When your workout starts to burn, muscle endurance is what helps you push through. In group fitness classes, It’s the difference between fading early and finishing strong – physically and mentally.
If you want to elevate your stamina, blast through sessions with correct form, and feel stronger for longer, F45 muscle endurance workouts are key. Our training systems are designed to test your stamina and form across resistance, cardio, and hybrid sessions.
Below, we’re exploring what muscle endurance is and how to measure it, along with a variety of muscle endurance drills that will get your muscles pumping – and then some!
What is muscle endurance?
Muscle endurance is your body’s ability to sustain effort over time – whether that’s repping out push-ups, holding a plank, or grinding through the final minutes of a cardio workout. At F45, every session tests this ability, be it through holding form in Athletica, pushing through high-rep sets in Abacus, or challenging yourself across a range of high-intensity F45 workouts.
The focus is on how long your muscles can stay switched on while moving a load, be that your body weight or fitness equipment.
How to measure muscle endurance
You can measure how long your muscles can perform by tracking time, reps and form.
For example, push-ups – along with planks and squats – are one of the most common muscle endurance exercises we incorporate into workouts here at F45.
There are two key metrics you can use to assess how many push-ups you can do from an endurance perspective.
- Time: The complete period you can do push-ups before form starts to decrease.
- Reps: Counting how many push-ups you can do before form starts to decrease.
Note – adjustments are always readily available and sometimes necessary to take your workout to the next level. If full push-ups are difficult, try starting from your knees, and working your way to a full push-up in time.
On that note, the other fundamental factor is form. How long can you maintain proper technique while performing the movement? It’s more accurate – and safer (think injury prevention) – to measure endurance. Only count the reps you can complete with solid form.
How to increase muscle endurance
When learning how to increase muscle stamina, consistency matters – but so does variety. Different training styles challenge your muscles to work harder for longer, improving stamina, control and recovery over time.
At F45, you’ll experience three key training methods that can help you level up your muscle endurance – resistance workouts, circuit training and HIIT – across different workout types. Dive into all three below, and how F45 can help.
Resistance workouts
Lifting lighter weights for higher reps helps train your muscles to sustain effort over time. Focus on slow, controlled reps with minimal rest. It’s not about lifting your max weight – it’s about staying strong across longer sets. Lighter, higher-rep sets are built into F45 sessions like Loyals or Romans, where time under tension (not the amount you’re lifting) is the key focus.
As your muscle endurance improves with consistent training, you’ll then be able to harness the principles of progressive overload (the practice of steadily increasing the difficulty of your movements to keep your body adapting and improving) to break through plateaus and see fitness results sooner.
Circuit training
Circuits keep your body moving from one station to the next with little rest. This style is designed to build exercise and muscular endurance by targeting different muscle groups in rapid succession. It challenges both your aerobic capacity and muscular control to keep up and adapt.
F45 is the world’s largest team-based circuit training network. Every session moves you station-to-station with minimal rest, training not only your muscular endurance, but offering all the benefits of aerobic exercise – ideal for improving your running endurance and building stamina ahead of challenges like HYROX.
HIIT training
High-intensity interval training combines short bursts of effort with brief recovery windows. It’s a powerful way to boost endurance, conditioning and mental stamina all in one. Interval training elevates your maximum oxygen uptake, making it ideal for improving your VO2 max and elevating your fitness levels.
You’ll see this in Triple Double, Afterglow, other or cardio-based F45 workouts, where high-intensity intervals drive both cardiovascular and muscular stamina.
Top 9 muscle endurance exercises
So, how do you build muscle endurance? Well, it starts with movements that push your muscles to stay active under fatigue. The best muscle endurance workouts challenge you to hold your form and strength through high reps or extended time.
Keep reading to learn nine muscle endurance drills that we activate in F45 workouts to boost your stamina.
1. Kettlebell swings
Kettlebell swings are a full-body exercise and muscular endurance movement. The constant motion engages glutes, hamstrings, core and shoulders, improving your control under fatigue.
To perform kettlebell swings:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding the kettlebell with both hands.
- Hinge at the hips and swing the kettlebell between your legs.
- Drive through your glutes to swing it up to chest height, keeping your arms relaxed.
- Let the kettlebell swing back down and repeat.
2. Dumbbell deadlifts
A staple of F45 resistance workouts, this exercise builds serious muscle endurance in your hamstrings, glutes, lower back and core. Repeating this exercise with light to moderate weight is fantastic for developing your strength and stability – and works well as part of modified workouts for over 60s.
To perform dumbbell deadlifts:
- Stand tall with dumbbells in each hand and arms by your sides.
- Hinge at the hips and lower the weights down the front of your legs.
- Keep your chest up, back flat and knees soft.
- Drive through your heels to return to standing, and repeat.
3. Dumbbell shoulder press
Commonly programmed at F45 in upper-body strength blocks, this move develops the capacity of your upper body: particularly your shoulders, triceps and upper back. Here, the challenge is to control the weight above your head, while maintaining good posture and stability.
To perform dumbbell shoulder presses:
- Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder height, palms facing forward.
- Brace your core and press both arms overhead until fully extended.
- Lower the dumbbells back down with control.
- Keep each rep steady.
4. Push-ups
Push-ups are a classic for a reason – delivering typical strength training benefits while building muscle endurance across your chest, shoulders, triceps and core. Once you reach failure with standard pushups, switch to knee push-ups to get some more reps in.
To perform push-ups:
- Start in a strong plank position – hands under your shoulders, body in a straight line.
- Lower your chest to just above the floor, keeping your elbows close to your sides.
- Push back up to full extension.
- Repeat at a steady tempo.
5. Lunges
Frequently built into F45 cardio and resistance sessions, lunges are a muscle endurance exercise that trains one leg at a time. They engage your quads, hamstrings, glutes and calves, so they’re powerful for sharpening your balance.
To perform lunges:
- Stand up, then take a big step forward with one leg.
- Lower your back knee toward the floor, keeping your front knee stacked over your ankle.
- Push through the front heel to return to standing.
- Alternate legs or stick to one side at a time to ramp up the burn.
6. Planks with shoulder taps
This variation of the classic plank builds stamina in your core, shoulders and stabilizers. By lifting one hand at a time, your body fights to stay balanced – firing up deep muscles and sharpening control through the midline.
To perform planks with shoulder taps:
- Start in a strong plank – wrists under shoulders, body in a straight line.
- Shift your weight slightly, then lift one hand to tap the opposite shoulder.
- Lower it back down with control and repeat on the other side.
- Keep your hips square and core tight – try to avoid twisting your torso.
7. Burpees
A classic finisher in F45 cardio sessions – and one you’ll encounter at many a hybrid workout with us – burpees are a dynamic muscle endurance drill.
Pushing both your cardio system and muscles, this all-in-one bodyweight movement improves coordination, boosts stamina and burns calories. You can also do it from anywhere, at any time – making it an effective exercise snack.
To perform burpees:
- Start standing. Drop into a squat and place your hands on the floor.
- Jump or step your feet back into a high plank.
- Perform a push-up (optional), then jump or step your feet back in.
- Explode up into a jump, landing softly – then go again.
8. Jump squats
Jump squats level up your lower-body training by combining strength and explosive movement. They help develop staying power through your legs and glutes while testing your ability to stay light on your feet – even under fatigue.
To perform jump squats:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and hands in front of your chest.
- Drop into a squat, then drive up through your heels to jump.
- Land softly with bent knees, reset, and repeat.
- Stay in control and keep your pace steady.
9. Mountain climbers
Mountain climbers blend cardio intensity with total-body conditioning. The benefits of muscle endurance shine through as they boost leg strength and core stability while keeping your heart rate up, making them a popular move for building and maintaining muscle across a variety of F45 HIIT-style workouts.
To perform mountain climbers:
- Start in a strong plank position, shoulders over wrists.
- Drive one knee towards your chest, then quickly switch legs.
- Maintain a steady, controlled pace – like running horizontally on the ground.
- Keep your core engaged and hips level throughout the movement.
Now that you know how to build strength that lasts, it’s time to put these moves to the test in your next F45 workout. Our group fitness sessions are full of muscle endurance exercises designed to challenge your stamina, keep you accountable, and help you go further. Find your local F45 studio to get started!
