Stamina is known as the strength and energy required to exert oneself for an extended period of time. For living a better life and feeling healthier you need to improve your stamina. Read below to know about some of the best exercises to increase stamina.
What Are The Best Exercises To Increase Stamina?
One of the most important things to note while attempting to increase your stamina is that, you need to work out or exercise or at least remain involved in physical activities every day. A boost in your stamina requires an increase in the lung capacity, strengthening of the muscles and building of muscles around your heart. Devoting 30 minutes in exercise regularly is a must to increase stamina.
According to the American Heart Association, we require a minimum of 150 minutes of exercise every week. You need to increase the duration and intensity of the workout sessions gradually. Stretching before the exercise and cooling down after the workouts is very much essential so as to prevent any kind of muscle strain.
Let us take a look on some of the best exercises to increase stamina.
High-intensity Interval Training Or HIIT:
High-intensity interval training or HIIT is an excellent time-efficient method for increasing stamina. in fact, research suggests that HIIT may be a better endurance-builder than steady-state cardiovascular exercise.
There are several ways to perform high-intensity interval training or HIIT; but one tried-and-true method is the Tabata protocol. In this, you need to perform one dynamic exercise (such as sprints, burpees, or pushups), as quickly as you can for 20 seconds. Then take 10 seconds of rest and repeat for a total of 8 such rounds. In order to avoid injury and burnout, limit your HIIT sessions to 2-3 per week.
Stair Climbing:
One more exercise that you can include to increase your stamina is stair climbing. This actually benefits in increasing strength, power and even endurance. You must have probably noticed that it is much easier for you to lose your breath whenever you walk up a hill or raised sidewalk, as compared to walking on a flat surface. This happens because every time you walk or run up an incline, your heart rate increases at a faster rate, causing you to take in more oxygen.
Make stair climbing or running the stairs as a regular part of your exercise routine, and notice how quickly your endurance and stamina increases.
Strength Training:
You can also increase your stamina, especially muscular stamina by strength training or by lifting weights. However, in order to place continuous demand on your muscles, you must think beyond the standard 8-12 reps. According to The American College Of Sports medicine, performing 2-4 sets of 10 to 25 reps with a weight that totals 40% to 60% of your one-repetition maximum, would be beneficial.
Moderate Aerobic Exercises:
Performing moderate aerobic exercise can also help you in increasing your stamina. You can try jogging, walking or even cycling. Make aerobic exercise a regular part of your weekly routine. Perform aerobic exercises at least for 30 minutes.
The University of Colorado Denver recommends performing aerobic activity at least 3 days per week, but ideally you will do 5 days. Aim to increase your time by 5 to 10 minutes each week, or try to cover more ground in less time.
Do What You Love: A Way To Increase Stamina Efficiently
Apart from all these exercise you need to be sure that you choose the physical activities that you actually love. This is because it becomes easier to push yourself physically, improving your stamina, when you are doing something that you genuinely love to do or enjoy doing, rather than something you dread. If you still do not know what you actually love to do then do experiment with few of the physical activities, such as swimming or biking or running at least for 1-2 months, and you may discover your interest soon.
Conclusion:
As you concentrate on increasing your energy levels, make sure that it is natural to experience energy ebbs and flows. Do not expect to be operating at your maximum potential every time. Also bear in mind that your body requires rest. So, avoid pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion.
It would be better to take appropriate training under a fitness guide to increase your stamina and if you feel you are not getting enough result even after trying the relevant exercises for increasing your stamina, then you must see your doctor and follow his advices.
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