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What Is Stamina?

Stamina is defined as “the ability to sustain the prolonged physical or mental effort,” according to Oxford Dictionary. What this means in practical terms is that good stamina allows you to:

• Run faster for longer distances
• Lift heavier weights for more reps
• Take more prolonged, more strenuous hikes
• Push through perceived pain, discomfort, and fatigue
• Perform daily activities with high energy levels

The better your stamina, the more efficient you become at just about everything, mentally and physically.

How Stamina Relates to Fitness

Stamina is the underlying factor behind improving other fitness goals. Improving your stamina will enable you to push longer and harder during endurance exercise, allows you to powerfully lift weights during strength training, and helps you move faster without tiring.

Endurance

People often use the words “stamina” and “endurance” interchangeably, and while the two terms are similar, they aren’t the same. Endurance in fitness is endurance is defined as the amount of time a muscle group or body system can perform a certain action. There are two types of endurance related to fitness: cardiovascular and muscular.

Strength

“Strength” has lots of different definitions, but regarding fitness, it essentially defines how much weight you can lift. Powerful people can lift heavier weights and lighter weights for many reps. People with less strength can’t lift as much and may not be able to lift as many reps.

Strength training contributes to your stamina because it conditions your body to sustain movement under heavy loads. Boosting your stamina, in turn, helps improve your strength training by removing a lack of stamina as a limiting factor to how many reps you can do or how powerfully you can move the weight.

Improving your strength helps endurance-focused exercises because the stronger your muscles, the better they can handle repetitive movements.

A Word From Verywell

While stamina is not a factor many people consider when committing to fitness goals, it is an essential component of fitness, boosting your performance in endurance, strength, and speed training. Including some additional stamina-increasing activities into your current routine will help improve your stamina and health. If you need help designing a plan to boost your stamina, seek the help of a personal trainer.

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