What Is Endurance?
Lifting a bag of cement into the car is a show of strength. Jumping over a big puddle of water is a demonstration of power. Hopping quickly from rock to rock over a rushing stream is a display of agility. Doing anything over and over, for a period of time, requires endurance.
Endurance is the ability of your muscles to perform repeated contractions against a lighter resistance. This process occurs through aerobic metabolism, where the body produces energy from oxygen (as opposed to using blood and muscle sugar through anaerobic metabolism).
Any activity that lasts longer than about three minutes is considered aerobic, while anaerobic activity lasts less than three minutes. For an activity to be aerobic, it must be lighter in resistance or lower in intensity. Any heavier resistance or higher intensity physical activity that decreases the duration of the workout to a few minutes switches the body to anaerobic metabolism. Examples of aerobic versus anaerobic activity include riding a bike instead of squatting with a heavy barbell or jogging instead of sprinting.
You can train both the aerobic metabolism and “aerobic power” to push toward the aerobic metabolism “ceiling” and raise aerobic power. Your aerobic power is the threshold at which your aerobic metabolism switches to anaerobic metabolism. By raising your aerobic power, you are able to work longer with more resistance and greater intensity, because the work remains within your aerobic metabolism (remember, aerobic metabolism allows for work beyond three minutes).
Training within the aerobic metabolism is a great way to burn calories in addition to all your other activities, but imagine being able to train your aerobic metabolism at greater intensity! This not only burns more calories but is a lot more functional, thus fitting the description of real-world fitness.
What Are Some Examples of Real-World Endurance?
We are reminded of a HyperStrike client who was on a small boat that sprung a leak. Water was rushing in and filling the bottom of the boat. He and his fishing partner took turns bailing the water with a small pail that held their fish bait. The pail did not hold much water, so they had to move fast! In the afternoon sun, one frantically bailed water while the other rowed, switching every five minutes or so, until they reached the shore nearly twenty minutes later.
The story offers a good demonstration of high-intensity endurance or great aerobic power. Both men had to move fast with intensity, scooping gallons after gallon of water and rowing against the resistance of current. Because our client and his fishing partner were athletic individuals, their aerobic power was high, allowing them to work continuously with the intensity that would have made a lesser-trained person use anaerobic metabolism—which means that, at best, they would have had only three minutes of intense water scooping before sinking into the lake. Instead of being soaked with lake water, our client and his fishing buddy were soaked with sweat! They burned a lot of calories, but they went home with their boat, a bunch of trout, and a good dinner story. This is a perfect example of real-world fitness.
How Is Endurance Measured?
Many tests can be used to measure aerobic power, but we have determined that the most accessible way is by running 1.5 miles. The speed at which you run and the time it takes to complete the test shows your level of aerobic power.
During the test, the faster you run, the greater the intensity. If you misjudge your effort and exceed your aerobic power (that is, you work so hard that your body shifts from aerobic metabolism to anaerobic metabolism), you are automatically forced to slow down or stop. This will, of course, be reflected in a longer time to completion, but do not worry. The idea with this test is to get an initial time score, and after a period of training to improve your aerobic power, your retest should show an improved time. An improved time means that your aerobic power has improved, you are able to perform longer at a higher intensity, and your body is trained to burn more calories!
You Need Endurance!
- Endurance allows you to keep going with physical tasks.
- Endurance delays debilitating fatigue.
- Endurance can be maximized through greater aerobic power.
- If trained correctly, you can increase aerobic power.
- Aerobic power allows you to last while doing demanding activities.
- Working at high aerobic power burns more calories.
Aerobic power helps lower body fat for a well-defined physique.
