Common Endurance exercises for beginners?

Exercises for muscular endurance

Below are examples of five exercises that can help you improve your muscular endurance. They require no equipment, and you can do them at home.

To see improvement, you’ll want to work on these exercises 2–3 times per week, on non-consecutive days (8Trusted Source).

Remember, the goal is to perform these exercises to failure so that you improve your muscular endurance over time. That said, be sure to maintain proper form in order to reduce the risk of injury.

Pay special attention to the tips under each exercise to perform the movements the correct way.

1. Plank

• Begin kneeling on all fours, and then place your forearms down on the ground. Step one leg back at a time until you’re in a straight line from head to heel, keeping the spine neutral.
• Engage your abs to support the lower back, and imagine lifting your chest away from your elbows but without a rounded spine.
• Hold for as long as you can (aim for intervals of 30 to 45 seconds) and then relax. That completes one rep.

Tips: If you start to lose form (either your hips sag low or your buttocks starts to lift up), then it’s a good time to rest before performing another rep.

2. Body weight squats

• Start by standing upright with your feet placed apart in a position slightly wider than shoulder-width, with your toes pointed straight ahead.
• Bend your legs and sit back until your buttocks reach the height of your knees. Your thighs should be close to parallel with the floor, and your knees should track over your toes.
• Push yourself upright, squeezing through your glutes on the way up.
• Perform 2–4 sets of 25 reps. Adjust this rep number if you feel you can do more at the end of each set.

Tips: Maintain good form by keeping your head up, chest lifted, and shoulders back. Don’t let your torso become parallel with the ground.

Try a variation on this traditional squat by widening your stance and pointing your toes outward. This move will target the inside of your thighs.

3. Walking lunges

• Stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• With your right leg, take a large step forward, then lower your body down so that your back knee either touches or comes close to touching the ground.
• Push down through your front foot and stand back up.
• Repeat the same motion with your left leg.
• Perform 2–4 sets of 30 lunges (15 on each leg, per set).

Tips: Keep your trunk upright as you perform this. As you lower your body, your lead knee should track in line with your shoelaces and your shoulders should be behind your toes.

4. Pushups

• Begin in a full plank position with your hands slightly outside shoulder width and directly under your shoulders. Hold your body up with your toes and with your hands (not your forearms, as with the plank described above). Keep your spine in neutral, and try not to let your hips sag.
• Lower yourself down by bending your elbows at a 45 degree angle, aiming your chest to the ground.
• Promptly push down on your palms, and raise your body back to a plank position.
• Perform 5 sets of 15 reps (adjust as needed).

Tip: If this movement is too advanced for you, start with your weight on your knees instead of your toes, or begin with a wall pushup.

5. Crunches

• Start by lying flat on your back, with your legs bent and your feet flat on the ground. Place your hands lightly behind your head to support your neck, with your elbows out to the sides.
• Engage your abs and curl your torso up, lifting your upper back and shoulders off the ground. Keep your elbows out to the sides rather than curling them around your head. Resist the urge to use momentum, rather than your muscles, to bring your body up. Keep a golf-ball-sized space between your chin and chest.
• Guide your body down in a controlled motion to maximize your muscle use.
• Perform 5 sets of 25 reps.