So much is said about aerobic exercise that it's easy to overlook other aspects of fitness. Two other important types of activity are exercises that improve your muscle strength and endurance, and exercises that improve your flexibility. Muscular fitness Surveys show that a large segment of the U.S. population, including recreational athletes, lack muscular fitness. This aspect of fitness actually is a combination of strength and endurance. Strength is the greatest force a muscle can exert in one effort for example, the ability to lift an object one time.
Endurance is the muscle's ability to make repeated efforts.
Click to animate Even if you have no intention of becoming an Olympic weight-lifter, there's still reason to care about muscular fitness. It influences your ability to do everyday chores, like housework and yard work. It affects how easily you can carry a bag of groceries or lift a young child. It's also at the core of physical skill and sports performance, affecting how hard you swing a softball bat or how long you last on the tennis court. Muscle-strengthening exercises are likely to improve your stamina and your energy.