If you’re looking to increase your running ability, there are certain things to consider when heading out for a jog. This can include proper stretching, maintaining a steady pace, and gradually increasing the length of your route. Doing so will help you run longer and improve your overall capabilities.
You may be able to go at a faster pace than normal or have greater capabilities when it comes to accelerating and going at faster speeds when on the run. But none of that matters if you cannot maintain that fast pace for the entirety of that run.
Balance is necessary in all aspects of life, and this includes physical activity as well. You might think that having an explosive pace is going to enable you to cover longer distances, but that is certainly not the case. You must have endurance as well.
In addition to helping you cover more distance on your run, a study done by John Hopkins on the topic of marathons and vigorous exercising showed that it had favorable effects in favor of endurance training, such as improved blood pressure and body mass index as well.
Let us discuss this in a bit more detail. We will highlight some of the benefits of endurance training and some exercises that are especially beneficial for runners for them to build up their endurance.
Benefits of Endurance Training
1. Strengthens your Heart
How it works is that while you are running, your heart rate tends to rise. This means that, the rate at which your heart is pumping starts to increase gradually as well.
Due to this, blood and oxygen that is being supplied to the muscles that are active within your body start to increase as well. This directly impacts your heart condition in a way that it increases the efficiency your heart is working at.
Furthermore, the increased efficiency of your heart can benefit your health in many ways. The most significant being a decrease in the resting heart rate, which directly influences and lowers blood pressure levels.
Because of this, it is important to work on your endurance because it can help you cover more distance when you are out on your run. This can greatly benefit you, especially if you are an individual who has trouble maintaining blood pressure levels.
2. Helps in the development of fatigue-resistant muscles
Building muscles largely depends on the kind of fitness regime you opt for. This is due to the fact that muscles develop and change according to the exercises you do. Medical professionals also suggest this is an important factor in muscle development.
Endurance training has been shown to be beneficial. It will build muscles that can help you maintain your stamina & performance during runs. This, in turn, can improve your overall resistance to fatigue and help you run for longer periods of time.
The goal of every endurance runner is to increase the number of Type 1 muscle fibers. This is because these fibers are necessary for developing muscles that are resistant to fatigue. With continued endurance training, the number of Type 1 muscle fibers will continue to increase, leading to greater muscle endurance.
Running Exercise To Build Up Endurance
1. The Easy Run
One very productive yet simple exercise that a lot of athletes and runners tend to forget is the easy run.
This exercise may seem simple and not much beneficial for developing your endurance at first. But the importance of performing the easy run cannot be understated. This exercise is great for people starting out as well.
To efficiently perform this exercise, you have to run at a pace that is equivalent to a specific region of your heart rate. This is incredibly simple to implement on your daily run and is capable of greatly benefiting when it comes to building up your endurance.
Not only does this exercise help endurance, it also has health benefits, such as helping you run properly and recover well. You can learn to control your pace, which is good for recovery.
When performing this exercise, it is recommended to allot a specific part of your run to the easy run so that it will give you time for recovery. Another great thing about this exercise is that it does not require you to hit any specific milestone in terms of distance.
2. The Tempo Run
This exercise is often described as being “comfortably hard” when performed in the middle of your run. Because of how this exercise is designed to be performed, it is considered to be tough enough that it may require you to push your limits at times.
However, on the other end, a great thing about this exercise is that it also provides you with the comfort of sustainability. This allows you to maintain this exercise for extended periods of time to insure maximum effect.
The main reason you should add the tempo run to your running exercise regimen is that it increases your lactate threshold.
This is the threshold after which your body starts to exhibit signs of fatigue at a faster rate. The higher your limit, the less likely you are to get fatigued earlier than normal.
3. The Progression Workout
Next is the progression workout, and it should definitely be a part of your endurance training regimen due to its effectiveness in building up your endurance in the long run.
The main idea behind this workout is “start slow so that you can finish fast.” What this means is that while performing the progressive workout, you have to increase the pace in a progressive manner. It is preferred to start slow, and then increase the pace as you reach the end of your run.
Wrap-up
To sum it all up, the importance of endurance training can never be understated due to the various health benefits that it has. It can make you less prone to feeling fatigued at a rapid rate, and it also helps in maintaining your overall blood pressure levels as well.
Furthermore, due to the availability of equipment such as stopwatches and lap counters, you can add further efficiency to your training as well.
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