Endurance is the ability to work for a long time without reducing intensity. For example, running for a long time or waving weights and not getting tired.
Endurance training improves Z. N. Kubukeli, T. D. Noakes, S. C. Dennis. Training techniques to improve endurance exercise performances / Sports medicine peak oxygen consumption, as well as increase blood volume and capillary density in working muscles. Thanks to these changes, the heart rate decreases — it no longer needs to beat so often to provide the body with the necessary level of O₂.
As you exercise, your muscles store more glycogen, a form of glucose that is used as fuel during activity. And the number of enzymes necessary to obtain energy from oxygen and without it is also increasing.
The main indicator of endurance is considered to be K. Buttar. A review: Maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) and its estimation methods / International journal of Physical Education, Sports and Health the maximum oxygen consumption is MPC, or Vo2max. It is measured either in liters of absorbed O₂ per minute (l/min), or in milliliters per 1 kg of body weight per minute — ml / (kg × min).
BMD depends on how efficiently the heart pumps blood to the muscles and how quickly they can extract oxygen from it for energy production. The higher this indicator, the better the condition of your cardiovascular system and higher endurance.
For example, for those who lead a sedentary lifestyle, the MPC is about 30 ml / (kg × min), for active people — about 40 ml / (kg × min), and for trained athletes it can exceed 50 ml / (kg × min).
It makes sense to do this, even if your sport includes one heavy weight lifting, and all activity at work is a walk to the cooler and back to the computer.
Developing stamina will help:
Perhaps the easiest and cheapest way to develop endurance is running. Beginners can start by alternating it with brisk walking, gradually increasing the amount of running.
Also, any other cyclic cardio is well suited for the development of endurance, including classes on a bicycle ergometer, elliptical or rowing simulators. Such a load makes it easy to adjust the volume and intensity of training and track your progress.
If you don't like cyclic cardio or you want to do it at home, but you don't have the opportunity to buy a simulator, endurance can be developed with the help of exercise complexes with your body weight. For example, perform a series of burpees , jumping jacks, squats and other movements that do not require equipment and accelerate the pulse well.
They will help your body get used to the loads and pump up the cardiovascular system, but at the same time it will be more difficult to regulate the intensity of training.
For the development of endurance, the intensity of training is of great importance. It can be determined by the pulse at which the lesson takes place.
As a rule, the intensity is indicated as a percentage of the maximum heart rate (HRSMAX). To calculate this indicator, you need to subtract the age from 220. For example, for a person of 30 years, the heart rate max will be 190 beats/min.
According to the intensity, you can conditionally divide ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription training on:
Even experienced athletes spend most of their workouts at a low pulse — with light and medium intensity. And for beginners, this is the best opportunity to gradually get used to the loads, get pleasure from exercises and not get injured in the first weeks of classes.
At the same time, for rapid progress, it is also worth adding heavy workouts. In one study A. P. Bacon, R. E. Carter, E. A. Ogle. VO2max Trainability and High Intensity Interval Training in Humans: A Meta‑Analysis / PLoS One found out that low‑intensity fitness programs increase BMD by an average of 0.4 liters / minute for 20 weeks of regular classes, and then not all participants.
But high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or their combination with long-term quiet loads give the best results. For 6-13 weeks, they increase the MPC by an average of 0.5 l / min, and sometimes by 0.85 l / min.
Try an 80/20 load ratio, where 80% of workouts are average and 20% are very heavy.
This format is used by S. Seiler. What is best practice for training intensity and duration distribution in endurance athletes? / International journal of sports physiology and performance many athletes: it allows you to progress quickly and not get injured at the same time.
For example, you decided to run three hours a week. Of this time, 36 minutes (20%) should pass at a pulse of 170-190 beats/min, and the remaining 144 — at a pulse of about 130-140 beats/min.
That is, you will have somewhere two quiet classes — a steady run or a combination of running and walking at a low pulse, and two intense interval training with alternating work with all your might and periods of restorative activity. For example, six intervals of alternating a three-minute fast run and a five-minute easy.
If you are going to develop endurance through exercises at home, you can also adjust the intensity by focusing on your pulse or well-being.
For example, for long, quiet workouts, choose light cardio exercises and movements with your body weight, during which the pulse does not rise above 130-140 beats / min, and you can maintain a conversation without suffocating.
For intensive classes, you can use interval circular complexes in which you need to work vigorously for 30-40 seconds and rest until the end of the minute or perform as many laps as possible in a certain time.