Building endurance is one of the top fitness goals. Is the single most important attribute needed to go through any exercise. Simply put; you can’t survive or fulfill your exercise goals without having enough endurance and the ability to keep exercising till the end. You can’t have endurance without strength. There is basic need to make sure you have the strength to stay for the long haul.
You need to improve your strength, work on having more muscles as this will serve as a propelling force for you to move further. According to Will Torres, a New York-based personal trainer and founder of the personal training studio, Willspace, who says that “added muscle will also absorb the impact that would otherwise put stress on your joints.”
In order to build endurance and strength here are some techniques that can help;
Combine strength days with cardio days
One trick is in learning the exercise equation of developing endurance and gaining strength to last in that endurance is to do a combination of both. Instead of doing cardio workout for a day and strength training for another day, simply combine them both in exercise regimen. The more muscle you build the better the propelling force. An example would be doing jump robe for a minute, then down to squats, overhead press and then sit ups and repeat.
You can also try burpees or the “run a mile combo” which is, do some press ups for a minute then pull ups, run a mile as fast as you can and repeat. It might look daunting, it might even feel haunting, giving that you will be in pain but it will be worth it.
Reduce your amount of rest between sets
Just be prepared to give up break periods during your exercises. Here is a golden advice by Torres and this is what it says; “By the end of your sets, your muscles should be burning—you should be breathing heavily and sweating,” says Torres. “Only take a break if you physically cannot continue.” Torres suggests selecting a series of movements like 10 pull-ups, 10 squats, 10 push-ups, 10 sit-ups. Do three rounds of the series back to back, taking as minimal a break as possible.
Do fast-paced, high-intensity lifting
Another trick is to do fast paced high intensity lifting. This helps in improving your strength needed for endurance and also improves your metabolism. Endurance only exercise will slow down your metabolism and eat away your muscle tissues and you need those muscle tissues for strength, strength for endurance.
Avoid Routine
Kill routine and work on having different exercise combos that will help you get to your goal faster. It takes 2 weeks for the body to recognize or get used to an exercise that will not yield to results if the body knows what it’s coming to do. The trick is to keep it guessing and switch consistently. From running tin this sector to cycling next, after which you can try swimming or Muay Thai. Anything that will keep the body on its toes is good to go.
Go for hybrid exercises
Instead of going for the usual method of doing an exercise, mix it up! These are exercises with different movements then combined to achieve a hybrid exercise. The more muscles you get, the more it stimulates your heart muscles leading to improved stamina. From jumping pull ups, to a squat with overhead pull up. Research more for practice.
Image Courtesy of:demandstudios.com,runnersblueprint.com
