1. Muscular fitness is: Muscular strength and muscular endurance.
2. Muscular strength is the ability to lift a resistance, this could be a weight or just your limbs.
3. Even walking and moving the body is resistance!
4. Muscular endurance is when the muscle is being used for longer periods of time.
5. Benefits of muscular fitness:
• Muscular fitness enables us to keep correct posture and alignment of the skeleton (weakened muscles may cause an uneven pull on the skeleton which pulls us out of line).
• Muscles work in pairs, as one contracts its opposing muscle relaxes, e.g. the Biceps and the Triceps in the arm or the Hamstrings and the Quadriceps in the leg.
• So if one of the pairs gets over worked and the other insufficiently worked imbalances can happen which pull joints out of line. This can cause injuries and postural problems. Rounded shoulders and curvatures of the spine are usually the result of muscle imbalance causing postural imbalance.
• Muscular fitness also improves the strength of our bones and joints. As muscles contract they pull against the bones to create movement, so strengthening the tendons and ligaments and thus making the joints stronger and more stable.
6. Recommendations for Muscular Fitness training:
• Frequency: 2 – 3 times per week. Alternate rest days and training days.
• Intensity: To the point of near fatigue, while maintaining good technique.
• Duration: One set of 3 – 20 repartitions, Alternate rest days and training days.
• Type: 8 – 10 exercises targeting the main muscle groups :
Body weight exercises
Free weights
Exercise bands
7. Muscular fitness and Pilates;
Muscle balance is a big part of Pilates, all exercises are slow and controlled exercising the muscle both ways and exercises are performed on both sides evenly thus promoting a balancing effect. Pilates mainly works with strengthening the core stabiliser muscles.
