Muscle endurance vs Cardiovascular endurance
What’s the difference?
Muscle Endurance– This is your muscles’ ability to exert force repeatedly over an extended period of time. In simpler terms, it’s the stamina of your muscles during strength training workouts such as lifting weights, calisthenics etc. Think of it as the ability of your muscles to perform efficiently without fatiguing quickly.
Ask yourself this.
Am I someone who has trouble getting through workouts after the first few sets because I’m hitting a wall quickly?
Or am I someone who doesn’t need much rest time, can push through the last few difficult reps, and can perform relatively well throughout the entirety of a workout without having to constantly go lower in weight or add more assistance?
This will tell you whether you have good muscle endurance or if it needs work.
To improve this just continue to do more reps in a short period of time. For example, take rest periods between 45 seconds and 1.5 minutes TOPS without ever going to failure. Make sure you have some energy left in the tank for each set. Think 2 reps short of failure. This will help you fill up that energy tank faster and continue the workout. Over time, your muscle endurance will increase and you’ll notice yourself being able to push through more reps with more weight especially if you decide to take extra rest between sets on occasion.
Cardiovascular Endurance- is all about the efficiency of your heart, lungs, and circulatory system in delivering oxygen to your body’s tissues during prolonged physical activity. It’s what fuels activities like running, cycling, swimming, and any sustained aerobic exercise.
Ask yourself this.
Do I get winded easily? What does it take for my heart rate to spike? A short walk? An extended run?
It may be hard to determine how well your cardiovascular endurance is, however if you have a way of tracking your heart rate during aerobic exercises or even strength training then it’s a bit easier. This can be done with a number of products on the market (watches, wrist bands, chest monitor etc.).
There are a few ways to increase this but the best way is to simply do some type of cardio consistently. For example, say you choose to walk on an incline for 30 minutes 2-3 times per week. You’ll notice each time it may get easier to control your breathing. Or if you track your heart rate, after a few weeks you may notice it doesn’t get as high as it used to. This is how you know your cardiovascular endurance is getting better!
Both these things are essential to improving your overall fitness so it’s important to stay on top of them. They’ll make you a better athlete and an overall healthier individual with more energy than ever before!
You Got This!
Subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to find out about new articles.
