Endurance activity keeps your heart, lungs and circulatory system healthy and improves your overall fitness. As a result, people who get the recommended regular physical activity can reduce the risk of many diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

It is no surprise that endurance is part of your fitness. How long can you jog for? How many push-ups can you do in a row? Endurance is how long you can sustain the workout for, how long until you cannot do more? The longer that you can, the better trained your body is with regard to your endurance.

Endurance can be broken down into types. Cardiovascular and muscular endurance are the two most basic components of physical fitness, and both of these forms are an important part of your health. Training appropriately can increase your endurance levels, building a stronger you.

Cardiovascular Endurance

Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the heart and lungs to deliver oxygen to the body’s tissues during sustained physical activity.

If you have good cardiovascular endurance, you will be able to do an aerobic activity that elevates the heart rate, such as jogging or swimming, for at least 20 minutes at a time without stopping.

Having cardiovascular endurance is integral for heart health. Cardiovascular endurance training activities help control several heart disease risk factors, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure and obesity.

Building cardiovascular endurance requires the regular performance of activities that elevate the heart rate, such as walking, jogging or dancing. You should start off slow, working out at a comfortable pace based on your current level of ability, and eventually work your way up to exercising for longer periods of time, or at a greater intensity.

To build and maintain cardiovascular endurance, aim to do some kind of cardio activity at least three times per week, with the goal of being able to do the activity for 20 minutes or longer. Starting small and working up to this goal is a great way to get yourself started on your endurance building journey! Don’t forget to stretch and warm up before exercising and to cool down after exercising to prevent injury.

Muscular Endurance

Muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle, or group of muscles, to perform continuously without fatigue.

Activities that build muscular endurance, such as calisthenics, weight training and certain cardio activities, help control weight by improving your muscle-to-fat ratio, which improves your body composition and your body’s ability to burn calories.

Programs of advanced muscular endurance exercises includes at least three 30-minute sessions of calisthenics or weight training exercises each week that work out all the major muscle groups. Remember, this is the ideal standard and the goal to reach. Even just doing five minutes of exercise when you can is enough to make an impact. We all have to start somewhere.

It’s best to start off slow when building muscular endurance, using a lighter weight and doing just a few repetitions until you are able to use a heavier weight and perform more reps. Stretching, warming up and cooling down are also important for preventing injury with muscular endurance training, as is learning proper technique for lifting weights.