How to Build Exercise Endurance

Physical fitness is an incredibly rewarding aspect of a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, some exercisers reach a plateau and are unable to move beyond their daily routine. As a result, they get bored with exercise and slack off, skip days or even quit entirely. Building exercise endurance is the best way to maintain challenging workouts. Here are a few easy ways to get your body to keep on truckin'.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Go faster, harder and longer every time. Even if it's only by 30 seconds or 100 yards, pushing yourself beyond yesterday's limit is the fastest way to build exercise endurance. If increasing the difficulty of your exercise every workout is too much for your body, increase the challenge on a weekly basis.

2. Work on your heart rate. Exercise that encourages your heart to get pumping helps increase your physical stamina. Incorporate cardio routines into your weekly workouts. For example, walking is great exercise, but it doesn't cause your heart to beat much faster. A brisk walk or run is better.

3. Cross-train. You can build incredible exercise endurance by mixing up your routines. Doing the same thing every day is one of the main reasons people are unable to build endurance. Swim laps one day, play basketball the next day, and go for a long run on day three. Not only will this increase endurance, but it will also keep you in love with physical fitness.

4. Find the hills. Not only is flat land boring, but it doesn't always push you to work harder. You can run for miles on even land. Use hills in your outdoor workout or program them into the panel if you're using an indoor machine. And always remember to take the stairs instead of the elevator.

5. Cut the carbonation. Carbonated drinks like soda and fizzy water decrease your ability to get maximum breathing while exercising. You will not build endurance without plentiful oxygen and proper breathing.

6. Stretch. Your muscles will cramp and recoil if you don't stretch them out after physical activity. The more agility you have, the easier it is to build endurance.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't neglect eating right and drinking plenty of water. These are common pieces of advice for building exercise endurance. While they are easy to ignore, they are absolutely essential.

• Go to bed. Without enough sleep, your body will stall. You can't build exercise endurance on too little sleep, even if you're doing everything else right.