How to Build Endurance: What is endurance? 

In general, endurance is the ability to continue doing something for a longer period of time. If you would like to build endurance in something, you would like to be able to do more of it without becoming fatigued. If you’re wondering how to build endurance, read on below. 

Why would you need to build endurance? Perhaps you get winded more quickly than you would like to on a hike, or you would like to be able to carry your gear further without feeling the pain in your shoulders and back. If you want to be able to do the things you love for longer comfortably, you’re probably wondering how to build endurance. 

It is important to remember that how to build endurance for you will depend on your goals. If your goal is running for longer, your workout will look different than someone who has a goal of completing more repetitions with weights. With that being said, there are some general rules that can be applied when it comes to building endurance.

How to Build Endurance: General Endurance Advice

When it comes to the question of how to build endurance, there are a few general principles to follow. 

1. Use more repetitions and less strain: 

In general, by reducing the difficulty of the action, you will be able to do more of it. The goal of endurance workouts is volume, not intensity. This means that you should focus on completing more of whatever it is you are trying to build your endurance at, rather than trying to be intense when you do it. Don’t use the heaviest weights you can lift, or complete the most strenuous hike you can think of. Focus on relatively easier things that probably take more time to make you feel tired. 

 

1. Be consistent with your goals and workouts:

If you want to focus on building endurance, it might not be the best time to focus on getting faster or lifting heavier weights. If you’re wondering how to build endurance, it is probably time for you to think about your goals, and really evaluate if building endurance is the goal you would like to set for yourself. Before deciding on any specific goal, it is important to remember you will need to be prioritizing in order to achieve it. Consistent work, and consistently reaching for the same goal, will pay off over time. If you lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve, or if you try to accomplish too much in a certain amount of time, you might feel overwhelmed or discouraged. To build endurance, you will have to prioritize this as your goal when you’re working out. 

 

Building Running Endurance

If you are thinking of how to build endurance in running, first you probably need to slow down. I would be the first to tell you that slowing down can be difficult, but it’s also the best way to increase your endurance. If you slow down, you can run for longer and go further. Learning how to build endurance in running means taking it slow some of the time, since increasing distance and increasing your time spent actually running are keys to increase running endurance. 

For specific advice on how to build endurance running, be sure to focus on your weekly long runs. These will be your most important run for the week when your goal is to increase mileage, distance, and comfort while running further. Most weeks that you run, increase the number of miles of your weekly long run, but never increase it more than 10%. Any more than 10%, and you become much more likely to injure yourself. While it may seem beneficial to increase your weekly milage by more than 10%, especially if you’re feeling good, but impatient with your progress, it isn’t worth it. Any injuries you sustain from doing too much will likely cause you to take time off of running entirely, which is certainly no way to build your running endurance! 

This leads to another tip for how to build endurance running: expect it to take a while to build your endurance. Being mentally prepared for this to be a long-term goal, rather than an easy thing accomplished after only a few workouts, will help you stick to your long runs. If you go into building your endurance with the expectation that it will be easy, or won’t require much commitment, you’ll be disappointed with your lack of progress. You will have to spend more time running, which will mean you will need to prioritize this goal over the other time demands in your life. If you’re expecting this to be the case, you won’t be as disappointed when you have to skip dinner with friends or go to sleep a little earlier than you used to so you can wake up and run. 

Finally, if you need to walk during your longer runs, that’s OK! While pushing through discomfort will be an important part of your endurance training, you must also remember that walking is a legitimate strategy for making it further. Some runners even use it to make it through marathons. Personally, I tend to walk when I reach steep hills during long runs, since running up hills is a great speed workout, but will quickly drain your energy on a long run. 

 

Building Hiking Endurance

To build hiking endurance, you first need to evaluate what you are trying to accomplish: Would you like to be able to hike a further distance, or be able to go a similar distance, but with more weight, or more comfortably? What part of your body starts to bother you first when you’re hiking? If you’re really looking to be able to carry more, and hike more comfortably, you might be trying to build muscular endurance. If you’re thinking of the pain in your shoulders and back as you take a long hike, I would encourage you to also take a look at the “Building Muscular Endurance” section of this article, below, for specific tips on increasing the distance you’ll be able to hike before your muscles start to hurt. 

Another common issue for people when hiking is feeling out of breath after some time. This indicates a lack of cardiovascular endurance. To build cardiovascular endurance, consider trying other types of exercise in addition to hiking. It can be difficult to get out on the trails as often as you would need to to make significant progress in this goal, so using alternative methods of training can be extremely effective. 

For people prone to injury or just starting out in their fitness journey, I recommend spending time on the elliptical to help build up time spent exercising. Specifically, be sure to add some resistance while working out. This will help make sure you are also building some muscle while working on your cardiovascular endurance. 

On the other hand, if you are already somewhat experienced with fitness but would like to take hiking a step further, I recommend running. Running is one of the best exercises for fitness, especially when you are training for load-bearing exercises. It builds muscle and cardiovascular endurance. It is also extremely functional, translating well to hiking. (On a side note, swimming is great, too, but it doesn’t work out your joints in the same way. This is perfect for injury-prone people, but doesn’t translate as well when you’re working on the functional fitness necessary for hiking. Most people also don’t have easy access to a pool for their routine.) 

You might say, “..But if I am out of breath hiking, how can you ask me to run?!” This is a fair question. If you’re wondering how to build endurance with running, start slow and with a shorter distance compared to how far you would normally hike. You will have to be gradual when building up the number of miles you are running, especially if you are relatively inexperienced. Run slowly and don’t run as far as you hike, and you will eventually build up the cardiovascular endurance to hike further. Compared to hiking, running is more intense, so it will force your heart and lungs to become more efficient even at shorter distances. 

If you are wondering how to build endurance in hiking further distances, an obvious option will be to hike more. Increasing your distance will allow your body to adapt to spending more time on your feet. Even if you can’t hike far currently, take the time to hike more often. This will still increase your total distance, and will help you build up the mileage you need to become better at shorter distances. 

 

Building Muscular Endurance

If you’re just wondering how to build muscular endurance, if your muscles might be the first to become tired when you’re hiking, using weights might be your best option. Even if you don’t have access to a gym currently, you can use bodyweight exercises to help your body get used to carrying an increased weight over longer distances. Even if you’re just carrying your water over a few miles, your body might need to adapt for you to become comfortable while hiking. 

The muscles you would like to focus on depends on which muscles start to hurt first while you are hiking. Most commonly, that would be your shoulders or your legs.

If your shoulders start to bother you first, you should spend time strengthening your shoulders. This seems obvious, but you must do this deliberately and with a focus on endurance, rather than lifting a heavy weight. Perform more repetitions and a few extra sets compared to what you are capable of when it comes to heavy lifting. If you need to reduce the mount of weight you are lifting, that is fine! Just make sure you are performing at least 4 sets of at least 12 repetitions. You should be extremely tired by the end of the of the 12 repetitions, especially for the last two sets. If you aren’t, then you aren’t doing enough weight. It won’t be enough to help you be more comfortable while hiking. If you can comfortably lift your arms to wash your hair post-workout, you aren’t lifting enough weight. 

If your legs bother you before anything else, you should work on the muscular endurance for your legs. To increase performance, be sure to perform many repetitions over a longer period, and the time between sets should be more than what you would do otherwise. This should be necessary for your muscles to recover. If it isn’t, you don’t have enough weight. 

By focusing on taking more time to complete the repetitions, you will be able to teach your muscles to perform better over longer periods of time. This is the goal if you are trying to get better at hiking. It will, long-term, help you be more comfortable while you’re hiking. 

Overall

The most important thing to remember when you’re wondering how to build endurance is to go low and slow. This means that you need to take the time to build the endurance. The goal is to stay at the maximum weight you are able to sustain over a longer period of time. This will help you build the endurance necessary, regardless of which type of endurance you are missing. 

Another key aspect of how to build endurance, or any other physical goal you have, is consistency. If you work at it every day, or close to every day, you will be far more likely to see real progress. Continuing to push through obstacles and keeping your goals in mind, even when you would rather be doing something else, is essential for building endurance.