How To Build Stamina: 3 Best Tips

How To Build Stamina: 3 Best Tips

Physical fitness is about setting goals, kicking your own butt to accomplish them, and then setting even loftier ones. Whether you’re hoping to build muscle, run a marathon, or simply prove to yourself what you’re made of, it takes equal parts endurance, vigor, and verve to prove one’s mettle, even if it’s just to yourself. 

But when you feel your ambition hitting a wall, you’re probably left wondering how to build stamina and keep going. 

Well, as always, we have your back. Here are three tips for increasing stamina and pushing yourself as far as you can go at the gym.

#1 Consistency Breeds Champions

The best advice anyone can give you for how to build up stamina comes from MLB legend Hank Aaron, who reportedly once said, “Consistency is everything. You have to be able to do things again and again.”

Sure, Hank was talking about baseball, but his wise words are just as relevant to your endurance journey. Pushing yourself in your workouts means showing up for each one with unwavering determination, dedication, and commitment. 

There will inevitably be days when simply lacing up for your long run or getting to your fitness class on time feels like a workout on its own. But whether you’re exhausted from your micro workouts, sluggish from a lack of sleep, or just not in the mood, you owe it to yourself to raise your energy level and follow through. 

When you do, you won’t just gain the satisfaction of keeping your word to yourself. The fact is, the more consistently you participate in stamina training, the more you get out of exercising. And consistency may help increase stamina thanks to the following benefits:¹ 

• Consistency helps you build an exercise habit more quickly than intermittent exercise 
• It keeps your muscles loose, lithe, and performance-ready 
• It trains the body to adapt to new challenges—and to overcome them 

If you need help finding how to stay motivated to workout, we have the guide for you.

#2 Build In Rest Days 

While you’re barreling past your old physical limits and setting your sights on new ones, it’s important to keep in mind that consistency isn’t strictly about hitting the gym six days a week or running eight miles each morning before the sun’s up. You also need to be consistent in giving yourself time away from your workout routine. Once you learn how to create a workout routine for yourself, it is important that you remember to include rest and recovery time.

If that seems like a contradiction to our first tip, it isn’t. It’s true that when it comes to building stamina, you have to constantly surpass it. But by building in rest and recovery time between breakthroughs, you could have a better shot at avoiding the type of burnout that tempts you to skip a workout here and there. 

More than that, building in “rest days” is actually better for your body. Each workout does microscopic damage to your muscles (at least, if you’re working out correctly).² And in the process of healing themselves, your muscles gain strength and mass. 

Finally, rest days aren’t just an integral aspect of increasing stamina; they’re also a key to keeping your workout routine safe and productive. Rest days are beneficial because they help:³

• Improve your next workout
• Reduce your risk of injury 
• Alleviate muscle fatigue 

#3 Fuel Up With Foods That Energize 

A well-rounded, balanced diet that leans into powerful proteins, energizing whole grains, and a colorful array of fruits and vegetables is non-negotiable if you’re building stamina.⁴ 

The food you eat needs to give you a high enough energy level to get through your workout and leave enough nutrients to help your muscles, bones, and joints recover. That means knowing what to eat before a workout and after as well.

Tips for a meal plan that builds good stamina include:⁵