How To Build Stamina and Endurance: Simple Science, Easy Solutions

We can’t ignore it any longer: Cardio is so back. Strength training had its heyday throughout the 2010s, but there’s a growing trend in recent years of folks gravitating back to endurance training. 

You see it in Pilates classes and run clubs—sweat sessions are in right now. But what if you want to build stamina and endurance for health reasons, not just to flex on social media (hey, we do it too)? 

You need a simple, actionable guide that lays out the rules. Here’s everything you need to know about the differences between stamina vs. endurance, what goes into proper endurance workouts, and benefits beyond heart health. 

What Is the Difference Between Stamina and Endurance?

Before we break down how to increase stamina and endurance, we need to get on the same page about terms. Here’s the thing—accredited institutions like the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) clearly define endurance as: Your ability to maintain speed, pace, or cadence while performing an athletic task.

More specifically, cardiovascular endurance describes your heart’s ability to pump blood at a given rate without tiring. Muscular endurance refers to how long a muscle can perform complete repetitions before succumbing to local fatigue. 

That said, most organizations don’t formally recognize “stamina” as an athletic trait. Generally speaking, stamina and endurance describe the same thing. It’s also worth stating that you don’t need to run to improve stamina. Hitting the treadmill, or opting for the elliptical or air bike, will work just fine. 

How To Increase Stamina and Endurance

Building cardiovascular stamina and endurance on a treadmill or outdoors works differently than strength training. A powerlifter who can bench press 405 pounds has such an excess of strength that they can effortlessly bang out sets of 30+ with 135 pounds.

But your ability to sprint doesn’t automatically mean you can maintain a slow jog for a long time. Cardiovascular adaptations play by their own rules. 

How To Build Stamina for Running

Per the NSCA, the “most common type of training” for aerobic endurance involves:

• Moderate intensities (60 to 70% of VO2max)
• Distances in excess of the goal by at least 30 minutes, if training for a race

The major key? Proper endurance training, according to the NSCA, allows for “a relatively large training volume without imposing a high level of stress on the musculoskeletal system.” Put plainly—most of your endurance training should be easy.

While this guidance refers to a runner training for a specific goal, the same rules apply if you’re trying to build stamina or endurance for running in the first place. Strength athletes call it progressive overload; you might think of it as graded exposure. 

Frequent short walks amass the endurance needed to perform a few long walks. Build up your long walks and you have enough stamina to do a short jog. From there, do intervals alternating brief jogs with brisk walks. Over time, you’ll find yourself walking less and jogging more. 

So, what does this look like in practice? 

Endurance Workouts To Try

If you’re looking to get in better shape, you need the right workouts to increase endurance. However, a first-time runner shouldn’t train the same way as somebody with a few 5Ks under their belt. Here are two workouts to increase endurance for newbies and regular runners alike:

For Beginners 

The best long-distance runners in the world began walking (well, technically, crawling). If you’re trying to build up running stamina, you need a progression structure that is accessible and builds your base. Think low-stress, high-frequency.

How often to do it: 3-5x per week, depending on how you feel

• Warm-Up: 5 minutes brisk walk
• For 20 to 40 minutes: 5 minutes brisk walk, 30-60 seconds light jog
• Cool Down: 5 minutes leisurely walk

How to progress: Each session, or each week, shave down the amount of walking time until you approach a one-to-one ratio (one minute walking, one minute jogging). From there, start ramping up the jog times until you’re two-to-one or better. 

For Endurance Runners

Nailing those long runs is all about putting in the work elsewhere—laying bricks consistently that overprepare you for your next PB. Here’s something to try if you’re looking to bolster your aerobic capacity without smashing your body to bits.

How often to do it: 3-4x per week

• Warm-Up: 8-12 minutes light jog
• Set 1: 60 minutes jog at 65% VO2max
• Set 2: 3-4 rounds of 3-5 minutes at 80% VO2max with 2 minutes slow jog in-between

How to progress: Gradually add 3 to 5 minutes to Set 1 each week until you reach 90-100 minutes. 

Benefits of Building Stamina and Endurance

Stamina and endurance-based training being good for your heart isn’t classified intel. Most people, no matter their fitness goals, could do with a few more sweaty sessions each week. If you already know how to build cardio endurance, it pays to know your sweat equity. 

Better Quality of Life

Endurance training can improve not just your lifespan, but your healthspan—how late into life you maintain independence, mobility, and general fitness—as well. This is doubly true if you combine endurance and stamina workouts with strength training.

Improved Cognitive Function

True wellness means paying attention to the health and functionality of both your body and mind. If you think endurance training only applies to the former, you’d be wrong. Endurance training has been shown to boost neuroplasticity, refine motor skills, and mitigate neural degeneration.

Resilience to Disease

A robust cardiovascular system provides downstream benefits to other areas of your body, from your brain to your bones. Elsewhere, research has illuminated certain benefits to immune function. 

Some studies have alleged that long-term endurance training helps “preserve the immune system” and may even “decelerate the age-related decline in immune function” that comes with getting older.

Takeaway

A well-rounded fitness routine tackles all aspects of health and athleticism. If you’re a gym rat, that means not skipping cardio. Here’s the silver lining: Building endurance and stamina is, at worst, a bit dull.

At best, you’re improving heart health, building a robust immune system, and even sharpening your mind. Running further, faster, is just the icing on the cake. 

FAQs

What is the difference between stamina and endurance?

Generally speaking, stamina and endurance mean the same thing. Clinical settings will often use endurance to describe one’s ability to maintain performance of an athletic task for as long as possible. 

What stamina-building exercises are best?

Good stamina training is low to moderate in difficulty, long duration, and comfortable—whether that’s on the stationary bike, elliptical, stair stepper, or treadmill. There’s no one stamina-building exercise or modality that’s superior; it’s about how you do the training itself. 

How to increase running endurance without getting injured?

The best way to avoid being injured while training for endurance as a runner is to manage your volume and intensity. Wear and tear on soft tissues takes longer to recover from than cardiovascular fatigue, so make sure to regularly incorporate active recovery days and plenty of easy runs. Hard training should be infrequent, but precise. 

How often should I run for better stamina?

For better stamina, work up to running as often as five days per week. If you’re new to running, aim for accumulating lots of brisk walking, and gradually add jogs into the mix. 

Can stamina be increased through diet and exercise?

Not directly, but your dietary choices do impact your endurance performance. People who do long runs frequently need plenty of carbohydrates and water. If you’re skipping out on carbs and not chugging, you’re leaving gains on the table. 

References

1. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. The recommended quantity and quality of exercise for developing and maintaining cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness, and flexibility in healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1998 Jun;30(6):975-91. doi: 10.1097/00005768-199806000-00032. PMID: 9624661.

2. Wilhelm EN, Rech A, Minozzo F, Botton CE, Radaelli R, Teixeira BC, Reischak-Oliveira A, Pinto RS. Concurrent strength and endurance training exercise sequence does not affect neuromuscular adaptations in older men. Exp Gerontol. 2014 Dec;60:207-14. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2014.11.007. Epub 2014 Nov 13. PMID: 25449853.

3. Mrówczyński W. Health Benefits of Endurance Training: Implications of the Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor-A Systematic Review. Neural Plast. 2019 Jun 24;2019:5413067. doi: 10.1155/2019/5413067. PMID: 31341469; PMCID: PMC6613032.

4. Arai, M.H., Duarte, A.J. & Natale, V.M. The effects of long-term endurance training on the immune and endocrine systems of elderly men: the role of cytokines and anabolic hormones. Immun Ageing 3, 9 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-4933-3-9