Final answer:
The resistance training guidelines for improving muscular endurance involve lower resistance and higher repetitions; for strength and hypertrophy, continually increasing weights for progressive overload is necessary; and for power and maximal strength, the focus is on explosive movements and heavy loads.
Step-by-step explanation:
Resistance training involves a variety of exercises aimed at improving different aspects of muscular fitness, such as endurance, strength and hypertrophy, and power and maximal strength. Each of these goals has specific guidelines to follow. Muscular endurance is about a muscle's ability to continue to contract over time without fatigue. Exercises for endurance typically involve lower resistance with higher repetitions. However, resistance training for endurance does not generally increase muscle size substantially. Hypertrophy is the enlargement of muscles, which is achieved by increasing the thickness of muscle fibers through the addition of structural proteins. For hypertrophy and gains in muscle strength, the intensity of the exercise must be continually increased; this means lifting increasingly heavier weights to challenge the muscles further. Over time, muscles adapt, requiring even heavier loads to achieve further growth.
Training for power involves higher intensity with explosive movements, often with a focus on increasing the force and speed of muscle contractions. This type of training uses predominantly fast-glycolytic (FG) fibers. For all types of resistance training, progressive overload is key; the muscles must be subjected to a workload that is beyond what they have previously adapted to. Additionally, protein intake is often increased to support muscle recovery and growth. It's also important to remember that resistance exercises increase the development of connective tissue and strengthen tendons to support the muscle during powerful contractions.