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experiencelifemag.com
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The Path To Endurance
There's more to building stamina than increasing your time on the treadmill. Find out how your endurance affects your overall health.
By Kathy Summers |
October 2007 |
A Force
to be Reckoned With
Doing the Drill
Support Your Stamina
Stamina Checklist
Resources
Jim Vranas isn’t the kind of guy who just sits around. The 82-year-old
World War II veteran and scientific glassblower (he made the first glass model
of the DNA molecule) has always been on the go. That is, until about a month
after his retirement 10 years ago. “One morning I got up and tried to
put on my socks, and I couldn’t do it. I realized that, over time, my
energy level and mood had dropped from a 10 to a 3, and I felt too stiff to
move,” he says.
What Vranas was experiencing was a loss of his body’s ability to maintain
muscle mass and range of motion, and to fend off the added pounds that result
from a too-sedentary life. Many of us can relate — no matter our age.
Maybe you stopped playing tennis after high school in the scramble to finish
college, find a career or start a family, and then couldn’t make it through
the third set when you picked up a racquet again. Or perhaps you resurrected
a long-lost love for martial arts, only to realize you were a little ... feeble
since you last practiced. The muscle memory remains, but without staying power,
you tire easily and your performance suffers.
The older you get and the less active you are, the faster stamina fades. After
age 45, adults begin losing about one-quarter of a pound of muscle and gain
that much body fat every year. “You need stamina so you can combat the
aging process and overcome that tendency to gain fat and lose muscle,”
says Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, director of the John Hancock Center for Physical
Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University and author of Strong
Women Stay Young (Bantam Dell, 2005).
Whether you’re 25 or 85, if you build and maintain stamina with strength
training and weight-bearing aerobic exercise, you’re more likely to keep
exercising as you age, which translates into stronger bones, increased energy,
better sleep, improved balance, and a reduced risk of developing just about
every chronic disease and condition.
A
Force to be Reckoned With (Back
to Top)
The driving force behind stamina is more — as in
the more you do, the more you can do. When you exercise
regularly and progressively, your body responds by rebuilding, regenerating
and making you stronger, just in case you want to do more again tomorrow.
In fact, when you consistently ask more of your body, every cell will rise to
the challenge. Your cardiovascular system will deliver more blood to your muscles,
and your heart will begin to recover more quickly after an activity. Your muscles
will develop more blood vessels to process the increased blood and oxygen.
Within the muscle cells, tiny structures called mitochondria will multiply so
your muscles can handle more work without getting tired. Your muscles will also
become more efficient at burning fat and storing glycogen (two sources of energy),
so you can work longer and harder without tiring. And, of course, if you stop
exercising, the process reverses.
To step up your stamina, consider working with a qualified instructor who can
customize a strategy and offer encouragement. “It’s never too late
to begin strength training,” says Nelson.
Start with a program that includes both strength and aerobic training, because
the real fitness magic occurs when you simultaneously improve your muscular
and cardiovascular stamina. Use weight machines, free
weights, kettlebells, fitness bands and balls, or your own body weight, and
walk or do some form of aerobic activity regularly.
As you would expect, muscular strength and muscular stamina are closely related,
says Wayne Westcott, PhD, CSCS, author of Building
Strength and Stamina: For a Stronger, Leaner and Fatigue-Resistant Physique
(Human Kinetics, 2003). If you increase one, you increase
the other.
But muscular stamina and cardiovascular stamina are also connected. Your cardiovascular
system has to be in good shape to run, bicycle or canoe, explains Westcott,
but you’re also using your muscles, so you need good muscular stamina
— both aerobic and anaerobic — to do those activities well.
For running, you need aerobic stamina (also known as aerobic endurance), which
means your muscles are good at processing oxygen. For heavy lifting, pulling
and pushing, you need good anaerobic endurance, which means your muscles are
good at using stored energy.
To demonstrate how closely muscular and cardiovascular stamina are linked, Westcott
and fellow researchers studied United States Air Force personnel who did poorly
on their annual fitness assessments. Most were trying to revive their lost stamina
by running hard a few weeks before the assessment, and in the process, many
developed overuse injuries. The goal of the study was to find a safer and more
efficient way to prepare for the assessment, which involved running and body-weight
exercises.
After 90 days of training, those who circuit trained (moved quickly from one
resistance exercise machine or station to the next) three times a week for 25
minutes, with one minute of stationary cycling between exercises, scored higher
and had fewer injuries than the group doing 60 minutes of aerobic exercise,
mostly running, four or five days a week.
“We found statistically significant improvements in every single parameter
tested and the total test score,” says Westcott. Most notably, the circuit-training
group substantially improved their running scores — even though they did
no running during training.
Doing
the Drill
Sold on stepping up your stamina? If you’ve been out of the fitness loop
for a while, Westcott recommends starting out with basic circuit training (single
sets of eight to 12 repetitions of squats, bench press and lat pull-downs, for
example), and gradually building up to more sets and exercises.
After an eight-week program of circuit training at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy,
Mass., Jim Vranas (the 82-year-old war vet) went from leg-pressing 145 pounds
to leg-pressing 310 pounds — more than twice his body weight of 135 pounds.
Now he trains for an hour a day, five mornings a week, and at the end of the
day he still feels energized.
He starts his workout with a milelong walk around the track, hits the weight
machines for 30 minutes and does lunges holding 15-pound hand weights. He also
kickboxes for 10 minutes and knocks out some chin-ups. “I did 21 chin-ups
the last time I worked out, and I felt so good that five minutes later I did
another 21,” he says. In the afternoons, he walks a mile at the mall with
his wife, Ardie, also 82.
Ardie has type 2 diabetes and was never as active as Jim. Nevertheless, she
began working with a personal trainer six months ago. Now she circuit trains
for 30 minutes, three times a week. The payoff, she says, is that she feels
better and has more energy during her walks at the mall — and she’s
dropped 5 pounds. (For more on going strong later in life, see “Ageless
Vitality” in the July/August 2006 archives, and “Power
Aging” in the July/August 2004 archives.)
Support
Your Stamina
Once you’re comfortable with a regular strength-training program, you
can customize your workout by adding range-of-motion exercises to help you get
more mileage out of your joints, for example, or by working to strengthen specific
muscle groups used for a favorite sport — a concept known as functional
training (see “Join
the Movement” in the April 2007 archives).
“Building stamina is the key to enjoying recreational activities that
require physical effort for longer periods of time — like playing 18 holes
of golf instead of nine, or playing four days a week instead of just on weekends,”
says Westcott.
Of course, training isn’t the whole story. You also need a healthy eating
plan that includes high-quality protein, whole foods, healthy carbs such as
whole grains, and plenty of water. And, you need your z’s.
“Deep sleep increases growth hormone, so your body can better repair and
rebuild muscle and bone after you exercise,” says Sara Mednick, PhD, a
project scientist at the University of California, San Diego, and author of
Take a
Nap! Change Your Life (Workman Publishing, 2006). “Getting
your eight hours also boosts the sleep hormone melatonin, which has antioxidant
qualities that help your metabolism,” she says.
And getting enough shuteye protects your cardiovascular health, an essential
component of staying power. Taking a nap three times a week lowers the risk
of coronary death by 37 percent, according to a study published in the February
2007 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. “Most
likely this is because napping decreases the stress hormone cortisol, so you’re
also less likely to reach for high-fat or high-sugar foods and to store body
fat,” says Mednick.
Competitive athletes are particularly interested in how food, water and rest
affect staying power. David C. Nieman, DrPH, director of the Human Performance
Laboratory at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., studied elite marathoners
and cyclists and found that inadequate hydration can lower stamina and performance.
“If you lose over 2 percent of your body weight through sweat, your heart
rate becomes elevated and your stamina decreases,” he explains.
His group also found that during 90 minutes or more of strenuous exercise, the
body’s carbohydrate stores can drop too low, which depletes muscle glycogen,
leading to a sudden loss of stamina, or what’s commonly called “hitting
the wall.”
Replenishing your body with a carb-rich snack or sport drink will allow you
to maintain your pace longer. (For tips on how to properly fuel and hydrate
for fitness activities, see “Time
to Eat” in the June 2006 archives.)
Still, the biggest factor in boosting stamina is regular exercise. “People
make time to sleep and eat every day — exercise should be in the same
league,” says Nieman, 57, who makes time in his busy schedule every day
for his own mix of weightlifting, running, stationary cycling and manual labor
on his berry farm. He celebrates his superior staying power by running marathons
and ultramarathons and says he plans to live to be 100, as do Jim and Ardie
Vranas.
Of course, they have quite a jump on him. “We’re so thankful that,
at 82, we have the might and the strength to do what we want to do every day.
I don’t feel my age — I’ve never felt so good,” says
Jim. “I highly recommend what we’re doing to everyone, no matter
how old.”
Kathy Summers (www.kathysummers.com)
writes about health, nutrition and fitness for a variety of national magazines
and custom publications.
Stamina
Checklist
- Assess your current level of stamina.
Knowing where you are helps you know where to begin, which in turn lowers
your risk of getting injured and quitting. Consider getting a V02-max or other
fitness assessment at your local health club or sports clinic.
- Strength train. Regularly lift something
in a way that gets your heart pumping — whether you use free weights,
kettlebells, weight machines or your own body weight.
- Customize. Work with a trainer to
create a fitness program that specifically addresses your favorite sports
activities and personal health concerns. Then get out and play, ride a bike,
or join a basketball league.
- Eat and drink right. Your weight
training will progress faster and better if you give your body the fuel and
water it needs — before, during and after exercise.
- Take a snooze. A 20-minute nap can
give your brain and body the opportunity to do some restorative work, notes
Sara Mednick, PhD, a project scientist at the University of California, San
Diego. Napping doesn’t give you license to skimp on the real stuff,
though: Strive for a solid eight hours each and every night.
Resources (Back
to Top)
Strength
Training Past 50: Your Guide to Fitness and Performance by
Wayne L. Westcott and Thomas R. Baechle (Human Kinetics, 2007) — Cutting-edge
advice for staying active, with sport-specific weight training for runners,
cyclists, swimmers, skiers, tennis players and golfers.
Building
Strength and Stamina: For a Stronger, Leaner and Fatigue-Resistant Physique
by Wayne L. Westcott (Human Kinetics, 2003) — Detailed
instructions on how to train for strength and stamina in 30 minutes a day, using
principles practiced by the NFL and the U.S. Navy.
Strong
Women Stay Young by Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, with Sarah
Wernick, PhD (Bantam Dell, 2005) — A progressive strength-training program
based on two 40-minute sessions per week, specially designed for women over
age 40. More info at www.strongwomen.com.
Yoga for
Strength and Stamina by Seema Sondhi (Wisdom Tree, 2007)
— A step-by-step yoga program to fight fatigue, cope with routine stress
and improve stamina through simple asanas.
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The Path To Endurance
There's more to building stamina than increasing your time on the treadmill. Find out how your endurance affects your overall health.
By Kathy Summers | Features,
October 2007 |
A Force
to be Reckoned With
Doing the Drill
Support Your Stamina
Stamina Checklist
Resources
Jim Vranas isn’t the kind of guy who just sits around. The 82-year-old
World War II veteran and scientific glassblower (he made the first glass model
of the DNA molecule) has always been on the go. That is, until about a month
after his retirement 10 years ago. “One morning I got up and tried to
put on my socks, and I couldn’t do it. I realized that, over time, my
energy level and mood had dropped from a 10 to a 3, and I felt too stiff to
move,” he says.
What Vranas was experiencing was a loss of his body’s ability to maintain
muscle mass and range of motion, and to fend off the added pounds that result
from a too-sedentary life. Many of us can relate — no matter our age.
Maybe you stopped playing tennis after high school in the scramble to finish
college, find a career or start a family, and then couldn’t make it through
the third set when you picked up a racquet again. Or perhaps you resurrected
a long-lost love for martial arts, only to realize you were a little ... feeble
since you last practiced. The muscle memory remains, but without staying power,
you tire easily and your performance suffers.
The older you get and the less active you are, the faster stamina fades. After
age 45, adults begin losing about one-quarter of a pound of muscle and gain
that much body fat every year. “You need stamina so you can combat the
aging process and overcome that tendency to gain fat and lose muscle,”
says Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, director of the John Hancock Center for Physical
Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University and author of Strong
Women Stay Young (Bantam Dell, 2005).
Whether you’re 25 or 85, if you build and maintain stamina with strength
training and weight-bearing aerobic exercise, you’re more likely to keep
exercising as you age, which translates into stronger bones, increased energy,
better sleep, improved balance, and a reduced risk of developing just about
every chronic disease and condition.
A
Force to be Reckoned With (Back
to Top)
The driving force behind stamina is more — as in
the more you do, the more you can do. When you exercise
regularly and progressively, your body responds by rebuilding, regenerating
and making you stronger, just in case you want to do more again tomorrow.
In fact, when you consistently ask more of your body, every cell will rise to
the challenge. Your cardiovascular system will deliver more blood to your muscles,
and your heart will begin to recover more quickly after an activity. Your muscles
will develop more blood vessels to process the increased blood and oxygen.
Within the muscle cells, tiny structures called mitochondria will multiply so
your muscles can handle more work without getting tired. Your muscles will also
become more efficient at burning fat and storing glycogen (two sources of energy),
so you can work longer and harder without tiring. And, of course, if you stop
exercising, the process reverses.
To step up your stamina, consider working with a qualified instructor who can
customize a strategy and offer encouragement. “It’s never too late
to begin strength training,” says Nelson.
Start with a program that includes both strength and aerobic training, because
the real fitness magic occurs when you simultaneously improve your muscular
and cardiovascular stamina. Use weight machines, free
weights, kettlebells, fitness bands and balls, or your own body weight, and
walk or do some form of aerobic activity regularly.
As you would expect, muscular strength and muscular stamina are closely related,
says Wayne Westcott, PhD, CSCS, author of Building
Strength and Stamina: For a Stronger, Leaner and Fatigue-Resistant Physique
(Human Kinetics, 2003). If you increase one, you increase
the other.
But muscular stamina and cardiovascular stamina are also connected. Your cardiovascular
system has to be in good shape to run, bicycle or canoe, explains Westcott,
but you’re also using your muscles, so you need good muscular stamina
— both aerobic and anaerobic — to do those activities well.
For running, you need aerobic stamina (also known as aerobic endurance), which
means your muscles are good at processing oxygen. For heavy lifting, pulling
and pushing, you need good anaerobic endurance, which means your muscles are
good at using stored energy.
To demonstrate how closely muscular and cardiovascular stamina are linked, Westcott
and fellow researchers studied United States Air Force personnel who did poorly
on their annual fitness assessments. Most were trying to revive their lost stamina
by running hard a few weeks before the assessment, and in the process, many
developed overuse injuries. The goal of the study was to find a safer and more
efficient way to prepare for the assessment, which involved running and body-weight
exercises.
After 90 days of training, those who circuit trained (moved quickly from one
resistance exercise machine or station to the next) three times a week for 25
minutes, with one minute of stationary cycling between exercises, scored higher
and had fewer injuries than the group doing 60 minutes of aerobic exercise,
mostly running, four or five days a week.
“We found statistically significant improvements in every single parameter
tested and the total test score,” says Westcott. Most notably, the circuit-training
group substantially improved their running scores — even though they did
no running during training.
Doing
the Drill (Back to Top)
Sold on stepping up your stamina? If you’ve been out of the fitness loop
for a while, Westcott recommends starting out with basic circuit training (single
sets of eight to 12 repetitions of squats, bench press and lat pull-downs, for
example), and gradually building up to more sets and exercises.
After an eight-week program of circuit training at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy,
Mass., Jim Vranas (the 82-year-old war vet) went from leg-pressing 145 pounds
to leg-pressing 310 pounds — more than twice his body weight of 135 pounds.
Now he trains for an hour a day, five mornings a week, and at the end of the
day he still feels energized.
He starts his workout with a milelong walk around the track, hits the weight
machines for 30 minutes and does lunges holding 15-pound hand weights. He also
kickboxes for 10 minutes and knocks out some chin-ups. “I did 21 chin-ups
the last time I worked out, and I felt so good that five minutes later I did
another 21,” he says. In the afternoons, he walks a mile at the mall with
his wife, Ardie, also 82.
Ardie has type 2 diabetes and was never as active as Jim. Nevertheless, she
began working with a personal trainer six months ago. Now she circuit trains
for 30 minutes, three times a week. The payoff, she says, is that she feels
better and has more energy during her walks at the mall — and she’s
dropped 5 pounds. (For more on going strong later in life, see “Ageless
Vitality” in the July/August 2006 archives, and “Power
Aging” in the July/August 2004 archives.)
Support
Your Stamina (Back to Top)
Once you’re comfortable with a regular strength-training program, you
can customize your workout by adding range-of-motion exercises to help you get
more mileage out of your joints, for example, or by working to strengthen specific
muscle groups used for a favorite sport — a concept known as functional
training (see “Join
the Movement” in the April 2007 archives).
“Building stamina is the key to enjoying recreational activities that
require physical effort for longer periods of time — like playing 18 holes
of golf instead of nine, or playing four days a week instead of just on weekends,”
says Westcott.
Of course, training isn’t the whole story. You also need a healthy eating
plan that includes high-quality protein, whole foods, healthy carbs such as
whole grains, and plenty of water. And, you need your z’s.
“Deep sleep increases growth hormone, so your body can better repair and
rebuild muscle and bone after you exercise,” says Sara Mednick, PhD, a
project scientist at the University of California, San Diego, and author of
Take a
Nap! Change Your Life (Workman Publishing, 2006). “Getting
your eight hours also boosts the sleep hormone melatonin, which has antioxidant
qualities that help your metabolism,” she says.
And getting enough shuteye protects your cardiovascular health, an essential
component of staying power. Taking a nap three times a week lowers the risk
of coronary death by 37 percent, according to a study published in the February
2007 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. “Most
likely this is because napping decreases the stress hormone cortisol, so you’re
also less likely to reach for high-fat or high-sugar foods and to store body
fat,” says Mednick.
Competitive athletes are particularly interested in how food, water and rest
affect staying power. David C. Nieman, DrPH, director of the Human Performance
Laboratory at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., studied elite marathoners
and cyclists and found that inadequate hydration can lower stamina and performance.
“If you lose over 2 percent of your body weight through sweat, your heart
rate becomes elevated and your stamina decreases,” he explains.
His group also found that during 90 minutes or more of strenuous exercise, the
body’s carbohydrate stores can drop too low, which depletes muscle glycogen,
leading to a sudden loss of stamina, or what’s commonly called “hitting
the wall.”
Replenishing your body with a carb-rich snack or sport drink will allow you
to maintain your pace longer. (For tips on how to properly fuel and hydrate
for fitness activities, see “Time
to Eat” in the June 2006 archives.)
Still, the biggest factor in boosting stamina is regular exercise. “People
make time to sleep and eat every day — exercise should be in the same
league,” says Nieman, 57, who makes time in his busy schedule every day
for his own mix of weightlifting, running, stationary cycling and manual labor
on his berry farm. He celebrates his superior staying power by running marathons
and ultramarathons and says he plans to live to be 100, as do Jim and Ardie
Vranas.
Of course, they have quite a jump on him. “We’re so thankful that,
at 82, we have the might and the strength to do what we want to do every day.
I don’t feel my age — I’ve never felt so good,” says
Jim. “I highly recommend what we’re doing to everyone, no matter
how old.”
Kathy Summers (www.kathysummers.com)
writes about health, nutrition and fitness for a variety of national magazines
and custom publications.
Stamina
Checklist (Back to Top)
- Assess your current level of stamina.
Knowing where you are helps you know where to begin, which in turn lowers
your risk of getting injured and quitting. Consider getting a V02-max or other
fitness assessment at your local health club or sports clinic.
- Strength train. Regularly lift something
in a way that gets your heart pumping — whether you use free weights,
kettlebells, weight machines or your own body weight.
- Customize. Work with a trainer to
create a fitness program that specifically addresses your favorite sports
activities and personal health concerns. Then get out and play, ride a bike,
or join a basketball league.
- Eat and drink right. Your weight
training will progress faster and better if you give your body the fuel and
water it needs — before, during and after exercise.
- Take a snooze. A 20-minute nap can
give your brain and body the opportunity to do some restorative work, notes
Sara Mednick, PhD, a project scientist at the University of California, San
Diego. Napping doesn’t give you license to skimp on the real stuff,
though: Strive for a solid eight hours each and every night.
Resources (Back
to Top)
Strength
Training Past 50: Your Guide to Fitness and Performance by
Wayne L. Westcott and Thomas R. Baechle (Human Kinetics, 2007) — Cutting-edge
advice for staying active, with sport-specific weight training for runners,
cyclists, swimmers, skiers, tennis players and golfers.
Building
Strength and Stamina: For a Stronger, Leaner and Fatigue-Resistant Physique
by Wayne L. Westcott (Human Kinetics, 2003) — Detailed
instructions on how to train for strength and stamina in 30 minutes a day, using
principles practiced by the NFL and the U.S. Navy.
Strong
Women Stay Young by Miriam E. Nelson, PhD, with Sarah
Wernick, PhD (Bantam Dell, 2005) — A progressive strength-training program
based on two 40-minute sessions per week, specially designed for women over
age 40. More info at www.strongwomen.com.
Yoga for
Strength and Stamina by Seema Sondhi (Wisdom Tree, 2007)
— A step-by-step yoga program to fight fatigue, cope with routine stress
and improve stamina through simple asanas.
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