Stretching Exercises for Flexibility Improvement
8.3. Incorporating Yoga or Pilates for Flexibility
9. Strategies for Improving Overall Health and Fitness in Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility
9.1. Setting Goals and Creating a Plan
9.2. Balancing Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility Training
9.3. Proper Nutrition and Rest for Optimal Results