The best way to build up stamina

[TheOrange 0]

I want to know good ways to build up "stamina". A bit of a vague word perhaps, but I just don't seem at the moment to be able to improve my fitness levels and if anything I seem to be not able to run as much as I did 5 months ago. But I want to. I need some kind of stamina build up and interested in ideas as to what I can do.

 

(Swimming is out, by the way)

[damian 0]

Self administered Electro Therapy.

 

Or, lots of sprints with a slow jog then a sprint, then a slow jog. Repeat until you vomit. I think it is called fartlek (sp?). Do lots of jogging with sprint bursts and you will build up heaps of stamina reserves. You will soon amaze yourself when you tap into a pocket of stamina that you never used to have.

 

Boxing exercise is also very good. Get a trainer with some hand pads and he will run you through some workouts that should help. I used to do lots of this outdoors with a small group. We would belt the crap out of each others hand pads then do stair sprints. Good for stamina.

 

Or try short uphill bursts with a cool off breather, then another uphill sprint.

 

I have also started taking the stairs. Stairs are great. My train station has an emergency exit that consists of a spiral stair case of 320 steps. I climb them every evening on my way home from work. This kind of muscle and cardio shock after a dull train ride sets the mind and body up to always carry some reserve stamina, at least that is my theory.

 

Also, get a dog! They never stop running, literally never and are a great companion to keep up the pace. Me and my hound run for sometimes more than 2 hours just zigzagging all over the bushland. You can deplete the sense of running boredom by having no set route, just run and duck and weave between the trees whilst jumping logs and crossing huge mud patches and creeks. If you see a good muddy track then veer off and go down there. Also, get some mega trail shoes (Salomon makes great ones) with support and watch your ankles. If your heart starts to thump too much just back it right off to a super slow jog and pick it up again once you have regained some strength. Also try running in the rain. It seems to help with drive and ambition to keep going.

[indosnm 0]

Good question!

As Dear Brits told you fartlek is a good thing, especially if you are just doing endurance work ( wouldn't reccom it for anyone that has just started running). Also what may be wrong with you is lack of variation. Mix it up so that you are always running a different course and at different speeds etc.

 

I have to increase my "endurance & Stamina" if i will be able to pass my 3rd Dan next year, as i will be required to fight more rounds. For that I will be doing long distance running and some fartlek as well as my heavy gym routine added with some extra exercises on the sandbags to keep my speed up.

 

It will be interesting to see if i actually do what I plan to!

 

Good luck fruity one!

[Stefan 0]

Orange

 

I've recently taken up Muai Thai (sp) Kickboxing and I've(having been a regular gym fanatic) found it very punishing! It really helps improve stamina and especially breathing as I have to use muscles that I never new existed!

 

On another note, you may want to try swimming, which is a great way to improve stamina and control breathing.

[indosnm 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by TheOrange:

(Swimming is out, by the way)

[blinkin'ek 0]

Yes, mix it up dude.

How is the jogging going?

 

Good luck!

[Yuki's Passion 1]

have you tried viagra

 

goin ta Kembys tomorrow night orange, if youre in town stop in. were havin a party there...

[TheOrange 0]

No need for viagra, thanks.

 

Thanks for the other comments. Got to admit I find it hard changing my jogging habits, and the routine when I'm out there. Changing speeds and the like takes it out of me way to easy. (I suppose thats the whole point!)

[damian 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by TheOrange:
Got to admit I find it hard changing my jogging habits, and the routine when I'm out there.

Which is exactly why stamina is not improving. Muscle (and emotional/mental commitment) will always try to find the path of least resistance to get a job done, that is, it will hang onto routine to avoid any shock.

You need to break the routine.

[TheOrange 0]

Yeah, I kinda know that. It's just difficult.

[damian 0]

You need to find some anger, then channel that anger into the muscle. Pretend your burning legs and lungs are your ex GF who 'made love' some big black guy. Then take out all that anger on your pain. You have to hate the muscle and punish it.

 

Some people enjoy a positive approach to training as well. Identify what you are running for and then dream it as you train. Live it 100 times in your head with each training session and the pain will seem like nothing as it just gets washed away in the imaginary glory of reaching your goal. That goal could be beating up the black guy, or it could be hiking a stunning peak and free riding down and then doing it one more time.

 

You gotta have a goal man.

[rach 1]

What's Crystal Palace's goal this season?

[damian 0]

To beat ManU on the 18th.

[slow 0]

I need to build up stamina for this winter, too.

I don't run but swim, so I'll change my swimming menu. I swim at least 1.5km but need to use my muscle more, so I'll mix full speed swim and long distance swim. Uhhhh... sounds tiring but Gambarimasu!!

[damian 0]

Slow - tie a really thick sock around each ankle, or perhaps a big woolly scarf on each one. That adds weight and drag. As your legs tire (and strengthen) you will be forced to use your arms/shoulders/pecs more to generate speed. This is not a recognised training technique, but one I used for a while to make things harder, shorten the training and add variety and intensity to the session.

 

Another suggestion that I loved: do alternate laps above and below. Start of going across the pool (25m) as it will be easier. The idea is to swim one normal lap, then one below the water holding your breath. One great bit of variety and challenge is doing the distance below the water on one breath. This adds another cool dimension which is after a below surface lap the above water lap feels like a 'breath of fresh air'. You will become addicted to the underwater distance challenge yet really appreciate the above water breathing break. Suddenly what was once mundane freestyle lap becomes a pleasure. Once that becomes easy (which may take a while) you can go for a normal lap of 50m underwater. This is easier than you think. Swim on the bottom of the pool as it minimises lung pressure. Do long slow and determined strokes, stay very calm, stop all un-needed body movement to save oxygen...... and enjoy the remaining sweet oxygen that you have. Be very careful though as the last 20m will seem easy.... and that is because you are gently starting to asphyxiate (which induces a warm feeling of well being and superhero).

 

This is a great way to introduce a new style of water training that will add training diversity and require mental effort over muscle power. It also breaks routine. Once again, be careful as it is not a sensible thing to do without precaution and understanding of the slight risk.

[NoFakie 45]

I think "not using your muscles" is the basic goal of swimming. The activity is 70% technique and only 30% strength. You shouldn't sacrifice technique to make it harder. The most important thing is to stay balanced and minimize drag to get the most out of each stroke.

 

"Fitness is something that happens to you while you're practicing good technique"

 

That's the mantra of swimming coach Terry Laughlin. There's lots of info on his website.

 

http://www.totalimmersion.net/index.html

 

I hike uphill with a weighted pack, btw

[NoFakie 45]

Orange

 

Did you get a heart rate monitor? Without objectively measuring the level of your training, it's hard to know where you're going wrong. You may be overtraining already.

 

Aside from exercise, look at whether you're getting proper rest and nutrition, or whether psychological factors are creeping in.

 

If you want "stamina" to run further, you should jog/walk further. Marathon runners don't run 8km fartlek all the time. They have to put hundreds of km, much of it in LSD (long, slow distance) mode. What fartlek does is it trains you to run more intensely, i.e., faster. It also helps keep your training interesting by breaking it up.

 

Slow

 

If you're training for skiing, maybe look towards doing an activity that is closer to skiing than swimming. Perhaps rollerblading or ice skating. Strengthwise, high reps of unweighted squats will put a fairly similar load on your legs. If you can swim long distance, your core muscles (abs, back) will probably be pretty good.

 

Whatever you do, try to make it specific to what your goal is.

[damian 0]

Ever sensible MrW ( )is actually speaking more useful sense than me here. I should also have added that my "swimming" was designed to increase upper body endurance, lung capacity and underwater panic control, all for my surfing ambitions.

[indosnm 0]

reading Slows post I was also thinking that swimming is going to give minimal benefit to skiing/boarding fitness. I only ever do it if i am going on a surf trip ( whenever that is?)

 

As some have said slow, get on to the lower body exercises such as squats and even walking or running. legs legs legs"

[slow 0]

Thanks for those advice.

legs, legs, legs...

 

I used to ride a bicycle along the coast about 15km there and back when I go to my local swimming pool in Yokosuka. My parents house is located on the top of the hill and it was really good exercise for me. Maybe I will do this again here in Tokyo.

I RAN to the swimming pool once but I couldn't swim after running... I know I'm not good at running...

[js 0]

Like the others have said - depends on what you're aiming for ... assume it's for Riding?

 

Well, being a member of a few outdoor type clubs, I've found cycling and hiking (with a 40lb rucksack on) to be most the valuable.

 

(No, not a casual stroll along a track type hiking, I'm talking about weekend away stuff up in the mountains where using yours arms to climb is as necessary as your legs.)

 

Besides being in nice surroundings, the constant changes in grade/difficulty over various terrain improves all-round endurance whilst building up the muscle groups we're accustom to using on-snow.

 

Mental endurance is as important as physical stamina.

 

Don't forget - such exercises also strength those very important tendons/ligaments.

 

Supplementing this weekend activity with mid-week gym work will pay huge dividends.

 

Most importantly, give up the jogging - it is exceptionally bad for just about everything.

 

(For a full workout, and if possible, give caving a go - man, you'll discover muscles you never know you had!)

 

 

Good luck - and above all, have fun.

[Yuki's Passion 1]

 Quote:

Originally posted by SubZero:

Mental endurance is as important as physical stamina.

I remember the first time I ever heard that back in 1986(7). Of course I was just a wee lad back then but was really serious into racing, or trying to be like me pops. Anyways, was at the awards ceremony for the ironman triathlon in hawaii and Mark Allen who won it that year was giving a speech. He had a tremendous come from behind to beat Dave Scott that year and said something like "sports are 10% physical, 90% mental. Your body is not so smart and you can fool your body into doing almost anything if you have the mental strength to do it." Just a short summary of what he said but I never forgot it. Damn, he was a hellofua triathlete.

[HoTRoD 2]

Recently I've been mixing up the long walks, swimming, jogging and gym. It makes it more interesting if you mix it all up as well.

[slow 0]

Now I'm riding my road bike almost every weekend. I usually ride around 30km and I did 100km ride, Oshima ride (around 50km) twice, Miura ride (around 60km) twice this year. When I went to Oshima last weekend, I realized it was pretty easier to climb the hill than before. This might be because of mentality. But I really hope this will help me have good time on the snow in winter!!

[nzlegend 1]

Didnt see this thread till now!

 

http://www.fitnesssports.com/lyd_clinic_guide/Arthur%20Lydiard.pdf

 

Arthur Lydiard has some proven ideas on Stamina.

He was never a fan of too much anaerobic interval training or fartlek or whatevers its called, He believed its the reason why American middle distance runners arent so successful at the highest level.

Peter Snell the 800 and 1500m Olympic champ used to train with marathoners running 100miles a week a lot of it in the hills. gotta build up the aerobic.

You wont find too many Ethiopean and Kenyans doing lots of interval training.

 

 Quote:

People think lots of anaerobic training, like intervals, will make you a better runner," Lydiard says. "They go down to the local track and run around and around the track till [they] vomit. They don't understand that your anaerobic capacity is a limited factor. You can incur oxygen debt up to 15 to 20 liters, you can keep doing anaerobic training as much as you want—but it's physiologically impossible to make it any greater. So how do you improve your performance level? You've got to bring your aerobic base up. Each year you can improve your aerobic base with marathon type of training."