Whenever these two terms are exchanged or heard of in a conversation, most people use them in a correct sentence but when I asked about the accurate meaning of those terms, I can see stars floating around their heads. Endurance vs Stamina, are similar when it comes to measuring your body’s output but are different in the way that they measure it.
Stamina vs endurance both are parameters to measure your physical activity however, A simple difference distinguished them such as stamina is a time in which an activity can be performed at its max, and endurance is the maximum time in which physical activity can be performed. Before talking about endurance vs stamina let’s take a look at these terms separately to make it simple think of it like
Endurance – Bodys physical capability to sustain an exercise for a longer period of time.
Stamina – Its mental and physical ability to sustain to take the pain and prolong it and still perform your best.
Let’s understand both of these terms in detail.
Endurance
Endurance is defined as the maximum time the body or a specific muscle group can perform a physical activity or exert force. When compared to stamina, force doesn’t have to be at its maximum because the goal of endurance is to maximize time. Sprinters focus on stamina and long marathon runners focus on building stamina.
Two major components make endurance a whole, Muscular endurance, and cardiovascular endurance. It goes without saying that muscular endurance focuses more on the physical capabilities of the muscles while cardiovascular endurance focuses on getting optimal performance from the heart and the lungs.
A good example of muscular endurance would be walking or trekking it would refer to the ability of the leg to which extent they are able to perform. On the other hand, cardiovascular endurance would be the ability of the heart and lungs to provide enough oxygen to the muscles to perform the following task, take running for example how long can you run before running out of breath?
Stamina
Stamina is defined by a muscle or group of muscles that can exert the maximum force for a certain physical activity. A very good and simple example of that would be running, stamina is the total amount of time the body was able to sprint meaning running at the fastest pace possible by him/her.
Stamina is an important factor in sports that requires a burst of energy, these sports like often where a match or round doesn’t last long. Aside from sprinting, if you play football, soccer, and cricket. You need to have good stamina if you want to get through with these games without feeling a dip in the energy.
Endurance vs Stamina
Endurance vs stamina, They both just defer by the amount of force that is being exerted. They both are necessary but unlike endurance, stamina is not a component of physical fitness but it is a result of becoming fitter. The key factor to distinguish them is knowing when they are needed. for example, if a person has to do 1 squat per second then the stamina will dictate how long can that person perform squat at a uniform rate however if the person were to determine how many squats he/she can do regardless of the time consumed, muscular endurance will be the determining factor.
While above we did discuss how physical parameters effects stamina and endurance however one’s mental capacity to do physical activity also has an effect on the endurance vs stamina argument. A study was conducted to check the effect of mental workload on their performance when performing shoulder abduction to exhaustion they found out that the group of people that were participating in arithmetic tasks showed a reduction in endurance and a decline in their physical strength.
Even furthermore, sometimes mental strength and mental fatigue can create an illusion of having an increased workload than in reality. A study conducted showed that participants under mental stress would perceive workload to be greater than a group of participants performing the same workload in the absence of mental stress (1). This study did show the importance of mental balance in the performance of endurance.
Endurance vs stamina, we can’t have a winner with just one argument meaning for us to decide a clear winner between endurance vs stamina, It would depend upon the circumstance for example, for an athlete to get through with the game without having a dip in the performance stamina would be important. Now for a person running in the marathon endurance of his legs muscle will decide the outcome of the race so for that person building muscle endurance would be important. Choosing a clear winner between endurance vs stamina will fall upon the circumstances and goal.
How to increase your stamina & endurance?
Any movement that challenges your heart and lungs capabilities will help you improve the level of endurance and stamina in your body.
- Overload principle
It is one of the most basic and easiest ways to build an effective workout plan. The overload principle as the name suggests means over a period of time gradually increase the weight and intensity of your workout. For example, if you want to run 5 miles you will have to start with first completing 5 miles, then trying to increase your speed and still be able to do it, also you have to look at other factors like time consumed.
2. Be active
Regular exercise can boost your energy level and improve your blood circulation, It will also help you sleep better. The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week to strengthen your heart and lungs. Getting more than 300 minutes per week is linked to additional benefits.
Also when you start to work out regularly your body will adapt to the changes and the exercises performed over time will become a regular movement for you. Try to find the exercises that you enjoy like some people like to lift weights, some likes to run, some likes cycling if you enjoy doing these activities increasing your endurance and stamina won’t be difficult.
3. Yoga & HIIT Training
Yoga and mediation will help you keep your mental health in check and as we found out from the above study mental health balance is necessary for endurance and stamina. Practice yoga with simple breathing or respiratory exercises, This in turn will trains the lungs to be more efficient, thus improving oxygen delivery and even mental mood states. A common respiratory exercise is to inhale deeply through the nose, hold your breath for 5 seconds, and slowly release the air out the nose.
Pairing it up with a HIIT workout and you got yourself one heck of a workout.
HIIT training will help you improve your cardiovascular health, It will also improve your insulin level, and blood pressure, and also help you lose overall body fat. A beginner would have a hard time trying to fit the HIIT training routine in his/her workout, HIIT is an advanced form of exercise. It is best suited for people that are already physically active.
Final words
If you train consistently within 2 to 3 months you will start to notice improvement than endurance vs stamina would not be an argument with you because you would have train yourself for it. Try working with a professional trainer as he/she can help you with creating a workout that would be best for you. Just remember Endurance vs stamina, doesn’t matter because these term have similar meaning and are often used interchangeably.
Keep this going please, great job!