Which test assesses upper-body muscular endurance?

• A. One-repetition maximum
• B. Sit-and-reach
• C. Push-up test (or modified push-ups)
• D. Knee extension strength test

Answer: (C)

Muscular endurance of the upper body is about sustaining repeated muscle contractions over time. The push-up test is built around that idea: you perform as many controlled push-ups as you can, maintaining proper form until fatigue or inability to complete another rep. Because the movement uses multiple upper-body muscles—the chest, shoulders, and triceps—together with stabilizing muscles of the core, the test gauges how long those muscles can keep working before they fail, not how much force they can generate in a single effort.

This differs from other tests: a one-repetition maximum checks maximal strength in a single effort, not endurance. Sit-and-reach measures flexibility of the posterior chain, not how long muscles can endure repeated work. A knee extension strength test assesses maximum force from the quadriceps, again focusing on peak strength rather than endurance.