To increase your stamina, you need to have a working definition of what it is. The easiest way to understand stamina in relationship to running, according to Steve Stonehouse, NASM-CPT, USATF certified coach, director of education for STRIDE, is to think of it as your body’s ability to sustain effort for a long period of time.
1. Start slow and tackle small steps
Even if you feel ready to bump up your distance or speed, it’s a smart idea to go slow and aim to make incremental gains in your training program. This is especially true if you’re new to a regular running schedule.
If you’ve been averaging 4-mile runs, don’t bump it up to 7 miles. To avoid injury and burnout, go up in small steps, such as increasing by 1 mile each week.
2. Add strength training
If you’re not already doing resistance training workouts, then you need to add them to your running program.
Performing strength training exercises at least 2 to 3 days a week can help improve running economy, according to a review of literature from the National Strengh and Conditioning Association.
Plus, increasing the strength of all of your muscles helps reduce your chance of getting injured. Aim for full-body workouts that target the major muscle groups. Perform 2 to 3 sets per exercise, 8 to 12 repetitions per set.
3. Commit to training
You have to be consistent with your training to increase running stamina.
“Training needs to progress from less total training and less intense training to more total training volume and more intense sessions,” says Harrison.
If your running workouts don’t progress in volume or intensity over the course of months, there will be no progression.
4. Alter rest times and intervals
Other than simply increasing the number of miles you run each week, Stonehouse says he likes to limit recovery time between intervals, while also increasing the intensity of the running intervals. Both are great steps toward building stamina.
However, he does point out that the recovery period both during the workout and after is critical, especially when it comes to avoiding injuries.
5. Sprint interval training
Sprint interval training is a type of high-intensity training used in many sports like running to help boost stamina and speed.
In fact, a 2017 studyTrusted Source found that six sessions of sprint interval training improved the running performance, both endurance and anaerobic, in trained runners.
The intervals of work performed are at 100 percent of your effort, or all-out sprints. The rest periods are longer to help with recovery.
Livingston Gardens Apartments
North Brunswick, NJ