How To Effectively Increase The Running Stamina?

Are you one of those who feel short of breath after running half a mile? Do you feel you should complete a marathon successfully?

To fulfil the above you need to work on your muscle endurance. Also, there are few guidelines which if followed can help you perform better and keep you injury-free.

They are:

How long and how easily you run or perform any activity depends on the warm-up exercises. It is very necessary as it prepares your body to perform or take up any challenge.

A good ten minutes of warm-up exercise is enough to get you ready. You can start by doing some neck rotations, arm circles, jumping jacks, shoulder rotations, on the spot jogging, side lunges, and ankle rotations.

A difference can be noticed in the heart rate and muscle performance while doing warm-up properly.

Proper posture is very important while performing any type of exercise or even while running. It helps you run better and for a longer duration, and also protect you from injury.

While running pull the shoulders back, look ahead, push the chest up, loosen the neck and arms, clench the fist, put the thumb in the hollow made by the four fingers, and start running slowly.

It is very important to concentrate on breathing to make running easier. Concentrating on breathing, and matching the running with it, helps in running a longer distance.

According to a running literature performing strength training at least 2-3 days in a week, help improve running ⁽¹⁾. Also, increasing the strength of the muscles helps in reducing the risk of injuries.

Therefore, if strength training is not a part of your workout routine, do start it. Target the major muscle groups by going for the full-body workouts.

Always, be patient when it comes to increasing time and endurance. Slowly increase the distance which can be by 10 %. For example, if you cover a mile one day you can try and run 10% more the next week.

This will help you reach the target without bringing your body in the discomfort zone. Also, setting up a target helps keep you focussed.

Following a training plan helps the beginners to build stamina and endurance while reducing the risk of injury.

Music can be a great source of motivation for any kind of workout and even running. The music keeps you distracted from any kind of pain and keeps you going. Also if you are able to match the running pace with the beats, it’s even better.

Everybody knows this phrase ‘practice makes a man perfect’. Running as many times in a week makes the body and mind accustomed to the energy burns, muscle wear and tear and sweating associated with it.

Sprint training is a high-intensity training used to increase stamina and speed.

A study shows a six-session of sprint interval training, improved running performance in trained runners ⁽²⁾.

Plyometrics is another thing that should be a part of your training.

Athletes train their cardiovascular systems to improve the VO2 (maximum rate of oxygen consumption during exercise), by incorporating explosive exercises in their workouts.

Explosive exercises include squat jumps, burpees, jumping lunges, froggy jumps, which not only improve VO2 but also help burn a lot of calories.

After completing the running planed for the day, it is important to stretch or cool off.

Give the arms, neck, back, calves, hamstrings, lower back, and shoulder, a good stretch. This helps prevent the muscles from getting stiff.

Along with the other things it is really important to keep up the diet. It is also important for building muscle endurance and stamina.

Whole grains, starchy vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats, and nuts are amongst a few foods that are important for consumption.

Avoid processed food, energy drinks, fried food, packaged fruits and vegetable juices, and fatty and sugary food. The heart needs to be healthy to help get the desired results.

Eating healthy helps you reach the goal earlier.

The sore muscle needs time to heal and repair, therefore, rest is also important.

7 hours of sleep is good to relieve a tired body. Also, do not go for running every day. Shuffle it with other kinds of workouts.

There are other things such as good shoes and hydration which affect running. They might not be helpful in improving stamina but are indirectly related. A dehydrated body would not be able to achieve the set goals as you would not be able to run far with it. Similarly if you run with uncomfortable shoes, there might be a risk of injury which could stop you from running for several days.

Following the above tips and setting up a training schedule, help you build stamina and run without getting stressed.