Originally posted on https://crazymass.com/stamina-endurance-guide/

Many folks unfamiliar with the business of working out are under the impression that stamina and endurance are synonymous. Those of us that do take to the gym on the regular, however, are often aware that, in practical terms, these are, in fact, two very different things – and, as a result, the approaches one must take to improving them are similarly distinct. We have discussed weight training in the past, and when you combine that with endurance and stamina training, you will have a full workout routine!

Stamina

In brief, stamina refers to the ability of your muscles to perform at maximum capacity – that is to say, how long you can perform at your peak. For instance, you might be able to spend a lengthy amount of time benching weights; but at a certain point, you may find yourself having to lower the weight from your maximum of 120 pounds down to 100 pounds to keep going. At this point, you have reached the end of your stamina – you can keep going, but not at your absolute best.

Originally posted on YouTube by CrazyMass – Bodybuilding Supplements

Endurance

Endurance refers, much like stamina, to your ability to keep performing. However, unlike stamina, it is concerned not with your ability to perform at your peak, but merely to keep going until you have to take a rest.

To return to the previous example: at the point where, while benching, you have to shift down from your maximum of 120 pounds, you have reached the peak of your stamina. However, as long as you can keep benching – even if it is not your maximum weight – then your endurance is still ongoing.

Improving Both

Whether you ought to focus on building stamina or endurance very much depends on just what you do in physical terms. If, for instance, you are a long-distance runner, you ought to focus on endurance – after all, you don’t need to be always at top speed to finish a marathon. By contrast, if you are a sprinter, you need to be keeping up absolute top speed beginning to end – in which case, you ought to be more concerned with stamina.

Of course, for the most part, most of us benefit greatly from improving both stamina and endurance – not least because the two of them are intricately connected. Either way, when it comes to working out, prioritizing one over the other is fine, but time ought to be given to both. If you include natural endurance supplements into your daily diet and combine this with a dedicated workout schedule, you will see results fast.

Endurance Training

Regardless, training for either is pretty simple: for endurance training, you’ll want to focus on more long-term workouts, even if they might not represent you working at your maximum. Lower the weights on the bench to something you have a slightly easier time with, or go jogging at a more manageable rate than usual. What matters is that you keep the exercise up for longer.

Stamina Training

By contrast, getting your stamina up is a matter of grinding at your max for as long as possible. Set the weights to the absolute highest you think you can endure, or run at your maximum speed until you can’t keep going. Stamina training is a matter of grinding yourself at your absolute limit for as long as possible – even if that isn’t all that long.