Fitness is more than just eating healthy food and maintaining a balanced diet. It also entails your physical fitness in terms of strength, flexibility, stamina, and endurance. No matter what physical activity it is, such as sports, gym workouts, dancing, swimming, etc., stamina will definitely help you.
Stamina is a crucial element for most kinds of physical activities. Let’s find out how to increase stamina.
What Is Stamina?
Stamina refers to the energy and strength that helps you sustain physical or mental effort over a prolonged period. It is beneficial to work on your stamina as it can help you endure certain discomforts or stress during physical activity. It also minimises the fatigue you experience. Having great stamina allows you to function at a higher level with less energy.
How to Increase Stamina?
Here are some great tips that will help increase your stamina:
1. Exercise
Studies have shown that participants experiencing fatigue from work showed an improvement in their energy levels after 6 weeks of exercise. They were able to improve their productivity, sleep quality, as well as cognitive functioning.
2. Yoga and Meditation
Yoga is an age-old solution to most of life’s woes. Yoga and meditation have the power to increase your stamina and help you handle stress. As per studies, those who attended yoga and meditation classes were able to see an improvement in their stress levels and wellbeing. They also experienced a higher endurance and less exhaustion.
3. Music
There are some studies that have shown how music improves cardiac efficiency. Some people have experienced a lowered heart rate while listening to music during exercise. Less effort goes into exercising when listening to music.
4. Caffeine
Caffeine helps to boost your energy, especially when you are feeling tired. Hence, drinking coffee an hour before working out may help you work out without increasing your heart rate. However, you must not rely completely on caffeine as you can build a resistance to it. Moreover, you must avoid caffeine which has a lot of sugar mixed with it.
How to Increase Stamina for Running?
If you want to become a runner, this is how to increase stamina for running:
1. Consistency
You must have a regular schedule. Whether it is every day or thrice a week, ensure you are consistent with your efforts. Inconsistent efforts will lead to no growth.
2. Gradual Increase
We often get excited and throw ourselves in, only to realise it was all too much for us. It is best to start slow and then build your way up. Do something manageable, and then start pushing your limits. This will allow your body to adapt to the training.
3. Long Runs
Pick one of your workout days to do a slightly longer run than your usual. This extra push will help you to improve your endurance and stamina.
4. Speedwork
Once you get used to your activity level, you might feel stagnant. At this point, it may help to add some speed work to your routine. Running faster will help to improve your VO2 max, thereby making it easier for you to run at a slower speed.
5. Fuel Yourself
Fuelling yourself well applies to all kinds of workouts. If you feel tired easily, you probably did not eat well enough. You must have a healthy, well-balanced diet that will provide you with energy for physical activity. Eating carbohydrates before a workout will help give you energy.
How to Increase Stamina at Home?
If you don’t like the gym or don’t have enough time to get there, you can still work on your stamina at home. Here are some easy exercises on how to increase stamina at home:
1. Jumping Jacks (30 reps)
This exercise helps build your endurance as you physically exert yourself against the force of gravity. Ensure you are light on your feet and keep your knees slightly bent to take the impact of the jumps.
2. Kangaroo Jumps (10 reps)
This exercise helps build your endurance. Don’t hunch your back. Soften your knees as you land back down.
3. Travelling push-up (6 reps)
This is a bodyweight exercise that helps blood circulation in the body. This is an important element in building stamina. Your core must be engaged during the entire workout, and your back should be straight.
How to Increase Stamina by Food?
Physical fitness also entails eating well. This is because what you eat will either give you energy or make you feel lethargic. Here are some foods that will help increase your stamina:
1. Brown Rice
Brown rice is a great pre-workout food since it has a high complex carbohydrate level that slowly releases energy into the blood. This helps maintain optimal energy levels throughout the entire day. Brown rice has lower starch and more fibre than white rice. This keeps you feeling full for longer.
2. Eggs
Eggs are high in protein, which is necessary for stamina, energy, repairing muscles, and improving endurance. The amino acid leucine found in eggs helps to boost your energy metabolism and protein synthesis. Moreover, eggs contain all nine essential amino acids, making them a great energy source.
3. Fatty Fish
Fatty fishes are a great source of protein, fatty acids, and vitamin B. These nutrients help keep you energised, improves energy metabolism, reduces fatigue, and improves stamina.
How to Increase Stamina for Exercise?
Let’s look at some easy tips on how to increase stamina for exercise.
1. Warm-up
The most important aspect of any physical activity is warming up. This will loosen your muscles so that you can perform optimally. It would also lessen your chances of injury.
2. Breathing
This might seem silly, but many people forget to breathe while working out. We need oxygen to spread through our bodies while we work out. This is hard to do if you are holding your breath. Not breathing properly will only make you feel tired faster. Breathing properly will only increase your stamina and endurance.
3. Walking/Jogging
Walking or jogging is also an aerobic exercise that improves muscle, bone, and cardio-muscular strength. Being able to jog for a prolonged period will help improve your stamina.
How to Increase Stamina for Football?
Coming to a whole new ball game, football requires tons of technique and great fitness. Stamina plays a huge role in the success of a game. This is how to increase stamina for football:
1. Cardiovascular Exercises
Aerobic exercises such as swimming, running, jumping rope, cycling, etc., are all great exercises to boost stamina. Do any of these for at least 30-60 minutes a day.
2. Circuit Training
Weight-based circuit training such as lunges, jump squats, push-ups, etc., help to improve muscle strength, thereby improving endurance. Do 10 such workouts for 1 minute each.
3. Plyometric Exercises
Quick, explosive movements such as one leg jumps, burpees, stair hops, etc., help to increase energy and endurance. Add some of these exercises to your regular routine. Adding weights to them can be even more beneficial.
4. Stretching
Many people forget to stretch, but it is so important. Dynamic stretching before a workout and static stretching after a workout can help build your stamina and prevent injuries.
5. Sprinting
There are times when you might need to sprint during a football match. Hence, it is important to train in sprinting as well. Perform a cycle of 15-20 yards of sprinting daily. You can also add resistance through weighted pants or vests to push yourself.
Yoga to Increase Stamina
There is nothing yoga can’t help with. You can even do yoga to increase stamina. Here are some asanas that can help.
1. Naukasana/Navasana or Boat Pose
This asana requires tons of focus, ultimately improving stamina.
- Lie down straight on a mat.
- Lift your legs to a 45-degree angle and reach your arms towards your knees.
- Your legs and back should be straight.
- Hold for a few seconds and lower yourself back down.
2. Balasana or Child Pose
This is a very easy asana that gives you a boost of energy if you are feeling fatigued.
- Kneel down on your mat and rest your buttocks on your ankles.
- Fold your body over your legs.
- You can keep your hands straight in front or by your side.
- Sink into the pose and hold till you feel better.
3. Setu Bandhasana/Setu Bandha Sarvangasana or Bridge Pose
This asana increases blood circulation to your muscles, eases stress and calms the brain, all of which helps build your stamina.
- Lie down on your back. Place your feet a fist distance from your buttocks.
- Push your pelvis to the ceiling. Push your feet into the floor to support yourself.
- Hold for a few seconds, and then slowly lower yourself to the floor.
How to Increase Stamina for Swimming?
Swimming as a sport is not easy to do. You must have great lung capacity and stamina to swim. This is how to increase stamina for swimming:
1. Cross-training
This will help you prevent injury and improve your fitness levels. Cross-training is an active recovery tool. It helps you gain speed and stamina for swimming without overburdening your muscles. You can start cross-training by adding some upper body, back, and core exercises to your strength training routine.
2. Swimming Drills
You can improve your speed and stamina through swimming drills. This allows you to break down your swimming stroke and focus on a couple of elements at a time. This helps you to isolate different muscle groups and better understand different movement patterns. This will make you a better swimmer overall. It will gradually help you to become a better swimmer with better stamina. You can start with a beginners’ drill. Do at least 1-3 drills during your training sessions.
3. Increase Distance and Lower Reps
You need not necessarily increase your daily total swimming distance to improve stamina. Switching up your sets can also help when you increase your training load. This way, you would be swimming the same distance but still working on your endurance. You can even choose to increase the distances you swim but lower the repetitions.
Tips to Increase Stamina
If you are looking to work on your overall fitness, you can do tons of things to improve your stamina and fitness. Here are some tips to increase stamina:
- Long walks are a type of LISS exercise that is as effective as HIIT in building stamina.
- Walking/running on hills or stairs are aerobic activities that strengthen your muscles and build endurance.
- Running intervals is a high-intensity training method that increases stamina by improving your aerobic capacity.
- Increasing distance or time of workouts helps you to push yourself to the next level of your fitness, thereby encouraging better stamina.
- High volume weightlifting builds cardiovascular strength, which is vital to endurance.
- Isometric exercises help increase stamina because holding the muscle contraction results in the muscle tissue filling with blood, thereby creating metabolic stress on the muscle.
- Resting or meditating is important. Your muscles need time to recover and heal in between workouts.
What Reduces Stamina?
Having an unhealthy lifestyle can greatly impact your stamina. Your fitness and health play a big role in your strength, flexibility, and stamina. Not eating a balanced diet, not exercising enough, and bad habits like smoking decrease your stamina and overall health. Exercise is not enough to build your fitness. You should have a holistic approach to your fitness.
Foods to Avoid to Increase Stamina
If you wish to preserve your stamina, avoid these foods:
1. Alcohol
Alcohol messes with your nervous system, which is responsible for the activation and coordination of muscle fibres. It slows you down and dehydrates you.
2. Fried food
Fried foods have a high-fat content, making them harder for our body to digest. This makes us feel heavy and lethargic. Never eat fried food before working out.
3. Milk
Milk has a certain level of sugar that takes longer to digest. It might result in indigestion if you consume it before working out.
Summing Up on How to Increase Stamina
Improving your stamina can only do you good. It is an essential element of your overall fitness. If you eat right, work out to build your stamina and practice good lifestyle habits, you will enjoy a better quality of life overall.
FAQs
How Can I Improve My Fitness?
The best way to improve your fitness is by eating a balanced diet, exercising daily, sleeping well, hydrating yourself regularly, and motivating yourself to be consistent.
Which Juice Is Good for Your Stamina?
You can try beetroot juice, melon-papaya juice, and kale-apple juice for better stamina.
Which Fruit Is Best for Stamina?
The best fruit to eat would be a banana. It has all the essential vitamins and minerals and gives you a great energy boost.
What Are Signs of Low Stamina?
If you feel easily tired after a little exertion, it means you have low stamina. In general, this means you have low energy or focus.
References
- R. Archana, May 2016; Beneficial Effect of Preferential Music on Exercise Induced Changes in Heart Rate Variability - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4948383/
- Lona Prasad, December 2016; Medical Students' Stress Levels and Sense of Well Being after Six Weeks of Yoga and Meditation - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5174168/
- Juriena D de Vries, March 2017; Exercise to reduce work-related fatigue among employees: a randomized controlled trial - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28323305/
