With the New Year looming, now’s the time people will be starting to think about what they want their goals to be for next year. Whether it’s wanting to loose some weight. Get a stronger and more toned physique. Improve your stamina and aerobic endurance when it comes to physical exercise. Or perhaps it’s more to do with your work life, and wanting to succeed at something in that area.
However, a lot of people like to make their goal to do with their health and fitness. The main aspect of this being able to improve stamina and aerobic endurance when it comes to things like running and physical fitness. This is probably why new gym membership uptake increases so much after the New Year. Why wait until the New Year though? If you’re going to start something, why not start right now!
Especially since the pandemic, looking after your health is more important than ever. Ensuring your have a healthy immune system, as well as healthy organs – especially your lungs. Improving your stamina is a great way to look after both your lung and heart health.
What Is Stamina & Endurance?
According to the dictionary, stamina and endurance is – the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort. To you and me this means being able to run faster, or for longer distances. Lifting heavier weights. Going on longer walks without getting out of breath so easily. Having more energy throughout the day to perform everyday tasks.
The better your stamina and endurance is overall, the more efficient you can become. Plus, when you have better stamina, you will also become stronger at the same time.
How To Improve Your Stamina & Aerobic Endurance
Essentially, the best way to improve your stamina is to challenge yourself more and more each time. For example say you can run 1k semi-easily. Next time you go for a run, try going for longer, or run faster than you did last time. This principal is called – Progressive Overload. If you don’t challenge yourself, how do you ever expect to get any better? That’s great if you can run 1k in 10 minutes. However if you keep doing this over and over, your body will get used to doing this and won’t improve.
To challenge yourself you need to change something you’re currently doing. Another example could be if you can deadlift 80kg for 3 reps, next time, either increase the weight, or the amount of reps.
Ways To Improve Your Aerobic Endurance
Go On Long Walks
Simply moving your body can help to improve your stamina. Going for 30 to 60 minute walks, especially if you previously didn’t move much at all is a great way to build up your stamina. Walking is also known as LISS (low intensity stead state). A form of cardio that’s great burning fat and won’t impact the joints and bones too intensely. Plus, it’s also a great way to get some fresh air!
Practice Breathing Techniques
This might sound like an odd way to improve your stamina by just breathing but it’s a great one you can do anywhere. If you have an office job that requires a lot of sitting down, while you’re at your desk, try holding your breath for as long as you can. Time yourself as you do this so you can see if you’ve made any improvements. OK, so you don’t want to do this so much that you feel feint. Perhaps start off slowly by doing one or two with 5 minutes in between each attempt. This is all about control, focusing your mind to slow everything down. The slower your heart rate, the less air you’ll need. Having a good lung capacity will not only help when it comes to your stamina, but will also if you do ever catch COVID-19.
There are even tools you can use that will help you with your breathing, such as the Powerbreathe breathing trainer. This device has been proven to improve your breathing stamina, and also reduce the feeling of breathlessness.
Include HIIT Workouts For Aerobic Endurance
Running intervals are also known as HIIT (high intensity interval training). Going all out for up to 30 seconds at a time, before resting and then repeating again. This is a much quicker form of exercise as if you really are going all out, you shouldn’t be able to do this for more than 20 minutes at a time. Whether you’re running, cycling, skipping – whatever the exercise, you shouldn’t be able to do it for more than 30 seconds max!
This is a great way to challenge your body to see how it copes giving it everything you have for those 30 seconds. It will elevate your heart rate quickly as you do so. The next time you head out for a walk, or a jog, try adding in some 30 seconds sprints along the way to help improve your stamina and endurance.
Increase Your Running Distance Or Time
Another great way to improve your endurance is to increase your running time or distance each time you go out for a run. When you think you can’t go any further, try adding on an extra 500 meters. Or if you usually run for 30 minutes, try running for 35 minutes. Steadily increasing either of these aspects each time you go.
If you’re just starting out with running, perhaps you should consider doing the couch to 5k challenge as this will ease you in to it. Thus hopefully avoiding injury and slowly increasing your running time in a safe way.
Try Weightlifting
Before you say anything, NO – weightlifting will NOT make you ladies look bulky or manly!
Weightlifting is an amazing way to improve your stamina, especially if you’re doing compound lifts such as – deadlifts, squats…etc. For your stamina and endurance to improve you need to create more resistance. Whether that’s through lifting heavier weights, or by doing more reps.
For example, if you can do an 80kg deadlift x5 reps, try adding on an extra rep, or increase the weight each time. You have to challenge yourself to change yourself. You never know, you might find you can go a lot heavier than you first thought!
All you really need to do to improve your endurance and stamina is to push yourself more than you do now. By doing this, your body will adapt to the new stimulus and over time you’ll find it easier and easier to go longer, harder, faster. Don’t forget – challenge yourself to change yourself.
FAQ’s
What Is Aerobic Endurance?
Aerobic exercise, or aerobic endurance are any exercises that increase your breathing and heart rate for longer periods of time such as – power walking, running/jogging, swimming, cycling, skipping/jumping rope…etc
What Are The 4 Aerobic Endurance Training Methods?
Long-slow continuous training. High-intensity-continuous training. Cardiovascular interval training. High intensity interval training (HIIT).
What Is The Importance Of Stamina
Stamina is the amount of strength and energy you have to sustain physical or mental activity for longer periods of time. Thus, increasing your stamina will help you endure this higher level of activity for longer.
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