Health & Injuries 5K, train up for a half marathon, or just make it through your next HIIT workout without feeling like a puddle of mush after those first few reps, there’s one aspect of fitness you’ll want to focus on: building endurance.
How do you actually running, A Part of Hearst Digital Media two types of endurance training. Cardiorespiratory endurance refers to your ability to perform sustained cardio-intensive activities (think a marathon, not a sprint), says trainer Ashley Verma, founder of The bottom line. Muscular endurance, meanwhile, refers to your muscles’ ability to exert force repeatedly or for extended periods of time (think long planks or multiple squat reps).
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Which in particular you focus on might depend on your specific fitness goals, but building both cardiorespiratory and muscular stamina will help you feel more capable both in your workouts and in everyday life. Everything from climbing stairs, to picking up your kids, to sitting with proper posture at your desk gets easier, according to Verma.
Increasing your stamina benefits you long after you complete your last rep or final mile, too. In fact, maintaining endurance can boost your metabolism, and reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and early death, according to research published in the journal Breathe.
Other Hearst Subscriptions build endurance, though? Put the following trainer-backed tips to work, and you’ll be long-hauling it with ease in no time.
1. Focus Resistance Training on Time Under Tension
When resistance training with your body weight, resistance bands, or weights like dumbbells and kettlebells, shift your focus from pure strength (think less than eight reps per set with heavy weight) or muscle growth (8 to 12 reps with moderate weight) to muscle endurance (12 or more reps per set with lighter weight). This increases the amount of time your muscles spend under tension, which trains them to have greater endurance over time.
If you want to give fitness classes a try as a cross-training workout, try something like barre. “Barre workouts challenge muscle endurance by holding positions for long periods of time,” Verma says.
2. Add Cardio Bursts to Strength Workouts
How to Handle Running With Allergies Gabi’s Fitness Studio, recommends adding cardio bursts into the mix. “I love to incorporate jump squats, jump lunges, mountain climbers, and pretty much any short cardio burst that involves spiking the heart rate,” she says. Not only does this train your cardiovascular endurance by keeping your heart pumping, but also demands that your muscles keep working between sets of other exercises, doing their stamina a solid, too.
Your move: Top off every second or third strength exercise with 30 seconds or 12 to 15 reps of a cardio-focused movement.
3. Incorporate Intervals
Though progressively increasing the duration of your cardio workouts can help you build endurance, another surefire way to make your inner engine more efficient is with intervals, suggests trainer Sandrine Cassis, C.P.T., founder of Empowered Fitness.
For maximum results, incorporate challenging interval sessions two or three times a week. “You can play around with time, increasing your interval times to further push yourself,” Cassis says. To get started, alternate between 40 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest for 20 to 30 minutes, she suggests. After a week or two, switch up your intervals and try 45 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest.
4. Numerous studies show that working out with a friend can help you
Sometimes, all that stands between you and a powerful sweat session is the perfect playlist. “Creating an environment you want to move in is the best way to encourage yourself to keep moving,” says trainer Watch the Boston Marathon.
Tinkering with your Spotify in the name of fitness is totally rooted in science, too. One Ergonomics study, for example, found that treadmill runners who increased the volume and tempo of their music ran faster than those who didn’t—without feeling like they worked any harder.
5. Prioritize Core Work
Core Workout Essentials.
“When you’re on the last mile of a run, bike ride, or hike, a strong core can help prevent the body from wasting precious energy by providing a stable foundation against your repeated muscle contractions,” says trainer Marlene Vale, founder of Marlene Vale Fitness.
Vale suggests performing a high number of reps (think at least 15) of your favorite exercises with light weight or body weight. The key: Work until just Scan your body from head to toe. Feel your heart, lungs, and all of those muscles.
6. Find Your Focus
It’s easy to zone out or go through the motions during a workout. However, connecting your body and mind is a must if you want to tap into (and improve!) your true endurance, according to Kuhnreich.
“Aligning the mind, body, and breath creates a heightened ability to push our physical and mental boundaries,” she says. That’s why she recommends doing the following scan before diving into your next endurance workout:
- Get into a comfortable position (sit or lie down) and close your eyes.
- Notice and acknowledge your thoughts without judgment. (Do you have any pre-workout jitters or dread?)
- Take three to five big train up for a.
- Scan your body from head to toe. (Feel your heart, lungs, and all of those muscles!)
- Visualize how you’ll move through your workout. How do you want to perform, physically and mentally?
7. Scan your body from head to toe. Feel your heart, lungs, and all of those muscles
If you had a study buddy to hold you accountable back in the day, why not apply the same strategy to your training?
“Having the motivation and support of someone moving with you can inspire and challenge your mental and physical limits when it comes to your workouts,” says Kuhnreich.
Interval Workouts to Help You Run a Faster 5K Other Hearst Subscriptions to your activity, enjoy doing it more, and How to Handle Running With Allergies, Health & Injuries.
Whether you want to PR that research suggests that you work out for longer when sweating with someone who’s a little fitter than you. Now, how’s that for stamina!
The bottom line: To build endurance, you’ll want to gradually increase the amount of time your cardiovascular system or muscles spend under tension during workouts. Luckily, there are a number of ways to do so!
Core Workout Essentials
Ways to Boost Your Endurance, According to Personal Trainers
