Local Muscular Endurance Benchmarks / 局部肌耐力基准

Definition

Local muscular endurance benchmarks are the episode’s repetition-capacity tests for one or a few muscle groups: a 60-second front plank, a 45-second side plank, push-up counts by sex, and an as-many-reps-as-possible set at 75% of an already established strength test.

Current Synthesis

Muscular endurance is treated as a local limitation rather than a whole-body one, which is why the tests are small and specific. Galpin’s standards are a 60-second front plank, a 45-second side plank, and 25 or more consecutive push-ups for men and 15 or more for women, with five to 15 push-ups described as marginal and below five as generally a problem.

The efficient alternative is to reuse the strength test from Strength Benchmark Testing / 力量基准测试: load it to 75% and do as many reps as possible, with more than eight reps as the target and below eight as a muscular-endurance problem. Because progress tracking matters more than a single score, push-up form has to stay consistent between tests, with full elbow lockout at the top and a full or near-full chest touch at the bottom.

Key Claims

• Muscular endurance is usually local to a muscle group or movement rather than a global physiological limit.
• A 60-second front plank, a 45-second side plank, and 25-plus push-ups for men or 15-plus for women are the episode’s headline standards.
• Push-up counts below five are treated as generally a problem, and five to 15 as a marginal range.
• Running an as-many-reps-as-possible set at 75% of an established strength test gets a second measurement from the same setup, with more than eight reps as the target.
• Consistent form between tests is what allows repetition progress to be compared over time.

Evidence

• Plank and push-up standards: Essentials: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness | Dr. Andy Galpin gives a 60-second front plank, a 45-second side plank, and 25-plus push-ups for men and 15-plus for women, with five to 15 described as marginal and below five as generally a problem.
• Repetition range: Essentials: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness | Dr. Andy Galpin places muscular endurance in a typical five-to-fifty repetition range and calls it almost always local to one or a few muscle groups.
• Load-reuse method: Essentials: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness | Dr. Andy Galpin suggests taking the strength test already performed, loading it to 75%, and doing as many reps as possible, with more than eight reps as the target and below eight indicating a problem.
• Form consistency: Essentials: How to Assess & Improve All Aspects of Your Fitness | Dr. Andy Galpin requires full elbow lockout at the top and a full or near-full chest touch at the bottom so progress can be tracked between tests.

Counterevidence & Qualifications

Plank and push-up scores depend on body weight, limb length, technique, and pain status, so they are practical screens rather than norms, and a single repetition test is sensitive to motivation and pacing. The 75% load-reuse method requires an already-safe strength test and an estimated one-rep max, which makes it less suitable for beginners who have not cleared the movement and strength screens.

What Changed

• Added the local muscular-endurance standards and the 75%-load repetition method as a distinct adaptation branch.

Related Concepts

• Nine Physiological Adaptations / 九大生理适应能力 - muscular-endurance adaptation these benchmarks measure.
• Strength Benchmark Testing / 力量基准测试 - strength test that the 75% repetition method reuses.
• Fitness Assessment Testing Week / 年度体能测试周 - scheduling of fatiguing tests at the end of a day.
• Exercise Load Management / 运动负荷管理 - load and recovery context for repetition work.
• Functional Longevity Training - daily-function capacity that repetition endurance supports.