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The Best Stamina-Increasing Exercises

Stamina is the ability to withstand fatigue or resist disease; when applied to a health and fitness setting, it is the ability to sustain physical activity or sport for a prolonged period of time. Stamina involves both aerobic endurance, which is low to moderate intensity prolonged exercise, and anaerobic endurance, or short and very high intense exercise. The best way to increase your stamina is with exercises that challenge both types of endurance and muscles. To experience gains, you need to overexert your body. Talk to your doctor before beginning any new exercise program.

Intervals

Interval training involves short bouts of high intensity work followed by a longer bout of lower intensity work. In a study published in the October 1996 issue of the journal "Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise", researchers found that subjects who performed moderate cycling exercises for 60 minutes a day for six weeks improved their aerobic endurance but experienced no change in anaerobic endurance. Another group of cyclists who performed eights sets of high intensity, 20-second intervals with 10 seconds of rest in between for six weeks not only improved their aerobic endurance more than the moderate intensity group but also improved their anaerobic capacity by 28 percent.

Weight Training

Lifting weights is mostly anaerobic and not only improves your strength but also your muscular stamina and your ability to perform activities of daily living such as vacuuming, shovelling snow or gardening for extended periods of time. According to the National Strength and Conditioning Association, to experience both strength and endurance gains in weightlifting, you need to lift a weight heavy enough that you experience muscular fatigue within eight to 15 repetitions. Perform weight training exercises at least two days per week, working every major muscle group with about eight different exercises per session.

Circuits

Circuits involve three to 12 different stations that incorporate strength training, cardiovascular exercise or both. Circuits emulate everyday life because your body does not get a break from movement, however individual muscle groups do. They challenge your strength and both anaerobic and aerobic endurance, making it the perfect combination for improving stamina. To do a circuit, combine basic strength training exercises and do each one for 30 seconds before moving on to the next. Give yourself a 30-second break in between each exercise. As your stamina improves, reduce your rest time to 15 seconds and increase your work time to 45 seconds.

Cardiovascular Exercise

The best way to improve your aerobic endurance and therefore your ability to withstand low to moderate intensity work for a long time is with prolonged cardiovascular training. Start with 30 minutes of low to moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise such as walking, jogging, hiking, cycling or swimming. Each week try to increase the amount of time you can exercise by five minutes or increase your distance a little. Add another quarter mile on the walk or jog, or another lap in the pool.

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Advanced Training Techniques

Advanced Training Techniques

The training programs shown in this sections are both HIT style programs. HIT stands for High Intensity Training. They are used by bodybuilders for very large gains in muscle mass and strength, but involve lifting very heavy loads of weight and if you attempt them you should have someone spotting at all times. Hit training involves doing very few reps of 90 percent of your maximum, which greatly increases strength but reduces endurance.

 

 

 

 

HIT training program #1

Note: Do a short warmup set before each exercise with approximately 50% of the weight you will use for the main working set. Do about 4 - 6 reps with this lighter weight, just enough to get warmed up.
Squats 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Leg Extensions 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Leg Curls 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Dumbbell Pullovers 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Barbell Overhead Shoulder Press 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Seated Rows 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Bench Press 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Barbell Bicep Curls 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Tricep Extensions 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Weighted Pullups 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Weighted Dips 1 X 8 - 10 reps
Standing Calf Raises 1 X 8 - 12 reps
Abs - 1 X 10 - 15 reps
( Source: program taken from www.bodybuilding.com)

HIT Training Program #2

Day 1 - Monday

Exercise	Weeks 1 & 3	Weeks 2 & 4
Deadlift -	1 x 5	5 x 5
Chins -	5 x 5	1 x 5
Shrugs -	1 x 5	5 x 5

Day 2 - Tuesday

Exercise	Weeks 1 & 3	Weeks 2 & 4
Bench Press -	5 x 5	1 x 5
Dumbbell Shoulder Press -	1 x 5	5 x 5
Lateral Raise -	1 x 15	1 x 15

Day 3 - Thursday

Exercise	Weeks 1 & 3	Weeks 2 & 4
Squat -	5 x 5	1 x 5
Leg Curl -	1 x 5	5 x 5
Calf Raise -	5 x 5	1 x 5

Day 4 - Friday

Exercise	Weeks 1 & 3	Weeks 2 & 4
Close Grip Bench Lockouts* -	1 x 5	5 x 5
Pushdowns* -	5 x 5	1 x 5
Seated Dumbbell Curls -	1 x 5	5 x 5

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Cardiovascular Endurance

                         Cardiovascular Endurance

Cardiovascular endurance is the most important aspect of fitness. It is basically how strong your heart is, which can potentially add years to your life. The heart is the most important muscle in the human body and if it is kept healthy then you can avoid numerous health problems. Another reason that cardiouvascular endurance is important is because your heart controls the oxygen flow to all your muscles - meaning cardiovascular health has a direct impact on your performance, both endurance and strength wise.     The reason your cardio performance can be improved is because the heart is a muscle, and like all other muscles in the body if you keep working it it will adapt to the workload given. This allows us to have direct control of how healthy one of the most important systems in our body is. But keep in mind there are other factors that effect heart health, such as cholesteral, and blood pressure. Eating right and exercising will ensure that your heart becomes, and remains, healthy throughout your life.     Many people are suprised at how easy it is to improve their cardiovascular endurance. All it takes is 15 minutes of exercise while in your target heart rate, 3 times a week. Although this isn't the most effective way out there, it is a quick convenient way to get into better shape and is definitely perfect for a beginner. Depending on the cardiovascualr exercise, it may also improve muscular endurance. Below is a chart that you can use to find your target heart rate, and a basic exercise program for cardiovascular training. Beginner's Cardiovascular Training Program Day Exercise#1 Exercise#2 Exercise#3 1 Treadmill 15-20min- light jog to run Rowing Machine 15-20min- quick pace Push-ups 3 sets of max # of reps 2 Cardio Bike 15-20min- medium to quick pace Chin-ups 3 sets of max # of reps Step Machine 15-20min- quick pace 3 Treadmill 15-20 min- light jog to run Skipping Rope 10-15min- fast pace Tricep Dips 3 sets of max # of reps This program should be carried out over a week long period and can also be used for muscular endurance.

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What is Resistance Exercise?

Resistance exercise is also known as strength training, and it is performed to increase the strength and mass of muscles, bone strength and metabolism. It is important for you to gain sufficient muscle strength, because it can help you perform daily activities with ease. Resistance exercise stimulates the development of small proteins in muscle cells, which will in turn enhance your muscles' ability to generate force.

Benefits of Resistance Exercise

Resistance exercise can benefit your body in many ways. It can bring about an increase in the levels of high-density lipoprotein, or good cholesterol, and this will contribute to better cardiovascular health. It also affects your body composition in a positive way. Since muscles can burn calories, an increase in muscle mass will reduce body fat and enhance your metabolic rate. As such, resistance exercise is an effective way to lose and maintain weight.

It is also known that resistance exercise can increase the amount of bone minerals in your body, and this can make you less susceptible to osteoporosis. If you are above the age of 35, your body will experience gradual loss of muscle mass, and you will become weaker as you grow older. If you perform resistance exercise on a regular basis, you can slow down the loss of muscle mass. In a study, men and women who were in their 70s and 80s underwent resistance training for 10 weeks, and researchers noticed that their muscle strength, agility and mobility had increased dramatically after the training. Many physicians order their elderly patients to do-resistance exercise at least two times a week. 

Studies have also shown that resistance exercise may be more effective than aerobic exercise in improving body image and self esteem. One reason for this is that resistance training provides more immediate results. After training for a short period of time, you will notice that your muscles have grown and become more toned.

The Resistance Workout

Usually, a resistance workout is made up of several different types of exercises. These are mostly performed on exercise machines that are specifically designed for building certain muscle groups. A typical workout lasts for about half an hour, and you can do just one or several sets of each exercise. In one set of exercise, you can do 8 to 15 repetitions. If you want to see growth in muscle strength and mass within a shorter time, it is recommended that you perform two or three workouts every week. You will see the most improvement in the first few months of training.

Resistance Exercise Methods

There are basically three different ways to do resistance exercises, and they are weight machines, free weights and callisthenics. When you are using weight machines, you can choose the weight you want to lift by adding or removing plates, but your movements will be dictated by the machines you use. On the other hand, free weights allow you to determine and control the position of your body when you are lifting weights. Callisthenics are performed without the use of weights, and they include exercises such as push ups, sit ups and chin ups. In these exercises, your body weight acts as the resistance force.

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