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Going Big with Endurance

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Go big or go home.

 

That’s my life’s mantra.

Why stop at 10 when you can do 11?  Or 30 when you can be 31.  If I can better myself without damaging myself, I’m going to go for it.  Today I’m bring back Work It Out to focus on endurance.

sprint2table-workitout

 

Nutrition and muscle recovery are the keys to endurance training.

Training the right way and to the right limit is very important for those people who want to increase their levels of endurance.  By utilizing effective training methods and making small changes to your lifestyle, you’ll be equip to optimize your performance.  As with so many aspects of athletics, nutrition is key.  You must be properly fueled to helping muscles rebuild, which will make your hard work and training more effective.

Nutrition

The right balance of carbohydrates and protein is important to maximize your training.  The body uses carbs for energy.  It’s fuel.  Therefore, it’s essential that your carb intake be adequate when you increase training intensity.  Don’t underestimate the power of complex carbs; they contribute significantly to energy production and have a higher nutritional content than simple carbs.

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal

You also need sufficient protein to support muscle recovery, achieve gains, and improve the immune system.  The body can’t run on empty!  You guys know I love my protein – for the exercise enthusiast, a good rule of thumb is to eat 0.75-1 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight.  If you’re looking to build some serious muscle, you might eat 1.5-2 grams per pound (I aim for 1.75).

The best mix of carbs and protein varies by person (everyone is a snowflake!), so don’t be afraid to experiment to find the right combination for you.  Make sure to drink lots of water too!  Water is essential for those who wish to build their endurance levels.   This is why I drink at least 124 ounces a day.

5 Benefits to Drinking Water

Muscle Recovery

After long or harsh periods of tough exercise, it is important to let your muscles recover to avoid injury.  Taking rest days in-between training days will give your body time to recover its strength, allowing you to work better on your training days.  I am so bad about this… but have been working on learning to give my body a breather.  I perform so much better when I have adequate recovery time!

progress 071414

Distance runners will know that ice baths are an effective way to aid muscle recovery; they can help flush out waste products like lactic acid, reduce tissue breakdown, and decrease swelling.  My personal favorite recovery method is a massage.  Massages are very effective, as they help to relax muscles to relieve tension and pain.

To speed up muscle recovery, Men’s Fitness advises promoting circulation by working your joints to prevent overuse injuries.  Consider using a foam roller.  It hurts, but it works (that really should be their tag line).  Using a foam roller reduces reduce muscle tension which, in turn, speeds up muscle recovery.

It is important to avoid injury and muscle burnout during your workout.  Mixing it up with weight lifting and HIIT will benefit your body AND keep you entertained.  By mixing up your training regime you will be able to increase endurance without overworking muscles.  You are more likely to enjoy effective workouts without the increased risk of injury if you train correctly.

Move Happy

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is your endurance.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Gradually increase mileage, speed, weight… or whatever your goal is. Staying injury-free and achieving lasting gains makes it that much more fun to go BIG.

#MoveHappy, yo!

***

In honor of my birthday (31… when did this happen?!), I’m doing “bro” day at the gym – chest and biceps – and then properly recovering by trying out one of the many alleged “best” burgers in ATL with my favorite gym bros.

What tips do you have for increasing endurance?

Are you good about taking rest days?

 

Comments

  1. Happy birthday! Hope you get a burger with cheese and bacon – my favourite! I used to get 2g of protein per pound of BW, but that didn’t leave much room for anything else. I now get slightly less than 1g per lb and my muscle growth has actually increased, IMO.

  2. Happy Birthday lady!!
    Oh wow, you know my struggle with recovery – BUT at the moment I feel great after a big break in the Alps. It’s so OBVIOUS that restdays help in our progress!!
    And I need to book a massage. Thanks for the reminder. Have a fab day!!

    • I’m so glad you’re feeling good! Even if I am ridiculously jealous of that trip. 😉

  7. Happy happy happy birthday!! I hope it’s a wonderful day for you :). Love your tips – as much as I HATE ice baths, they have worked the few times I’ve done them. Massage and foam roller are definitely staples in my life! And carbs 🙂 Complex carbs for the most part, though!

    • I’m such a wuss… I am scared to try it! I did get in the cold pool at the Korean spa once though… and immediately ran to the hot one! 🙂

  9. Like that quote…..although sometimes I feel I have to be careful I don’t go too far with it! Hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday Laura! Make sure you take some time to relax 🙂 I am definitely all about my rest days, I truly enjoy them when I need to, and yes, have had my fair share of ice baths, but recently I have been foam rolling and stretching, which I think helps a lot!

  12. A super big happy birthday my friend 😀
    Recovery days are the best but I feel like I have too many recovery days… hmm…

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    • Haha – I go through those phases too. But, if it’s too forced you won’t be happy either.

  15. My Triggerpoint Therapy kit is my BFF, and I don compression sleeves or socks after long runs. I’ve yet to try an ice bath. Just not sure I can do that bit of torture. I think it’s important to vary intensity with workouts too. If you go hard all the time, you’re just going to break down. Happy Happy Birthday!

    • You are surprising me lately – no trail runs and no ice baths?! (Not that I blame you on the baths. 😉 )

  16. HAPPY BDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    I was so bad about rest days when I was younger. Then with age I cut back to 2 rest days but still did core work on them Now – NO CORE or anything – I rest on those 2 days – my workouts are so intense. Saying that, I think that is the key there.. if a person just walks or is not strenuous with exercise, keep moving every day BUT Listen to the bod – biggest thing I learned from way back when & it takes effort to learn how to listen to it & then execute that!

    Balance!!!!!!!!!!!!

  17. Happy Birthday! Great tips! I just started eating more carbs and let me tell you I am actually shrinking due to the fact I am providing my body with what it needs! It really did take me some time to get my snowflake self to good proportions and I now see carb cycling is the best for me! All my love xo C

    • Thank you! It’s amazing what good carbs can do – I have so much more energy when I’m fueling properly.

  20. I ask myself this every day… WHY ARE WE NOT NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS!!!!!! We would have the most epic food fests, EVER. And you would motivate the shit out of me to actually pick up weights in the gym! LOL!!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAYYY TO YOU!
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
    HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYYYYYY TOOOOO YOUUUUUUUUUU!
    Happy BIRTHDAY TO YOU!

    BOOM. 1000 Cabana boys are shaking their walnuts for you as I type this.

    • Right?! We’d probably set a record for noise complaints too.

      Thank you. Walnuts are so heart healthy, too. 😉

    • It’s called Illegal Burger. I linked to it in Wednesday’s post. You HAVE to try it!

  22. Great article… I think so many people overlook nutrition as being essential for building muscle and endurance, it drives me crazy! Rest days are tough when youre training, but they definitely help you in the long run. For building endurance I completely agree with you, slow and steady is the way to go for gradual gains! Happy Birthday, enjoy that burger!!

  24. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday dear Crazy Pants (without pants). Happy Birthday to you.

    Do I take rest days? Ha some weeks I have more rest days than workouts. It works for me. I am a snowflake.

  27. I hope you had a great birthday! Rest days are soooo important for building muscles! I can’t stress that enough to my clients. You would have been so proud of my water consumption yesterday…peed 5 times last night. Now I need a nap though…

    • LOL! I am proud. i get up every night at 4am like clockwork. I barely wake up while I’m peeing (thankfully, I sleep walk to the toilet).

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