Which of the following is best described as a persons ability to exercise for long periods of time without rest?

When it comes to exercise, the terms “stamina” and “endurance” are essentially interchangeable. However, there are some subtle differences between them.

Stamina is the mental and physical ability to sustain an activity for a long period. When people talk about stamina, they often use it to refer to the feeling of being peppy or energetic while doing an activity.

Endurance refers to your body’s physical capability to sustain an exercise for an extended period. It’s made up of two components: cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance. Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of your heart and lungs to fuel your body with oxygen. Muscular endurance is the ability of your muscles to work continuously without getting tired.

In this article, we’re going to look at how you can improve your stamina and endurance and dig deeper into the differences between these terms.

When people talk about stamina, usually they’re referring to their ability to perform an activity without getting tired. It can be thought of as the opposite of fatigue, or the ability to feel energetic for a prolonged period.

Having good stamina for a professional basketball player might mean being able to get through an entire game without a dip in performance. Stamina for an 85-year-old grandfather might mean having enough energy to play with his grandkids.

Unlike endurance, stamina itself isn’t a component of physical fitness, but it’s the result of becoming fitter.

Physical fitness is often divided into five components:

There are two components to endurance: cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance. Both of these components of fitness can be measured objectively. For example, cardiovascular fitness could be measured using a 1.5-mile run test and the result could be compared to benchmarks for certain age groups.

A variety of tests could be used to measure muscle endurance such as a maximum push-up test for upper-body endurance or maximum sit-up test for core endurance.

You can improve your endurance and stamina by regularly performing aerobic exercise that challenges your lungs and heart.

Here are some tips for building an endurance program:

1. The SAID principle

One of the fundamental components of building an effective fitness program is the SAID principle.

SAID stands for Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands. It means your body will adapt to the specific type of exercise you regularly perform. For example, if you build a workout program that consists primarily of upper- body exercises, your upper-body strength will improve but your lower-body strength will stay about the same.

2. Overload principle

Another basic concept for building an effective fitness program is the overload principle. This principle involves making gradual increases in either volume or intensity to continue improving your fitness.

For example, if you want to improve your 10-mile run time, you’ll need to gradually make your workouts harder by increasing either:

• the distance you run
• the speed you run
• the amount of time you run

3. Aim for more than 150 minutes per week

Exercising regularly can help boost your energy levels by helping you sleep better and increasing blood flow throughout your body.

The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week to strengthen your heart and lungs. Getting more than 300 minutes per week is linked to additional benefits.

4. Yoga or meditation

Including stress-relieving activities in your weekly routine can help you relax and improves your ability to handle more intense workouts. Two examples of relaxing activities include yoga and meditation.

A 2016 study found that medical students who underwent six weeks of yoga and meditation had significant improvements in feelings of peace, focus, and endurance.

5. Find your target heart rate

Your target heart rate during aerobic exercise is 50 to 70 percent of your maximum for moderate-intensity activities, and 70 to 85 percent your maximum for vigorous activities.

You can estimate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For example, if you’re 45, your maximum heart rate would be 175.

6. Try HIIT training

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) involves repetitive bouts of high-intensity intervals alternating with rest periods. An example would be 10-second sprints with a 30-second rest between each sprint.

Along with improving your cardiovascular fitness, HIIT training may improve your insulin sensitivity, blood pressure, and help you lose abdominal fat. HIIT training is an advanced form of exercise, and is best suited for people already physically active.

7. Find exercises you enjoy

Many people associate getting fit with going to the gym, lifting weights, and running on a treadmill. However, even if you don’t enjoy these activities, there are plenty of ways to improve your fitness. Instead of forcing yourself to do an exercise you don’t like, think of activities you do enjoy.

For example, if you hate running but love dancing, taking a dance class like Zumba is a great way to improve your aerobic fitness.

8. Stay hydrated

To prevent dehydration when working out, it’s important to stay hydrated, especially if you’re working out in hot or humid conditions. If your sessions are particularly long, you may want to consider taking electrolytes to replace minerals lost during sweat.

Performing aerobic exercise regularly strengthens your heart and lungs and improves your circulation, which can help you build stamina and endurance. Aerobic exercises refer to those that elevate your breathing and heart rate, such as:

• running
• dancing
• swimming
• tennis
• basketball
• hockey
• brisk walking

If you train consistently and progress at regular intervals, you can expect to see a noticeable improvement in two to three months.

Progress takes time. Increasing the weight you’re lifting, the distance you’re moving, or the intensity of your workout too quickly can lead to injuries or burnout. Try to increase the difficulty of your workouts in small steps to minimize your risk of injury or burnout.

For example, if you’re building a running program, you wouldn’t want to go from running three miles per workout to 10 miles per workout at the same intensity. A better strategy would to increase to four miles at first, slowly progressing to 10 miles over many weeks.

Working with a professional trainer can be beneficial no matter your fitness level. A trainer can help you design a program suitable for your current fitness level and help you set realistic goals. A good trainer will also make sure that you don’t progress too quickly to minimize your chances of injury.

The terms “stamina” and “endurance” have similar meanings and are often used interchangeably. Regular aerobic exercise can help you improve both these fitness qualities.

Experts recommend getting at least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week. Exercising more than 150 minutes per week is linked to additional health benefits.

Overview

Cardiorespiratory endurance is the level at which your heart, lungs, and muscles work together when you’re exercising for an extended period of time. This shows how efficiently your cardiorespiratory system functions, and is an indicator of how physically fit and healthy you are.

It’s useful to know your cardiorespiratory endurance level because it can either be a sign of health or a sign that you need to improve your level of fitness. Increasing cardiorespiratory endurance has a positive effect on your overall health. Your lungs and heart are able to better use oxygen. This allows you to exercise for longer periods without getting tired. Most people can increase their cardiorespiratory endurance by doing regular exercise.

Read on to learn more about cardiorespiratory endurance.

Metabolic equivalents (METs) are used to measure your intensity of exercise and uptake of oxygen. They measure energy expenditure at rest.

Cardiorespiratory endurance is measured by maximum oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and how it’s used during intense exercise. Higher amounts of oxygen uptake show that you’re using more oxygen and that your cardiorespiratory system is functioning efficiently.

VO2 tests are usually done with a clinician or exercise physiologist in a laboratory, hospital, or clinic. You can do submaximal tests with a qualified fitness instructor.

Submaximal exercise tests are used to measure your cardiorespiratory endurance. If you’re physically fit or an athlete, you can measure your cardiorespiratory fitness using:

• the Astrand treadmill test
• the 2.4 km run test
• the multistage bleep test

More sedentary people can do the Cooper 1.5-mile walk-run test. You can also do a treadmill test or estimate your own levels comparing how fast you run to average results from races.

The tests can help provide information about how well your heart and lungs are working to get oxygen to your muscles during exercise. Your results may indicate your risk for developing heart disease or other chronic diseases. They will include resting blood pressure and heart rate. The results can then be used to help determine the type of exercise and weight loss programs that may be needed.

These exercises may help you to improve your cardiorespiratory endurance. You don’t need a lot of equipment, so they can be done anytime and anywhere. You can even try doing 5–10 minutes of these exercises a few times per day if you don’t have large blocks of time available for exercise.

The exercises can help to burn fat, develop muscle, and get your heart pumping. It’s also important that you breathe deeply while doing the exercises.

Try to do each exercise for at least a minute. You can take a 30-second break in between each exercise. They require a certain amount of endurance, so you can gradually increase the duration and intensity of your workouts.

Run and jump in place

Do each of these steps for 30 seconds.

1. Jog in place.
2. While continuing to jog in place, lift up your knees as high as they’ll go.
3. Next, start to bring your feet back and up as though you want to touch your butt.

Jumping jacks

1. Stand with your feet together and your arms by your side.
2. Jump your feet apart as you raise your arms over your head.
3. Jump back to the starting position and continue this movement.

Standing side hops

1. From a standing position jump side-to-side with both feet at the same time.
2. You can jump over an object with a bit of height to increase the difficulty.

Side to side hops

1. From a standing position, lower your butt down in a squat position.
2. Step your right foot as far over to the right as you can.
3. Then bring your left foot to meet your right foot.
4. Step your left foot as far over to the left as you can.
5. Bring the right foot to meet your left foot.
6. Continue this fluid movement.
7. Keep your butt down low the entire time. Increase your speed or sink into a lower squat to increase the difficulty.

In and out hopping squats

1. Stand with your feet together.
2. Jump your feet to the side so they’re wider than your hips.
3. Squat in this position.
4. Jump your feet back together and squat in this position.
5. Continue this movement.

Burpees

1. From a standing position, jump up and lift your arms.
2. When your feet touch the floor, drop your hands down to the floor underneath your shoulders.
3. Jump, step, or walk your feet back to come into a plank position.
4. Hop, step, or walk your feet forward toward your hands.
5. Jump up and continue the movement with which you started.

Other activities

You can also do other physical activities such as:

• running or jogging
• swimming
• cycling
• dancing
• boxing
• aerobics or similar activities
• any active sport

Increasing your cardiorespiratory endurance requires getting regular physical activity. Make sure you’re doing aerobic exercises that cause you to get your heart rate going. Add variation to your workout routine as much as possible. This allows you to work out different muscle groups and gives your body the chance to rest. Take charge of your health and begin an exercise program today.