How to Increase Endurance in Sports?

Many athletes are faced with the question: “How do I improve my endurance?”. They notice this when, during training, fatigue comes much earlier than expected. Very often this happens after an athlete has gained muscle mass, because the more muscles in the body, the harder it is for the lungs to provide them with oxygen. Endurance allows you to reduce the energy costs of the body when performing certain actions. It can be developed in a variety of ways.

Combine weight training with cardio

A combination of strength and cardio exercises¹ facilitates the development of endurance. The more muscles you include in your work, the more you will train your heart and cardiovascular system². It is not recommended to do a separate workout to develop endurance or strength. More results can be achieved by combining them into a single complex. The exercise should include pull-ups, a bench press, and a 1-kilometer run at maximum speed.  Other good options: squats, jumping rope for 1 minute, overhead press, and twisting for abs. 

To speed up your results and avoid mistakes, it’s effective to find an expert in this field.

Now, most competencies are available online. Although coaches who promote their brand on social networks, accelerate marketing goals with professionals such as Viplikes, and invest a lot in advertising, they provide the maximum benefit to their audience for free. 

Decrease the rest time between each approach

You can develop endurance by minimizing the time to rest between sets. Men usually give themselves 30 to 90 seconds to recover between sets, but if your goal is to increase endurance, be prepared to sacrifice break time.  Make a pause in the case when there is no physical possibility to continue. Experienced coaches advise to choose the following series of exercises: bench press – 10 times, squats – 10 times, twisting – 10 times. All actions must be performed actively, with a minimum interval between them.

Increase the tempo of loads

Strength exercises at a fast pace help to improve endurance. They effectively develop strength and pump up the whole body. A comprehensive approach helps speed up the metabolic process. Remember that when people emphasize only endurance training, they actually slow down their metabolism, and this contributes to a rapid loss of muscle mass.

Remember: routine is the enemy

Switching between workouts is important for building endurance. The human body gets used to training after two weeks. So, you have to make your muscles work differently to stimulate their development. If you do a workout, start exercising on a stepper. 

Use hybrid exercises

Squats with additional overhead press, jumps with pull-ups, and lunges with biceps exercises are hybrid ones that combine two separate movements. The more muscles involved in an exercise, the more it will stimulate your core muscles, which in turn increases endurance.

Keep a well-balanced diet

Wholesome proper food contributes to the development of stamina. It is important to eat a lot of healthy foods and completely abandon the harmful ones. You need to eat in small portions at regular intervals, up to 6 times a day. After training or other power loads, it is worth consuming proteins that affect the restoration of stamina and help control weight.

Various vitamin complexes help to improve the level of training. Components such as zinc,³, copper, and vitamins A, C, and E help to strengthen the immune system and the body as a whole. A wide assortment of nutritional supplements for athletes can be found in the digital space. When comparing offers, it is recommended to buy the products from specific people who are authorities in their field. As a rule, opinion leaders have high credibility, and constantly expand their zone of influence: cooperate with bloggers, buy real Instagram followers, etc., and their reputation is a guarantee of quality.

The amount of carbohydrates is also of key importance. The body should get carbohydrates no later than half an hour after physical activity. This is the optimal time interval when a person assimilates the expended energy. Carbohydrates should make up half of the daily calories. As a result, it will be possible to run long distances with sufficient energy.

Feeling weak is a signal to eat more complex carbohydrates. This can be oats, whole grains, or rice. Remember that candies and other fast carbohydrates lead to elevated blood sugar levels. 

It is important to drink enough clean water. Lack of life-giving moisture causes a feeling of fatigue. So, the development of stamina, psychological ⁴and physical, slows down. Fluid is necessary for the body to be on par with glucose, carbohydrates, and other elements.

Ensure proper rest 

Long distances require more body resources, and it takes time to restore them. People often find that getting a good night’s rest helps them feel comfortable throughout the next day. On the contrary,  a constant lack of sleep inhibits the growth of endurance. You can ensure a normal night’s sleep by observing the following rules: go to bed by an individual biological rhythm, correctly distribute the physical, mental, and psychological loads, before going to bed, exclude all types of stress⁵, and allow the body to relax.

Don’t use your computer, smartphone, or other gadgets two hours before bedtime. The brain receives too much information and is in a state of excitement, so it will be quite problematic for the body to fall asleep quickly. Instead, do, for example, stretching, and the quality of sleep will improve many times over.

Summary

Sports should help a person, not injure him. So, it is advisable to be checked by a sports doctor before you start systematic training. In this way, you can understand what kind of organism you have: what peculiarities it has and what limitations, including medical ones.

It is very important to pay attention to proper recovery after each workout: rest, sleep, and food. Besides, your inner spirit is one of the most important things: it helps you to endure loads longer, recover faster from injuries, set yourself ambitious goals, and stay on the path to them. So, trust yourself, listen to your feelings, and believe in your strength. That’s the right way to develop endurance – both in sports and in life!

1. D’Ascenzi, Flavio, et al. “The benefits of exercise in cancer patients and the criteria for exercise prescription in cardio-oncology.” European journal of preventive cardiology 28.7 (2021): 725-735. ↩︎
2. Madjid, Mohammad, et al. “Potential effects of coronaviruses on the cardiovascular system: a review.” JAMA cardiology 5.7 (2020): 831-840. ↩︎
3. Hariharan, Sneha, and Selvakumar Dharmaraj. “Selenium and selenoproteins: It’s role in regulation of inflammation.” Inflammopharmacology 28 (2020): 667-695. ↩︎
4. Rubin, G. James, and Simon Wessely. “The psychological effects of quarantining a city.” Bmj 368 (2020). ↩︎
5. Lu, Siyu, Fang Wei, and Guolin Li. “The evolution of the concept of stress and the framework of the stress system.” Cell Stress 5.6 (2021): 76. ↩︎

Last Updated on July 24, 2024 by Sathi Chakraborty, MSc Biology