Best Ways to Increase Speed and Endurance

Whether you are manifesting hope to bolt through the track on a casual Sunday morning or wanting to pucker your body up for your locality’s charity marathon, you need to better your endurance and speed. And, to do that you will need to refine your running mechanics and train exclusively for speed. Below are some basic things you can do to increase speed and endurance.

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Take one step at a time

You must call it a gradual adaptation to faster running. If you challenge yourself to a 5 km run when all these years you had been running 1.5 km, your legs will be in quicksand. So, get to the goal gradually and consistently. Even if you are a beginner, you must move gradually.

Combine strength training with cardio training

The more muscle you work, the more it will challenge your heart and cardiovascular health. Apart from dedicating certain days of your gym to just cardio, you should try to wave strength training into cardio-only days as well. For example, you can jump rope for a minute, follow it up with squats, then take up an overhead press and finally do sit-ups.

Reduce the amount of time you rest

If your goal is to have greater endurance, you should be prepared to give up your recovery time of 30 to 90 seconds between sets. By the end of the sets, you must be sweating and breathing heavily and nothing lesser. But, this does not mean you should struggle when you physically cannot go beyond a point; doing so is unhealthy and will be counter-productive. Take a break when you cannot do anymore.

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Choose compound movements over isolation

Compound moves need you to use more than one joint. Some of these include squats, push-ups, step-ups and pull-ups. These will improve your endurance more than isolated exercises.  Isolated exercises such as bicep curls as well as leg lifts are not going to stimulate the body enough to increase your stamina.

Always remember that your routine is your enemy

Switching the workout is very important for building one’s stamina and endurance. The human body tends to get used to a workout after two weeks. So if you have been running for two weeks, do something else next week. You will need to move your muscles in a different way every two weeks to increase your strength.

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