How to Gain Muscle Endurance
- 1). Add more weight to your exercise as you become stronger. Alternatively, you can increase the number of repetitions you perform or how long you do a certain exercise. After a dedicated amount of time, you'll be able to increase both weight, reps and length of a particular exercise. Ideally, you need to increase all three to really build muscular endurance. An effective method is to increase weight by 5 lbs., or 5 percent, whichever is the smaller number, according to The Facts About Fitness.
- 2). Rest for approximately 30 seconds between reps. If you need to, take up to one minute of rest between reps.
- 3). Lift weights no more than four times per week, alternating days. You don't want to work out more than this -- resting between sessions won't make you lose muscle, it will give your body a chance to repair and prepare for your next session.
- 4). Push yourself slightly past your comfort zone. However, avoid straining your body so much that you injure yourself. But you want to challenge your body -- if your workouts feel easy, you're not exerting enough energy.
- 5). Perform resistance training. You can opt to use free weights and hand weights, weight machines, calisthenics such as crunches and pushups, or resistance bands. You can also use a combination of any or all of these methods. Which you choose will depend on your goals and what you're comfortable with. For example, men who want to gain large muscles will benefit from free weights. Women looking to tone may prefer resistance bands or weight machines. Perform squats, calf raises, bench press, pull-ups, bench dips, bicep curls, military press and crunches. Start with seven reps of each exercise. If you're able to do more, add extra weight. If you're sticking at the weight you're using, add reps. Every workout session or two increase the weight, number of reps or both -- your choice depends on how your body reacts to the weight training.
- 6). Add cardio exercise to your regime. While muscle endurance is mostly gained with some type of weight exercise, cardio workouts will round out your workout and help you trim weight, giving you an overall healthier program for you to gain muscle endurance.
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