How does muscular endurance increase stamina? Endurance training workouts can increase your body’s ability to withstand activity for extended periods of time. If you’re wondering how to boost your endurance through training, read on—your friends at Jack City Fitness know what to do. 

Endurance refers to someone’s ability to withstand something for a long time. This term can be used in all sorts of circumstances; for example, it takes emotional endurance to prevail over personal tragedy or hardships. However, endurance is also frequently used to specifically describe athletic prowess because it’s a crucial element to athletic success. 

What Does “Endurance” Mean in Fitness?

In terms of fitness, endurance refers to physical activity: how much can a body withstand for longer periods of time? Those who can tackle longer workouts likely have better endurance—and that will serve all of their athletic endeavors well. 

The concept of athletic endurance applies to all sorts of workouts and sports. Even athletes who prefer short-form workouts like HIIT will find that improved endurance helps their performance and overall health. In fact, honing your ability to endure lengthy periods of physical activity will translate nicely to your everyday life—a long day of running errands will be less exhausting with high endurance levels. 

What Is an Example of Endurance Exercise? 

Whenever you hit the gym, you’ll likely be honing one of the following four abilities: flexibility, strength, balance, and endurance. They are all crucial elements to athletic success, and they all have different roadmaps for getting there. 

There are many forms of endurance exercise. One of the classic examples is training for a marathon. However, that is only one of many. In truth, an enormous range of workouts, from dancing to push-ups, can improve your endurance levels.  

To determine what type of exercises might be best for your own training journey, it helps to figure out what type of endurance you want to improve—aerobic or muscular.

Muscular Endurance vs. Aerobic Endurance 

There are two primary types of athletic endurance: muscular and aerobic. The benefits of muscular endurance and aerobic endurance are both plentiful, but they are different from each other. 

What Does Muscular Endurance Mean?

The term “muscular endurance” refers to an athlete’s ability to exert their muscles for long periods of time. If you can undergo a heavy lifting session without quickly experiencing muscle fatigue, your endurance levels are pretty good already!

What Does Aerobic Endurance Mean?

Although “aerobic endurance” also requires muscular use, it refers specifically to the use of your cardiovascular system: heart and lungs! Athletes with good aerobic endurance levels have trained their heart and lungs to efficiently use and transport oxygen through cardiovascular exercise. So, if you are able to run, swim, or cycle for 20 minutes without needing to stop, you probably already have some solid aerobic endurance levels. 

What Are the Benefits of Muscular Endurance?

So, why is muscular endurance important? 

The importance of muscular endurance comes from its long list of benefits. Those who increase their muscular endurance abilities enjoy: 

• Less risk of injury from physical activity 
• More powerful muscles 
• Stronger bones
• Increased ease across both fitness-related and everyday movements
• Improved confidence and mood 

What Are the Benefits of Cardiovascular Endurance?

There are several benefits of endurance training for aerobics—and some may come as a surprise! Athletes who engage in cardiovascular endurance training see many positive changes to both their gym and everyday life. These benefits of cardiovascular endurance include:

• Improved heart health
• A better hormonal profile
• More overall energy 
• Increased ease with day-to-day movements and activity
• More energy

How to Train for Muscular Endurance

If you’re hoping to train for muscular endurance, we’ve got your back. Although the classic muscular endurance workout is, of course, marathon training, that’s also the most extreme! There are loads of other workouts that will increase your muscular endurance abilities at your level.

At Jack City Fitness, our coaches have plenty of muscular endurance workouts up their sleeves.  Some of our favorites are:

• Squats
• Planking
• Crunches
• Lunges
• Push-ups

But that’s not all! Many of our coaches and partners have conscious choices in their daily life to help their muscular endurance levels. You can do the same! Swapping stairs for the elevator or walking instead of driving to the grocery store may seem like small decisions, but they add up in a positive way.

How to Train for Aerobic Endurance

As its name may suggest, aerobic endurance is built by engaging in cardiovascular, or aerobic, exercise. Aerobic exercise, better known as cardio, is a great way for athletes to increase their endurance abilities. Cardio is categorized by its ability to get one’s heart rate pumping for extended periods.

Cardio has developed a reputation for being a fat-busting workout, and while this is certainly true, it has plenty of other merits. Aerobic exercise helps to strengthen your lungs, heart, and circulation—all crucial ingredients to achieving better athletic endurance. 

Some of our favorite forms of aerobic endurance training include:

• Running
• Cycling
• Dance
• Swimming
• Skipping rope
• Hiking, walking, and power-walking
• Rowing

And that’s just the beginning! The world of cardiovascular fitness is an expansive one—no matter what your preferences are, you’ll likely find a workout you’ll love. Many athletes even find that some of their favorite childhood activities make great cardiovascular exercise as an adult. So, if you loved hula hooping, jumping on a trampoline, or skipping rope as a kid, try it now as an adult—your whole body will thank you, especially your lungs and heart. 

Is Training the Only Way To Build Endurance? 

Although we highly recommend engaging in endurance training workouts, there are several ways to supplement this work! Many of our coaches and partners use specific breathing techniques to increase their endurance levels and enhance their overall athletic health. Much of this comes down to diaphragmatic breathing. Want to give it a whirl? Try practicing diaphragmatic breathing at home! Once you’ve nailed it, you can use it during your workouts. 

Begin by laying on the floor with your knees bent, and a hand each on your chest and abdomen. Take a deep breath through your nose, using your stomach—if you’re doing it correctly, your chest should remain still while your belly rises. Exhale through pursed lips while tightening your abs—can you feel your hand lower? That means you got it right! 

Are There Disadvantages of Endurance Training, Too?

Although endurance training is a well-regarded workout, there might be some cases where it can be too much of a good thing. In 2016, the BC Medical Journal published an article that examined evidence that overtraining for endurance can have adverse, and even life-threatening, cardiac effects. 

To ensure that your endurance training doesn’t become excessive or dangerous, we recommend working with a trained fitness coach. Although it can be tempting to go solo, a coach will be able to help you find your upper limit and stay safe. 

Train for Endurance at Jack City Fitness!

Hey Boise! If increased athletic endurance is your goal, we’re here to help you meet it. At Jack City Fitness, we are proud to offer our partners our fantastic team of fitness coaches to help you hone your skills and become the best version of your athletic self. We are endurance training experts, and we’re here to make sure that you safely work at your highest level.

If you’re ready to take your game to the next level, get in touch with our team by calling (208) 999-1111. We’ll invite you to our gorgeous gym for a FREE fitness consultation and tour, where you can meet our team, check out our equipment, and even peek into one of our famous classes. Once you’ve signed up to become a partner, you’ll have immediate 24-7 access to the facility! 

We can’t wait to meet you and help you smash your goals!