Coach answers: how do you pump up your endurance?

Today #TrainerAnswers one of the most popular questions – how to pump up endurance. World Class elite trainer Anton Kotov is once again an expert in this topic.

Very often people who work out in the gym forget about such an important thing as training their cardiovascular system (CVS). And after all, our well-being and progress in training will depend on how our heart works. It can even be said that the performance of the CCC can be used to determine the physical health of the body. If you realize that walking for 10 minutes or climbing the second floor is accompanied by the appearance of shortness of breath, then this is a sure sign to start paying attention to training the heart muscle.

Such workouts are most often associated with developing endurance. It is. Your stamina, “everyday” stamina included, will grow through exercise. This will be accompanied by an improvement in health and mood, a feeling of lightness, you will be more efficient and have more time.

We’ll look at three ways: cyclic aerobic training, circuit training, and high-intensity interval training. In the fitness community, these types of workouts are often referred to by the word “cardio.” There is logic in this, because in Latin cardio means heart, which is what we train in the first place.

Cyclic aerobic training

In such training, it is a matter of performing some repetitive movement within a certain interval of time. It is worth noting that the goal of any endurance exercise is to reach a certain heart rate and keep it there. Examples include walking on a treadmill, running, working on an elliptical machine or any other cardio equipment.

If you are just starting to exercise, I recommend starting with 20-minute sessions at 50-65% of your maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is determined by the formula max = 220 – age. Gradually, as you get used to the exercise, the duration and intensity of training can be increased.

Separately it is worth saying about running. Perhaps this is the most accessible type of activity. However, in some cases, it can do more harm than good. For example, if you are overweight, then jogging should be postponed until it returns to normal, because it can negatively affect the spine and knee joints. Also, if your heart rate rises to 80-90% of maximum during exercise, it is worth first preparing your body for such training by replacing running with fast walking. Although running is completely natural to our bodies as a movement, there are many nuances of technique that need to be learned. And this, of course, is where a qualified trainer will come to your aid.

Circuit training

For those who do not like to perform monotonous, monotonous work, this option will be the most preferable. This training consists of performing 3-6 circles consisting of 6-15 exercises. They are performed in a row with minimal rest time. You can choose exercises of both strength and functional orientation, and the time of work and rest can be regulated by intervals: for example, work – 45 seconds, rest – 15 seconds.

High-intensity interval training

The third method is ideal for those with limited time, but it requires a certain amount of training and is definitely not suitable for beginners. High-intensity interval training can be practiced by people with a medium to high level of training. It consists of alternating intervals of work with high and low intensity. They are selected depending on the goals of the exercise. For example, we can consider a workout consisting of 10 cycles. The interval of high intensity will last 1 minute, low intensity – 2 minutes. In total, we get a 30-minute workout. The energy expenditure of such a half-hour session can be equated to an hour-long cycle, which will also be relevant for those who are seeking to reduce weight or dry up.

It is important to remember that any workout should always start with a warm-up, which is usually in the format of low-intensity cyclic exercise, and end with a warm-up, for example, in the form of stretching.

It is worth dispelling the myth that endurance training will burn your muscles. In fact, a number of conditions must be met in order to build or break down muscle structures. Two of them are the presence of strength training in the training process and ensuring a surplus diet, i.e. you must consume more, or at least as many calories with food as you consume during the day, taking into account all physical activity. In most cases, muscle mass loss occurs precisely because these conditions are not met. So, if you consume enough calories, keep the same amount of strength training, and add aerobic activity, your muscles won’t go anywhere.

If you don’t have the ability to allocate time to go to the fitness club, you can develop endurance by simply maintaining daily movement activity in the format of walking. I recommend walking at least 10-12 thousand steps per day. If during the day you do not have time to “nashagaga” this amount, do not forget about the possibility of an evening walk, which will also favorably affect the quality of your sleep.