I’ve talked before about different kinds of exercise, from strength training to mobility work. One of the first things you’re likely to think of, though, when exercise is mentioned, is aerobic exercise. It’s the stuff that gets you out of breath and makes your heart pump, and it’s also what you need if you want to build endurance.
There are some sports where endurance becomes particularly important. Endurance running is generally regarded as anything over 800 meters, with the marathon being the most obvious example. Then you have many forms of cycling, particularly on the road – and not just the Tour de France. Swimming is another one that has some particularly long-distance events. If you like running, cycling and swimming, triathlon combines the challenges of all three.
Most sports do need some endurance, however. If you’re playing something like football, basketball or soccer, you need to be able to last through a whole game. Boxing and martial arts need stamina if you’re going to keep going through the intensity of a bout. Even outside of a sports context, endurance can be helpful for walking home with the groceries or even when rocking a fussy baby to sleep.
To improve your endurance, you need to maximize your lung capacity, improve your cardiac output (pumping of blood around the body), build muscle strength and work on other aspects of physiology. Endurance athletes tend to have low heart rates and blood pressure, even though endurance exercise often aims to increase your heart rate.
A lot of the work you need to do to improve your endurance is about repetition. The more you work your muscles, the easier it is for them to sustain their effort for a longer period of time. Your heart will start to work more efficiently and increase your blood volume, meaning you perform better. Supercompensation is the period after exercise and a recovery period when everything in your body is working better and you can train even more.
Some endurance exercises can be sport-specific – for example, they might be designed for running or cycling. Others may improve your general endurance, meaning you can adapt better to different forms of exercise but may not reach the pinnacle of an individual sport. You need to adapt your regimen for your specific needs.
Endurance training isn’t easy, but it can be powerful for your overall health.
