A beginner runner or gym-goer might think that stamina and endurance are like the same word, which refers to running or training for a long time.
But in reality, they’ve some differences.
Stamina is the amount of time our body can perform at or near-maximum level of work. In contrast, endurance refers to our body’s capability to perform an exercise or activity for an extended period.
Still unsure of the difference? Let’s read on to get a clearer look at stamina vs. endurance. And I’ll also share with you some effective tips to improve both.
Stamina vs. Endurance: Differences
In scientific terms, stamina is the body’s ability to deliver energy to the working muscles during an activity, and endurance is more about delivering oxygen.
Another way we can think about stamina vs. endurance: stamina is maximizing the output while performing an action, and endurance is about maximizing the time.
For example, activities that require stamina includes:
- 100 miter sprint.
- Resistance training with heavyweight and low reps (like 5-8 or less).
- Doing the maximum number of push-ups in a minute.
Whereas endurance activities include:
- Long-distance running (e.g., marathon).
- Performing strength training with lightweight and high reps (like 15-20).
There’re two main elements of endurance: cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance.
Cardiovascular endurance is our heart, lungs, and blood vessels’ ability to supply oxygen to the working muscles during physical activity.
Muscular endurance refers to our skeletal muscles or a specific muscle group’s capacity to endure a repetitive motion of an exercise for an extended period of time.
7 Tips to Increase Stamina and Endurance
If you’re not preparing for a specific event or sport, you can train for both stamina and endurance for optimal health.
Here’re the seven effective ways to improve both endurance and stamina.
1. Be Consistent
Consistent training is the key to building endurance and stamina. To improve your performance and aerobic capacity, first, you need to exercise regularly.
Consistent training increases our performance and strengthens our heart, lungs, and muscles capacity to do certain activities more efficiently.
In the beginning, our aim should be to train at least 150 minutes a week or 30–60 minutes for 3 to 5 days per week.
2. Train Strategically
Remember, time follows endurance, so we’ll keep increasing our running time and distance in order to improve our cardiovascular endurance and reps count for muscular endurance.
While for stamina, we’ll perform sprints combined with overload strength training (e.g., heavyweight with low repetitions).
Your weekly workout routine may include:
- 3-4 days of strength training
- 2-3 days of aerobic exercises
You can perform aerobic exercises to improve your stamina and endurance on two separate days in a week.
But in strength training, it would be better to work on one thing at a time for 2-3 months and then switch to another for the same period.
Remember, increasing the weights on the bar or running the extra miles is a gradual process. So, be patient and stay consistent with your training.
Related: The Perfect 3-Month Beginner Workout Plan
3. Do Exercises You Enjoy
Most people start their fitness journey with full motivation, but they lack motivation within a few weeks or even days, and they skip or quit working out.
Let me tell you, going to the gym, lifting weights, running on the treadmill is not the only option to become fit or increase stamina and endurance.
There’re lots of awesome exercises you can do, such as:
- Outdoor walking and running
- Cycling
- Dancing
- Swimming
- Playing games
- Bodyweight workouts and so on.
So, start exploring and start doing the activity you like most. Don’t make excuses.
4. Eat Right Foods
Eating an overall balanced diet or taking the right pre-workout meal can significantly increase your workout performance.
When we’re talking about improving endurance or stamina level, our primary focus should be taking 50% to 60% calories from carbs which is the main energy source of our body.
For a prolonged intensive workout, having complex or slow-digesting carbs can be beneficial to get the optimal energy throughout the session.
However, simple carbs like fruits can also be a great pre-workout meal.
Include these foods in your diet to improve endurance and stamina:
- Oatmeal
- Brown rice
- Barley
- Sweet potato
- Beans
- Kale
- Nut
- Peanut butter
- Quinoa
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lean meat
- Bananas
- Blueberries, etc
Remember, eating in the right window before a workout can also influence your workout performance. Make sure to eat foods that can digest your body before your session.
5. Add Yoga and Meditation
Okay, this might sound crazy, but there’s a correlation between yoga and meditation and your performance or ability to endure pain.
Yoga and meditation improve your focus and concentration and help increase your mental and physical capacity to handle intense workouts that build endurance and stamina.
A 2016 study has revealed that the medical students who participate in a six-week yoga and meditation program significantly reduce stress and improve feelings of peace, focus, and endurance.
6. Stay Hydrated
Staying hydrated is one of the crucial factors to keep your body energetic for a long-lasting activity, and it’s also crucial for our overall health.
Keep drinking some ounces of water throughout the day and especially during the session to increase your stamina and endurance for a prolonged training session.
Related: 9 BEST Things to Do Before a Workout for Performance
7. Recover Well
To speed up your progress, you need to give your body adequate time to recover.
When you challenge your physical capacity, your body needs adequate time to repair damaged muscle tissues and grow stronger.
Good recovery comes from a good diet with proper sleep.
Your aim should be to eat a quality post-workout meal (e.g., high protein with little carbs) within 30 minutes and focus on getting an overall healthy diet along with 7 hours of quality nighttime sleep.
Frequiently Asked Questions
Does endurance increase stamina?
Performing lengthy aerobic exercises or high repetition strength training regularly increases our heart, lungs, and muscles capacity, which build endurance.
And eventually, our body will become more efficient at producing a quick burst of energy or doing the pick level of activity for a certain period of time, which is stamina.
So, yes, it helps.
Which is better stamina or strength?
Muscular strength refers to the maximum amount of weight a muscle or group of muscles can withstand for a short period of time, and stamina is the amount of time your body can perform an activity at maximum capacity.
For example, an Olympic weightlifter is a strength-based athlete whose main focus is to do a single lift with maximum weight, where stamina is to perform more repetitions with the maximum weight or to run at a maximum speed for an extended period (e.g., sprinting).
Endurance and stamina training can help you increase the maximum oxygen uptake, whereas strength training has less benefit.
Also, endurance and stamina training may help decrease resting heart rate and blood pressure, while strength training has a little positive effect.
However, both can be effective in increasing metabolism and reducing weight. But strength training like single-repetition exercises can lead to higher blood pressure which might be dangerous if you have a cardiovascular problem.
Unless you’re a serious athlete, training for endurance and stamina might be a better option to get an overall healthy body rather than single repetition strength training.
Are Push Ups muscular strength or endurance?
As I mentioned before, muscular strength is the maximum amount of weight a specific muscle group can handle, and endurance is the maximum amount of time a group of muscles can perform a certain activity.
Push-up is a muscular endurance exercise because it’s a bodyweight movement and can be done with many repetitions in a single set.
You can also use it as a stamina-building exercise by challenging yourself, like how many push-ups you can do in one minute.
Conclusion
Unless you’re a serious athlete, most of us can balance out by training for endurance and stamina to achieve optimal performance and health.
Remember, building stamina or endurance is a slow process.
So, be patient and follow the above-mentioned ways or tactics, and eventually, you’ll start seeing some noticeable improvements.
If you have any questions regarding stamina vs. endurance, sound off in the comment section below. I’d be glad to help you out.
Read Next: How to Increase Stamina Naturally