Whether you’re training for a sport or because you want to be able to climb the stairs without gasping for breath, there are many reasons why you’d want to increase your stamina.

Stamina is often used interchangeably with endurance; both terms describe the ability of a person to maintain physical or mental activity for an extended period. 

Building stamina and endurance are beneficial to everyone, even if they’re not athletes or gym fanatics. Having more stamina helps you pursue a healthier and more fulfilling life. If that’s what you’re looking for, here are a few fitness tips to naturally increase your stamina. 

Train for Endurance

Obviously, there’s no way we’ll talk about fitness without mentioning exercise. However, the way you exercise plays a big role in how your stamina turns out; merely going to the gym won’t cut it. A great way to start your endurance journey is to take up cardiovascular training; it serves to condition your lung and heart functions while building overall endurance. When it comes to weight training, you’ll want to increase your reps to range between 12 and 16 reps x 3 sets and decrease your rest time between sets to range between 30 to 90 seconds. Over time, you should be able to decrease the rest time and increase the training intensity to challenge yourself. 

Balance Between Exercise and Rest

Increasing training intensity and reducing rest time are important tactics in building endurance, but you have to be aware of your body first. It’s important to give your body the rest time it needs for the muscles to recover and benefit from the training. Instead of going wild at the gym once a week, it’s much more effective to train more moderately for 3 to 5 days a week instead. Finding this balance is important to condition your body’s endurance, step-by-step, without suffering from a backlash or injury. 

Eat Healthily

Training your body is only one part of the equation. Any personal trainer will tell you that nutrition plays an even bigger role in fitness training. A balanced diet will help you maintain your fitness level while replenishing the energy you use up in your training. You can also take vitamins, protein, or ecdysterone supplements to optimize your diet and fulfill your nutritional needs. These supplements can boost your energy levels, help maintain proper physiological functions, and enhance the effects of your workout routine when it comes to building muscle mass and endurance. 

Stay Hydrated

You’ll be surprised when you know how every single cell in your body heavily relies on water to maintain proper functions. Don’t just drink water when you’re thirsty, that means you’re already dehydrated to some extent. A normal adult needs to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day, which increases with training or during hot weather. 

Train Your Brain

Finally, training your brain is just as important as training your body - if not more so. Training your mind to endure pain and push through your sets is the only way you can build physical stamina; you can’t be mindless about it. On the plus side, you’ll get to enjoy added mental health that positively affects different aspects of your life. In this way, your mental health won’t suffer.

In order to live a fulfilling life, you can’t neglect your physical and mental health. While there are a lot of factors that affect your overall wellbeing, starting with building more stamina can help boost both your physical and mental health greatly. To increase your stamina, you’ll need to train your body properly, eat healthily, stay hydrated, and exercise your brain as well.