An average, relatively in-shape runner can run 1 mile in roughly 9 to 10 minutes.
For anyone with an interest in fitness, this is probably not too impressive, but there is always a target to beat. Improving endurance is something that almost everyone strives for, and there are several ways to do it.
Keep in mind that average mile time depends on many factors such as your fitness level, age, weight, etc. But if you’re willing to do the work, you’ll, sooner or later, improve your endurance.
For a rundown on some of the best ways to improve your insurance, keep reading.
Interval Training
Exercise of any kind will provide health benefits, but you may want to focus on specific activities to improve endurance.
Heavy strength training is a great way to put on muscle and steady-state cardio helps to burn calories. Despite that, there are much more efficient ways of improving muscular strength and endurance.
Adding intervals to your workout should give your endurance a significant boost, with sprint intervals being very effective. If you regularly run, you could try changing your standard workout into several short stints of sprints.
Plenty of Rest
Many people overlook this, but it is one of the best ways to improve endurance. your body will always be able to work harder and longer if it is well-rested.
For most adults, this means getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night, and for athletes even more may be needed. Getting too little sleep does more than just make you tired. It can have a negative effect on your metabolism, appetite, and overall performance.
Balanced Diet
One of the most important factors of your physical performance is your diet. What you put in directly relates to what you get out.
You want to make sure your diet contains the appropriate nutrition, and this varies from person to person based on factors such as age, gender, height, weight, physical activity, and more.
Healthy carbohydrates are essential for improving endurance, and staying hydrated at all times is key. If you are exercising a lot (more than an hour at a time) you should consider adding electrolytes.
SARMs
SARMs (Selective androgen receptor modulators) are designed to help increase muscle mass and strength, improve recovery, and increase endurance and stamina. They have become very popular amongst athletes and bodybuilders in recent years.
There are other similar products available on the market. You can read about SR9009 vs. Cardarine which are technically not “real” SARMs but can have similar effects.
Workout Duration
This is perhaps the most obvious method of improving endurance. If you train yourself to work out for longer periods you will adapt to it. If you’re a runner, try extending the duration of your workouts to improve running endurance.
This could be by just a small time frame such as 5 minutes for a week. The next week you could take this to 10 minutes, or add 5 minutes to one of your other exercises. You can follow this strategy until you are at the point you want to be.
The Most Important Thing About Improving Endurance
All of the methods above, as well as many others, are great for improving endurance. The most important thing, however, is consistency. You can put all of these strategies into practice, but if you only do it for a week or two you won’t notice any difference.
Once you’ve decided how you are going to improve your endurance, stick to it, and you won’t be disappointed.
If you’re interested in reading more articles related to fitness, check out some of our other blog posts.
Wayne Probert is a senior reporter at Zobuz, covering state and national politics, and he is a grantee with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Before joining Zobuz, he worked as a freelance journalist in Kentucky, having been published by dozens of outlets including NPR, the Center for Media.
