Endurance training is often thought of as the domain of professional athletes and fitness gurus. But you don’t have to be a marathoner or gym rat to reap the many benefits of endurance training. In fact, it can be life changing if you approach it with an open mind. Here are seven benefits that are guaranteed to improve your health, happiness, and well-being:
Endurance Training Boosts Your Long-Term Health
Another benefit of endurance training is that it can help you live longer. It’s not uncommon for people to participate in physical activity because they want to live longer, and endurance training is one of the best ways to achieve this goal. Endurance training increases your heart health, lowers stress levels and blood pressure, reduces inflammation throughout the body and helps you sleep better at night. All of which are important factors when it comes to living a long life.
It’s important to note that just any exercise program won’t do. There are many different types of exercise programs out there. Each with their own set of benefits or drawbacks depending on where you want your focus to be (strength? cardiovascular fitness? toning?).
Since every person has different goals for working out depending on their needs/goals/lifestyle/etc., it’s up to each individual person as to what type(s) of exercise program(s) would work best for them. A good rule-of-thumb is: “If something feels like too much work, then we need less not more.” So if something feels like too much work then maybe consider adjusting!
Improves Your Mental Health
Endurance training can be a great way to reduce stress and anxiety. It takes does take time but you should stick with it. Your body will become stronger, and you’ll start to notice the changes in your mental health.
Exercising regularly can help prevent depression as well as manage symptoms of existing depression. Endurance training has also been associated with reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation which are common among people who suffer from depression.
Endurance training can help you sleep better by improving how much restorative sleep you get each night. This means that when it comes time for bedtime each night, your muscles will already feel rested even before they’ve had the chance to do any work! If this sounds like something that would benefit your life right now then give endurance training a try!
Endurance Training Increases Your Stamina
One of the most obvious benefits of endurance training is its effect on your stamina. The more you train, the better your stamina will be. Endurance training increases your aerobic capacity, or the ability to sustain activity at a moderate intensity for an extended period of time. As a result, it will improve your recovery between workouts and help you perform activities of daily living without getting winded.
While many people think that simply increasing their heart rate through interval training is enough to improve their stamina, this isn’t true. Endurance exercises help build endurance by improving both cardiovascular fitness and muscular strength over time.
Gives You a Sense of Accomplishment
Endurance training is a challenge. It takes time to see results, and it can be hard to stick with it in the beginning. But when you reach your goal, the sense of accomplishment is amazing!
Doing hard things such as heavy endurance training is tasking not only for your body but even for your mind. Probably even more tasking for your mind as we tend to give up when things get hard. But when you fight through your mental battles during endurance training and win them, you will be proud of yourself. Not to mention the feeling of climbing over a high wall. That wall won’t feel as high the next time you come across it.
Helps You Lose Weight & Keep it Off
It’s no secret that endurance training can help you lose weight. You burn more calories during exercise than you consume. So it’s a no-brainer that over time, your body will start to shed excess fat and build lean muscle. But did you know that even when you’re not working out?
That’s right! Research has found that endurance training helps increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which means your body burns more calories just by being alive. And the best part is: the more fit you are, the higher this number goes! This means if you want to keep losing weight after completing an endurance program all it takes is staying active as much as possible outside of those workouts. Even walking around at work or taking care of chores at home counts!
Endurance Training Relationships
You will meet new people. Building a running club, joining a triathlon team or signing up for an organized race are all ways to make connections with other runners. These friends will be able to offer support when you’re feeling tired, exhausted and run-down.
You’ll have something in common with your workout buddy. Endurance training is hard work, so you’ll probably want to talk about it once you’re done! If you’ve ever struggled through a long run or bike ride, then trust me when I say that talking about it afterwards is good for the soul. Plus, if someone else has been through the same thing as you did (or knows how soon they can expect their next leg cramp), they may be able to offer some helpful tips on how best to deal with them going forward. Especially if they’ve found success with one strategy over another!
It provides camaraderie and friendship (even if only online). There’s no denying that social media has changed our lives in many ways. Not least of which being its ability to connect us with people who share similar interests as ourselves. Even if they live thousands of miles away from where we do!
Helps You De-Stress
Endurance training can help reduce stress for a number of reasons. First, it’s one of the best ways to burn off excess energy and frustration. When you’re feeling anxious or tense, taking a brisk walk or jog can be a great way to work out that tension before it builds up further.
Secondly, endurance training can help you focus your mind on something other than what’s stressing you out . Even if this is just temporary distraction from whatever is causing you stress, time away from the source helps lower its impact on your emotions and body. Both immediately and long-term by preventing new levels of anxiety from building up over time. Finally, by getting outside and exercising regularly through moderate intensity aerobic exercise like walking or running, we are able to relax both physically as well as mentally because our bodies become more accustomed to moving around during these times when normally there would be less activity happening outside our doors.”
Conclusion
Endurance training can be life changing in so many ways. Whether it’s improving your mental health, stamina, weight loss or more endurance training is a great way to escape stress and take a break from everyday troubles.
So, if you’re ready to start adding more endurance training into your life, we hope these seven benefits have helped convince you and are here for the journey. I know how hard it can be for you to get started. But I promise that once you start seeing results in your body and mind, you won’t want to stop.