8 Best Muscular Endurance Exercises for Lasting Strength and Stamina

The key to superior athletic performance and pushing through workouts that seem never-ending is muscular endurance. It’s the secret tool that helps you with training repetitive movements over a long period of time, and that’s an important factor for achieving most fitness goals. To know more about how muscle endurance works, and the best exercises and workout tips for it, jump right into this article!

What is Muscular Endurance?

The term muscular endurance indicates muscles’ ability to sustain repetitive movements and contractions or maintain force and resistance over a long period without suffering from fatigue. It’s not the same as muscular strength, which it’s often confused with, as muscular strength refers to the maximum force that your muscles can push out in a single effort. Endurance revolves around how much your muscles can work before they tire out.

Somewhere between cardiovascular training and strength training, it’s what gives you the ability to perform repetitive exercises like squats, cycling, pull-ups etc. while remaining efficient and not losing form or technique. This training mainly targets slow-twitch muscle fibers, and it involves repetitive low-resistance training with consistency in order to improve the muscle fibers’ ability for sustained effort.

You may also like:

Is It Better to Do Cardio Before or After Weights? Learn About Expert Opinions

Upper Body Workout for Women With Broad Shoulders: A Slim and Reduce Guide

8 Best Exercises for Building Muscular Endurance

1. Plank

1. Get into Position – Rest on your forearms (elbows under shoulders) or extend your arms for a high plank.
2. Align Your Body – Keep a straight line from head to heels, engaging your core and glutes.
3. Hold & Breathe – Maintain proper form, avoid sagging, and breathe steadily. Start with 20–30 seconds and increase over time.
4. Progress Gradually – Extend duration and try variations like side planks or weighted planks.

2. Squat

1. Stand Tall – Keep feet shoulder-width apart, chest up, and core engaged.
2. Lower Your Body – Push hips back and bend knees, lowering until thighs are parallel to the ground.
3. Maintain Form – Keep your back straight, knees aligned with toes, and weight in your heels.
4. Rise & Repeat – Push through your heels to return to standing. Perform high reps (12–20+) to build endurance.

Check out: Power Of The Asian Squat: What Is It and Can Everyone Do It?

3. Flutter Kicks

1. Lie Down – Lie on your back with hands under your lower back or at your sides.
2. Engage Core – Lift your legs a few inches off the ground, keeping them straight.
3. Flutter Motion – Kick your legs up and down in a controlled, alternating motion.
4. Breathe & Maintain Form – Keep your lower back pressed to the floor and perform for 30+ seconds to build endurance.

4. Push Ups

1. Get Into Position – Place hands shoulder-width apart, arms extended, and body in a straight line from head to heels.
2. Lower Your Body – Bend elbows to lower your chest toward the floor while keeping your core engaged.
3. Push Back Up – Extend your arms to return to the starting position.
4. Repeat for Endurance – Perform high reps (12–20+) or timed sets to build stamina

5. Russian Twists

1. Sit on the Floor – Bend your knees, keeping your feet flat, and lean back slightly to engage your core.
2. Lift Your Feet – Optionally, raise your feet off the ground for an added challenge, balancing on your sit bones.
3. Twist Your Torso – Rotate your torso to the right, then to the left, tapping the floor beside you with your hands (or holding a weight for added resistance).
4. Control the Movement – Keep your core tight, focusing on slow, controlled twists. Aim for high reps (20–30+) for endurance.

6. Burpees

1. Stand Tall – Start with feet shoulder-width apart, standing tall with your arms at your sides.
2. Drop into a Squat – Lower into a squat position and place your hands on the floor in front of you.
3. Kick Your Feet Back – Jump your feet back into a plank position, keeping your body straight and core engaged.
4. Push-Up (Optional) – Perform a push-up (optional) before jumping your feet back toward your hands.
5. Jump Up – Explosively jump into the air, reaching your arms overhead.
6. Repeat – Perform as many reps as possible, focusing on high-intensity movements for endurance.

7. Romanian Deadlift

1. Stand Tall – Begin with feet hip-width apart, holding a barbell or dumbbells in front of your thighs, with a slight bend in your knees.
2. Engage Your Core – Keep your back straight and core tight as you hinge at the hips, pushing your hips backward while lowering the weights along your legs.
3. Lower Until Feeling a Stretch – Lower the weights just past your knees, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings. Keep a slight bend in your knees.
4. Return to Standing – Push your hips forward to return to the starting position, maintaining a straight back and avoiding any rounding.
5. Repeat for Endurance – Perform high repetitions (12–20+) with moderate weight for muscular endurance.

8. Crunches

1. Lie Down – Start by lying on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart.
2. Place Hands – Rest your hands behind your head or cross them over your chest, keeping your elbows wide.
3. Engage Your Core – Tighten your core muscles and lift your upper back off the floor by curling your torso towards your knees.
4. Control the Descent – Slowly lower your upper body back to the starting position, maintaining control.
5. Repeat for Endurance – Perform high repetitions (15–30+) to build endurance and strength in the abdominal muscles

Exercises to try:

Master the Incline Push-Up: A Guide to Building Upper Body Strength

How To Do Side Crunches Effectively For A Stronger Core

How to Improve Muscle Endurance

So how do you go about tweaking your routine to train muscular endurance and improve your muscular endurance workout? One of the main things is to increase the volume of your exercises by doing more reps but with lighter weights, as the number of reps you do is significant to this training. Endurance training focuses on the slow-twitch muscle fibers, and this is the key for helping you sustain effort over a long period of time.

To be able to achieve this, first have an idea of the muscle groups you want to work on to build endurance for, and then incorporate exercises that target them by gradually increasing the reps for them. Consistency is really important for this, so endurance training must be done at least once or twice a week. It can either be in the form of a standalone workout or aerobic endurance training which includes activities like running or cycling.

Benefits of Muscular Endurance Training

Below are just a few of the many reasons why you should improve muscular endurance and consider adding a muscular endurance training program to your workout routine:

Lower Risk of Injury – Stronger muscles that resist fatigue help protect joints and reduce the likelihood of strains or other injuries.

Improves Stability & Longevity – Strengthens muscles to support better posture and movement, helping maintain mobility and physical function over time.

Better Heart Health – Many endurance exercises also serve as cardio workouts, promoting a stronger heart and improved circulation.

Boosts Muscle Endurance & Efficiency – Trains muscles to utilize oxygen more effectively, allowing them to work longer without tiring.

Supports Weight Management – Since these workouts burn a significant number of calories, they contribute to fat loss and maintaining a healthy weight.

Increases Functional Strength – Enhances the ability to handle everyday physical activities like carrying groceries, lifting objects, and maintaining proper posture.

Enhances Athletic Performance – Helps athletes sustain energy and power for extended periods, improving endurance in sports and physical activities.

More workout tips:

Should You Workout When Sore? Everything You Need To Know About It

The Best Strategies to Achieve Your Fitness Resolutions

Conclusion

We hope this article has been informative to help you achieve efficient training performance and to reap muscular endurance benefits. For more tips and resources on how you take your workouts to the next level, check out the JustFit app and its free 7-day trial!