Stamina is the strength and energy that allow you to sustain physical or mental effort for long periods of time. Increasing your stamina helps you endure discomfort or stress while you're doing an activity. It also reduces fatigue and exhaustion. Having high stamina allows you to perform your daily activities at a higher level while using less energy.
So how do you increase your endurance and stamina? Try these tips...
Combine strength days with cardio days.
The more muscle you can get working, the more it will challenge your heart and your cardiovascular system. Instead of building cardio-only workouts, make sure you incorporate strength days into your training. Most people reserve one day for cardio and another day for strength. Try combining the two instead. For example, jump rope for 1 minute, followed by squats, an overhead press, and finally sit ups. Repeat.
Reduce your amount of rest between sets.
Recovery time between most sets is usually between 30 and 90 seconds. If your goal is greater endurance, be prepared to sacrifice break time. At the end of your sets, your muscles should be burning - you should be breathing heavy and sweating. Only take a break if you physically can not continue.
Do fast-paced, high intensity lifting.
When you lift weights at an extremely rapid pace, it will not only improve your strength but will also carry over to improve endurance. It is also one of the best ways to ignite your metabolism.
Choose compound movements over isolation.
Compound moves that require using more than one joint - like squats, step-ups, push-ups and pull-ups - will improve your endurance more so than exercise in isolation. Isolated movements such as bicep curls and leg lifts aren't going to stimulate you enough to increase your stamina.
Remember: Routine is the enemy.
Switching up your workout is essential to building endurance and stamina. The human body gets used to a workout after two weeks. So if your always running, try cycling. It's important to move muscles in a different way so you don't develop overuse. It also helps with motivation and allows the mind to keep guessing.
Go for hybrid exercises.
A hybrid exercise is taking two separate movements and combining them. A squat with an overhead press, jumping pull-ups, lunges with bicep curls are all great examples. The more muscles you can get working in a movement, the more it will stimulate your heart muscles, which in turn improves your stamina.
Add explosive movements to your workout.
Explosive movements that take a lot of energy challenge your strength, endurance and stamina simultaneously. Once you become more explosive, you'll notice that you'll actually start moving faster. Try adding things like burpees, box jumps, or knee tucks to your workout routine.