A muscle conditioning or muscle assessment apparatus. The apparatus comprises a load bearing component incorporating a proximal portion (31) for engagement with at least part of a user&rsquo；s body, and a distal portion (2) for securing the component to a force applying apparatus or an operator, and a load cell (30) located between the proximal and distal portions. The load cell comprises a transducer, being configured to derive signals representative of the tensile and/or compression forces applied to the load bearing component. The apparatus further comprises means for determining one or more characteristics of position and/or displacement of the load bearing component. The apparatus is also configured to output signals representative of the force and the direction of the force. The signals output from the apparatus may be used to create a template for muscle conditioning or muscle assessment, wherein an endurance load is determined based on the maximum measured load level.
