Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 4: Improve your running ability with interval training
• Method 2 of 4: Cross training to improve your walking ability
• Method 3 of 4: Other ideas for improving your stamina
• Method 4 of 4: Create a workout plan
• Tips
• Warnings

Are you a runner looking to improve your stamina for the marathon? Or maybe you're just running fast and just want to improve to get through those first few miles. Whatever your level - whether you're just starting out or have been running for a while - we'll show you how to level up as a runner.

To step

Method 1 of 4: Improve your running ability with interval training

1. Use interval training. Interval training has several benefits that help you get the most out of your running sessions and improve your stamina.
   • Improve your cardiovascular capacity. Walking long distances can take your breath away. By using the interval training, you will increase your anaerobic capacity (oxygen depletion). And when you combine this with aerobic capacity (building oxygen with simple runs and long runs), these will eventually make you faster.
   • Burning calories. Energy bursts (the high-intensity part of interval training) will increase the amount of calories burned. This is true even for relatively short bursts.
   • It makes your running routine more interesting. It may seem like a small thing, if your normal running routine gets boring your motivation can take a hit.
2. Do even intervals. This is the easiest way to do interval training. You just alternate equal periods of walking at a high and low intensity.
   • Start with a ten to fifteen minute warm-up. Start with a brisk walk followed by a gentle jog, then speed up at the end of the warm-up to get into a full run. This ensures that your body is warmed up before you start the intense speed work.
   • If you're just starting out with intervals, you need to train your body to get used to the tough intervals. Run fast for one minute, followed by slow run or walk for two minutes. Repeat these intervals six to eight times. Do this for several weeks until you feel fine with the rest. Then decrease your recovery / rest time by 30 seconds until you are running on 50/50 thrusts (such as, for example, a one-minute thrust followed by a minute of rest). Make sure you and your body are ready to increase the intensity of the faster intervals and decrease your rest / recovery time before decreasing the rest / recovery time.
   • Finish with a cool-down of fifteen to twenty-five minutes. Move from running to a gentle jog, then slowly slow to a walking pace at the end of the cool-down period.
3. Use pyramid interval training. Pyramid intervals start with short bursts of high intensity and then build up so that the longest period of high intensity training is in the middle of your workout. After that, you'll gradually go back to the shorter strokes before completing your cool down. This is a bit more complex than steady intervals, and you may want to use a stopwatch to keep track of your times.
   • Warm up for ten to fifteen minutes. As described above, start with a fast walking pace followed by a gentle jog, accelerating at the end of the warm-up so that you run at a high intensity at the end of the warm-up.
   • Walk at high intensity for 30 seconds. Then walk at low intensity for a minute. Proceed as follows:
   • 45 seconds high, one minute and fifteen seconds low.
   • 60 seconds high, one minute and thirty seconds low.
   • 90 seconds high, two minutes low.
   • 60 seconds high, one minute and thirty seconds low.
   • 45 seconds high, one minute and fifteen seconds low.
   • 30 seconds high, one minute low.
   • Finish with a twenty-five to thirty-minute cool-down and finish with a comfortable walking pace.
   • NOTE -> When starting an interval training program, make sure your body is adjusted and ready. Doing too much too soon can lead to injury. Just like when you increase the walking distance, you don't do that all of a sudden. You build it up gradually. IF you train for a specific race, do longer intervals with longer rest periods a few months before the race. As the race gets closer, you increase the intensity and shorten the recovery.
4. Do variable intervals. If you play a sport like tennis in addition to running, you know that speed and endurance requirements depend on the conditions of the match. Variable intervals help you mix short and long intervals at high intensity in an unpredictable pattern, mimicking the erratic bursts of speed that are part of typical racing conditions.
   • Warm up for ten to fifteen minutes of easy running.
   • Mix it up. Run at high intensity for two minutes, then jog slowly for two minutes and thirty seconds. Run at top speed for 30 seconds, then jog for 45 seconds. Randomly mix your intervals. In any case, make sure you rest longer after longer intervals at high intensity than with short thrusts. When you start, keep your rest periods a little longer until your body is ready to shorten the rest intervals.
   • Cool down for 15-25 minutes.
5. Use the interval setting on a treadmill. When you run intervals on a treadmill, the machine changes speed and incline, giving you new and unpredictable challenges. Just make sure to do a warm-up and cool-down if these periods are not built into the interval training program.

Method 2 of 4: Cross training to improve your walking ability

1. Add weight training to your running. Weight training increases your running efficiency, which means that you are more efficient with oxygen while running. Try free weights, machines, or other strength training three times a week.
2. Do vigorous cycling intervals. Cycling on a high-resistance exercise bike makes your leg muscles work harder than running up a hill, without putting pressure on your joints.
   • If you are riding a stationary bike, gradually increase the resistance until you can hardly pedal anymore.
   • Get up and do intervals where you cycle as fast as possible. Rest and decrease resistance between intervals. For instance:
     • Stand up and cycle for 30 seconds against high resistance. Then sit down, lower the resistance and slow down for 1 minute.
     • Continue to alternate between high-resistance standing and cycling, and low-intensity sitting and cycling for 1 minute.
     • You can also do pyramid intervals of 30, then 45, then 60, then 90 seconds. Then bring it down by doing intervals of 60, 45, then 30 seconds. Between the intervals, make sure to ride while sitting at a low intensity with high intensity.
   • Sign up for a spinning class - the instructor will lead the group in a prepared set of cycling exercises that will boost your endurance.
3. Swim a few laps. You can swim as a break after a hard workout, or simply incorporate swimming into your routine for variety. Swimming has the added benefit of exercising the muscles of your upper body, which are underdeveloped in most runners.

Method 3 of 4: Other ideas for improving your stamina

1. Increase your walking distance by 10 percent per week. For example, if you run 3 km a day, add 300 meters to your daily running session for a week. Keep adding 10 percent to your running session to improve your stamina. But make sure to vary your workout. For example, if you run 30 km in a week, increase it to 33 km in the following week. But in the week after that, bring your distance back so that your body can adapt (so then walk 28-30 km, for example). Increase it to 40 km per week the following week, followed by a decrease to 33-37 km the following week. Build up your walking distance gradually. The final top distance depends on the race you are training for.
2. Walk longer on weekends. If you are used to walking 3 km a day during the week, run 6 km on the weekend.
3. Walk slower and longer. For example, run longer distances at 60 percent of your power. The long distance is meant to help build endurance, it's not a race. Make sure to take quiet days before and after these running sessions.
4. Try plyometric exercises. Plyometric exercises such as skipping rope can help improve your walking mechanics by reducing the amount of time your feet stay on the ground.
5. Increase the pace at the end of your running sessions. During the last quarter of your workout, run as fast as you can before doing your cool-down. This workout will help you avoid fatigue at the end of a race.
6. Walk on changing terrain. Whether you're walking outside or on a treadmill, change the incline regularly for extra cardio training.
7. Change your diet. Get rid of refined carbohydrates and eat more lean proteins and vegetables. Eat smaller, more regular meals as well.

Method 4 of 4: Create a workout plan

1. Make a schedule. Making a schedule will help you stick to a regime. It will help you reach the goal of better endurance, and it will also give you an opportunity to collect measurements: Are you keeping a steady pace? Can you walk longer or faster (or both), or have you reached a plateau? Here is an example schedule that will help you increase endurance as well as speed:
   • Day 1 - Even intervals. Warm up for 15-20 minutes, then run at top speed for one minute followed by one minute and fifteen seconds of slow walking or walking. Repeat these intervals six to eight times. Stick to a set time (with a stopwatch) for each phase, then cool down for 20-30 minutes, gradually slowing down to walking pace.
   • Day 2 - Easy running day (only 3-8 km, depending on you and your running experience).
   • Day 3 - Pyramid intervals. Warm up for ten to fifteen minutes, then run a pyramid interval set, as described above.
     • Walk at a comfortable pace for 15 minutes, then do a variable interval set.
     • Finish with a 20-25 minute cool-down and finish at a comfortable walking pace.
   • Day 4 - Easy running session (3-8 km, depending on you and your running experience).
   • Day 5 - Easy running session (3-8 km, depending on you and your running experience).
     • This may seem like a lot of rest, but you did run pretty hard on Day 3. And since you run a long time on Day 6, it's better to be well rested for that.
   • Day 6 - Long running session. Start slowly and walk for 40 to 90 minutes at an easy pace where you can still talk. It can help to have a friend or family member who wants to walk with you, or at least follow you on the bike.
   • Day 7 - Rest day (3-8 km, depending on you and your running experience. Take this day off every 8th week.)
2. Mix it up a bit. Increase the pressure about once every three weeks with this technique:
   • Find a track or flat area about 400 meters to walk on. Avoid streets that are too uneven; one foot will then be noticeably lower than the other.
   • Do dynamic stretches (not static) and a light warm-up (e.g. 25 push-ups, or jogging).
   • Do a 400m sprint followed by a 400m jog. Do the sprint and jog routine for at least 2 miles.
   • Break your record. When you have reached the limits of your stamina, write down the time and place of your running session. Keep that as the minimum distance / duration, and try to improve that number. Raise your lower bound as you improve.
   • Cool down. You shouldn't just stop walking after every running session. Walk out until your heart rate is average. Then stretch.
3. Get stuck in it. Don't stop your training schedule, don't tell yourself you'll do it tomorrow, don't tell yourself you're too tired, or tell yourself you're too busy. Walk in the morning to get it over with.

Tips

• Keep a journal with the details of your running routines. You will be able to see your improvements at a glance.
• Get tips from other runners. Join a running club or try an online forum to get tips from others who have successfully improved their running ability.
• Never stop. You may think you're not getting better, but that's not true.

Warnings

• Listen to your body to avoid injuries. Make sure to stretch, warm up, and cool down. Also make sure your shoes are comfortable.