How to Increase Stamina for Running & Train Smarter, Not Harder

When you see runners zooming past you on a trail or at a local race, do you ever wonder how they can run so smoothly and effortlessly? Most runners will tell you that it comes with training and building stamina. Learning how to increase stamina for running will help you improve your performance and enjoy your time on the road or trail, whether racing or just out for a casual jog. Whether you're aiming to boost your endurance or simply curious about how to athleticism—that is, how to embody the mindset and discipline of an athlete—this article will help. You’ll learn how to increase stamina for running so you can run longer and stronger with less effort by following a smarter, more efficient training routine that maximizes stamina without burnout.
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One of the best ways to boost running stamina is by improving mobility. Pliability's mobility app is a valuable tool for achieving objectives like running longer and stronger with less effort. The routines and guided programs in Pliability will help you follow a smarter, more efficient training routine to maximize running stamina without burnout.

What is Stamina and Why Is It Important For Runners?

“Stamina is essential when tackling endurance running,” says Peloton instructor Jon Hosking. Not having enough can hold you back from hitting the PRs you’re after. But some straightforward (if not necessarily easy) strategies can help. If you’re on a mission to learn how to increase stamina for running, here’s what you need to know.  

Stamina Versus Endurance: What’s the Difference?

Although the terms stamina and endurance are often used interchangeably, as The Output has previously reported, there are some key differences. While endurance refers to your ability to comfortably sustain a repetitive or continuous activity over a prolonged period, stamina is about keeping up a high-intensity activity like running. 

How Oxygen Utilization and Muscle Endurance Work Together to Sustain Performance

Stamina matters for runners because it’s the key to running faster for longer. “To be able to complete any endurance activity, we need to be able to produce force for extended periods of time,” explains Iain Hunter, professor of exercise sciences at Brigham Young University. But naturally, he says some of the physiological systems we use to produce that force lose their oomph over time when we don’t let them recover. 

If you can figure out how to increase stamina for running, you can maintain that force that allows you to push off from one leg to the next without slowing down even as the miles add up. “The improved transfer of oxygen from the lungs to the bloodstream enables a runner to have energy for longer,” Jon says. 

How Stamina Affects 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, powerfully lift weights during strength training, and help 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 defined as how long a muscle group or body system can perform a specific action.

There are two types of endurance related to fitness: 

• Cardiovascular: refers to the ability of your heart, lungs, and blood vessels to support rhythmic exercises such as: 
  
  • Swimming
  • Cycling
  • Running
• Muscular: refers to the ability of your muscles to sustain repetitive movements under a given load, such as during weightlifting or hiking.

Strength

“Strength” has lots of different definitions, but regarding fitness, it essentially defines how much weight you can lift. Influential 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. 

Speed

Speed refers to how fast or slow you move while: 

• Walking
• Running
• Swimming
• Performing other cardiovascular exercises

Genetics may influence speed more than strength and endurance, although you can improve your speed with hard work, just like you can improve any other part of your fitness.

Stamina refers to your ability to sustain a given effort. Stamina is less of a function of speed, but speed certainly still plays a role. You'll be able to move faster for longer if you improve your stamina.   

Why Does Stamina Matter for Runners?

While much of the conventional advice around physical activity emphasizes steady-state cardio, like jogging for 30 minutes daily, stamina training offers unique advantages, especially for runners, says Brooks. Unlike general aerobic conditioning, stamina refers to the ability to sustain high-intensity efforts repeatedly, which is crucial for racing and adaptive performance.

For competitive runners, stamina enables powerful surges, sustained speed during high-intensity races, and agility in demanding terrains. But even recreational runners benefit. Whether picking up the pace to beat fading daylight or handling unexpected elevation on a new route, stamina equips you to respond with strength and efficiency.

Bottom line: No matter what type of runner you are, “you don’t want to only be able to go for a long distance at a slow pace,” says Brooks. In many situations, both in competition and training, solid stamina can come as a significant plus.

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How to Increase Stamina for Running & Train Smarter, Not Harder

Interval Training: The Shortcut to Better Stamina

Interval training is a top way to boost running stamina, and it’s also a lot more interesting than simply logging miles. “Improving your stamina means there will be a number of changes going on in your body,” says Hunter. “There will be more alveoli in the lungs, which are the parts of the lungs that allow oxygen to transfer to the blood. You’ll have more mitochondria, which produce the energy within the muscles. You’ll get more capillaries, so there’ll be more blood flow.”  

Hitting high speeds in short bursts on interval runs does more than improve your pace. “Those workouts will improve running economy as well,” says Emma Lee, a research associate who’s studied endurance athletes at the Human and Sport Performance Laboratory at the University of Minnesota. And that more efficient gait, in turn, will lead to more stamina. 

How long your intervals need to be depends on the distance you want to improve your stamina. “If it’s for a marathoner, then we want to do a lot of things like two-mile repeats or even four-mile repeats at race pace or a little quicker,” Hunter says. “If it’s an 800-meter runner, then we’ve got 200-meter and 400-meter repeats.” 

Long Runs: The More the Merrier

Another solid way to build stamina? “Longer slow runs, incrementally increasing the distance over time,” Jon says. This allows your body to get used to putting in a sustained effort. Lee says a general guideline is that a long run should be about 20 to 25 percent of your total weekly running mileage, and you can increase it by about 10 percent each week. 

‍“But it shouldn’t just increase indefinitely,” she says. “It should increase for three or four weeks, and then take a step back so you don’t get injured or burned out.” After an easier week, you can start increasing the mileage again. 

Tempo Runs: Embrace the Discomfort

Pushing out of your easy zone to a comfortably hard pace that you could maintain for about an hour also helps improve your stamina. Called tempo runs, these workouts not only have physical benefits, but mental ones, too. “It’s good to learn how to be a little bit uncomfortable for a long time,” Lee says. 

Lift Heavy and Jump High

It’s not only running that builds running stamina. “Strength training is also a fantastic way of making your running more economic whilst becoming less susceptible to injuries,” Jon says. Lee says that two of the best forms of strength training for runners are plyometrics, which build explosive power to propel you forward, and heavy weight lifting, which will strengthen your muscles. 

‍“They strengthen the musculotendinous junctions, so they help with energy transfer between the runner and the ground, you’re running on springier springs,” she says. “And they can also help with better running form, too, so less energy is wasted.”

Run Hills and Stairs: Get Vertical

If increasing your running distance or time doesn’t sound fun (we don’t blame you), vary the running. Adding hill runs to your routine can make a huge difference in your stamina if you live near hills or hiking trails. Stairs and bleachers work, too. Running uphill challenges your lungs and legs alike. 

Try High-Volume Weightlifting

Studies show that volume is the number-one variable in resistance training that improves fitness. Volume is the total load you lift in a session, day, or week. It’s calculated by multiplying the weight by reps. In general, continually increasing your volume benefits your fitness. 

For example, if you perform three sets of 10 squats at 100 pounds, find your total volume by multiplying three by 10 by 100. The total volume is 3,000 pounds. 

Practice Isometric Exercises

Isometric exercise is when muscle fibers contract without extending. Planks and wall-sits are two good examples of isometric exercises. Incorporating isometric work into your fitness routine can teach your muscles to stay under stress for extended periods, improving stamina. 

Decrease Rest Intervals During Workouts

One surefire way to improve your stamina is to allow yourself less rest time (unless you’re lifting hefty weights, in which case you should rest three to five minutes between sets for optimal strength gains). 

Studies show that decreasing rest intervals while moderate-to-high-intensity exercise increases physical performance and body composition. Shortening your rest interval forces you to perform more work in less time, which, in theory, should support improvements in stamina. 

Try Cycling: A Breeze for Building Stamina

Riding a bike, whether mountain biking, road biking, or indoor cycling, can improve your stamina if you push the pace (and the terrain outside). Indoor cycling, in particular, increases aerobic capacity, a major contributor to stamina and other health markers. 

Due to the increased and variable resistance, mountain biking may be more effective at increasing muscular endurance and power. Outdoor cycling can boost cardiovascular stamina, improve fitness levels, and reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease. 

Swap Cycling for Rowing

If you’re an avid cycler, you may want to add rowing to your workout rotation. Scientists have long hypothesized that rowing is a more effective workout than cycling because rowing recruits more intense muscle groups. Rowing seems to improve cardiovascular capacity more than cycling, so next time you can hop on an erg, go for it!

Have Dance Parties

Dancing is a phenomenal exercise that will leave your lungs and muscles burning, and it’s fun! Dancing may also require you to assume new positions and challenge your range of motion, improving your overall fitness. 

Several scientific studies have shown that dancing can significantly impact health and wellness, from better mobility and balance to improved cardiovascular endurance. Dance as exercise may also increase adherence for some people because the cost and transportation barriers to entry are low.

Play Sports

Most sports require complex skill sets that may be outside your comfort zone. If you’re used to lifting weights, running, or other relatively monotonous movements, swapping one workout weekly for a sports game is a great way to hone other physical skills. 

Again, destructuring your fitness routine could counterintuitively improve your stamina and fitness. For instance, depending on your position, a soccer game includes: 

• Sprinting
• Jogging
• Walking
• Cutting
• Kicking
• Dodging
• Throwing

Intermingling these different movements provides a fun and challenging way to improve stamina. 

Listen to Music While Exercising

Everyone knows a good song can pump you up for your workout. Music brings people joy and energy, which remains true during exercise. Listening to upbeat music during your workout might boost your performance in several ways, from reducing your perception of fatigue, distracting you from the strain of your workout, and making exercise feel easier.

Drink Caffeine Before Exercising

Suppose you’re looking for a one-off way to improve your stamina; consuming caffeine before your workout might help. Studies show caffeine is a great pre-workout supplement because it can increase your energy, mood, and physical capacities. The effect seems more significant in men than women, and you should be careful not to become reliant on caffeine. 

Add Meditation to Your Fitness Routine

Adding mindfulness practices such as meditation, deep breathing, or yoga to your overall wellness routine might improve your mental stamina. If you’re used to fast-paced, engaging workouts, mindfulness practices will challenge you to push through perceived boredom and handle stress, two factors that affect how long you can exercise at a near-maximal level. 

A 2016 study in the journal Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine found that medical students reported improved mental stamina (less stress and enhanced patience and well-being) after six weeks of yoga and meditation.

Walk More: The Unsung Hero of Stamina Building

Walking is a great way to build stamina and get your body used to supporting its weight for prolonged periods. Walking and running involve the same muscle groups, so the more you walk, the stronger those muscles will become. We’re not suggesting swapping one of your weekly runs for a walk, but whether it’s walking the dog or to work, you should try to cover as many miles as possible.

Eat Right and Stay Hydrated: Fuel for Stamina

Informed changes to your diet can increase your stamina for running. Certain foods contain carbohydrates, proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, fibre, and energy-boosting vitamins to sustain a prolonged physical effort. Some of the best foods to increase running stamina include: 

• Brown rice
• Nuts
• Eggs
• Fatty fish like:
  
  • Salmon 
  • Tuna
• Green leafy vegetables
• Citrus fruits

Your hydration levels also significantly impact your stamina, but research shows that even elite athletes are often poorly hydrated. Drinking plenty of water before and after your workout is essential. If you’re running for more than 30 minutes, we’d also recommend taking a water bottle or a hydration pack and taking regular small sips as you go. 

Use a Heart Rate Monitor: Get Smart About Running Stamina

A heart rate monitor can be a powerful tool for increasing running stamina. Many smart watches today include one, and heart rate sensors can also be used on running machines. 

Tracking your heart rate allows you to do two things: 

• It helps you know your maximum heart rate and how long you can perform at that intensity. 
• By monitoring your heart rate, you should see how your ability to exercise at your highest gradually increases over time.

Strengthen Your Muscles

Weight and resistance exercises help strengthen muscles and directly impact running stamina. For example, in a study of runners who did strength training over 12 weeks, participants recorded significant improvements in running economy, maximum oxygen consumption, and anaerobic threshold compared to those who didn’t do strength training. 

Single-leg jumps, lunges, step-ups, and squats are simple exercises to build up your muscles and boost endurance. And don’t just focus on your leg muscles either. Upper body strength can help propel you forward and optimise your running efficiency. 

Manage Your Stress

A critical yet often overlooked factor in developing stamina is managing emotional and physical stress effectively. Chronic stress compromises the body’s ability to: 

• Recover by weakening immune function
• Disrupting hormones like cortisol and adrenaline
• Impairing sleep

When the body is in a prolonged fight-or-flight state deprioritizes essential recovery processes, including tissue repair, as noted in a 2019 PAIN Reports study.

Integrative practices such as meditation, mindfulness, and yoga can counteract these effects. These methods: 

• Calm the nervous system
• Reduce inflammation
• Ease muscle tension

Research published in Neural Plasticity (2020) found that five weeks of mindfulness training measurably increased physical endurance, reinforcing that mental recovery is physical recovery.

Run 800-Meter Intervals

To increase endurance, add some 800s into your training plan. This training style can help runners improve their performance by running multiple shorter sprints interspersed with rest intervals. If you’re training for a marathon or half-marathon, this exercise can simulate the effort required for a longer run while helping you build endurance. 

All you need to do is figure out your goal pace and run it for 800 meters (two laps around a standard running track). So, if your goal is 7:30/mile, your 800-meter goal time would be 3 minutes and 45 seconds. Run rounds of 800 meters until you can comfortably reach your goal time.

Don’t Skip Strength Training

Strength training should be a part of your training routine regardless of whether you’re an experienced or beginner runner. It’ll improve running economy, which will help you use less oxygen and keep your pace for longer, per a June 2010 study in the Strength and Conditioning Journal. 

It can also help you develop muscle and joint strength, allowing you to activate key muscle groups more easily. The better muscle recruitment, the better physical performance. The National Strength and Conditioning Association says this translates into running faster. 

Here are some strength training exercises to incorporate: 

• Squats 
• Deadlifts 
• Overhead press
• Lunges 
• Bent over rows

Don’t Forget to Rest and Recover

Make sure you schedule recovery days into your workout routine. Contrary to popular belief, the actual act of exercising doesn’t improve your fitness: it’s the repair and rebuild phase that does. Rest days are critical to your improvement over time. If you perform an intense workout every day, your body never gets the chance to recover, thus never having the opportunity to repair your muscles. 

Try Yoga

Can yoga increase your running stamina? Well, perhaps not directly, but its breathing and posture improvements make it an excellent supplementary activity. Yoga also has many benefits, so why not try it out?

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