Introduction
Stamina is the ability or strength to keep doing something for a long time. The big question is how to build stamina to reap the benefits. With good stamina, you are resistant to fatigue, hardship, or illness. An example of stamina is when you can easily run a long marathon. Building stamina is important for athletes however it’s equally important for everyone since it gives you the edge over others for success.
Stamina allows you to sustain physical or mental effort for long periods of time. With increased stamina, you endure discomfort or stress while doing an activity. It also reduces fatigue and exhaustion.
Some people with low stamina and fitness levels have underlying respiratory (lung) problems, cardiac (heart) problems, or general fitness or mobility problems. They are less able to do demanding tasks since the above problems drastically reduce stamina.
Testing your stamina
The treadmill stress test is used to determine the effects of exercise on the heart. This test allows doctors to detect coronary artery disease.
In this test, you walk on the treadmill while the electrical activity of your heart is monitored. Gradually the speed and incline of the treadmill increase and the test will determine your heart response to the stress of different levels of exercise.
Upper body stamina is generally measured by performing the one-minute push-up test. This test measures muscular endurance of the upper body muscles like the anterior deltoid, biceps, and triceps. If you have good muscular endurance you can contract the muscle repeatedly without fatigue.
Lower body stamina. The squat jump (SJ) is a simple and reliable measure of lower-body stamina. As a result, the squat jump has become a cornerstone test for many strength and conditioning coaches and sports scientists
How to build stamina
- Exercise. Exercise can help a person gain physical stamina. Exercises like pushups, bench presses, deadlifts, and pullups are great exercises to build upper body stamina. While squats, deadlifts, and lunges build lower-body muscles. Body weight training can build your muscles while reducing the chances of injury and improving flexibility. Exercise also reduces levels of the body’s stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. It also stimulates the production of endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers. Exercises are the excellent and only way to build muscles and build physical stamina if you have desk jobs.
- Yoga and meditation. Yoga and meditation can also contribute greatly towards building flexibility, and physical stamina and releasing stress-bursting hormones.
- Eat a healthy breakfast. A healthy breakfast with a good amount of protein, vitamins, and minerals is essential for improving stamina.
- Drink enough water. If you often find yourself low on energy, blame it on dehydration.
- Balance diet. Always eats a balanced diet with enough protein and vitamins. Nuts, Eggs, Fatty Fish, Green Leafy Vegetables, Fruits. Banana is one food that is loved by most people, irrespective of their age. It also happens to be one of the best foods to increase stamina. This fruit is rich in carbohydrates and also has natural sugar and starch which gives you the energy to keep going throughout the day.
- Always keep sleep as the top priority. Sleep plays a pivotal role in learning, memory, mood, and judgment. Sleep affects your performance like your daily work and athletic performance. The amount of time you sleep as well as the quality of your sleep are both important.
Mental endurance
Mental toughness is the ability to produce consistent results regardless of the situation. Mentally strong athletes always find a way to win regardless of weather conditions, injury, or other pressures.
People with low mental stamina are distracted easily, may find difficulties focusing, and take more time to finish the assigned task.
Testing mental stamina
Many tests like IQ tests and academic tests can potentially give you an idea about your mental stamina.
However, each individual is different so having a standardized test is not going to give the correct result for one’s mental stamina.
9 Key Signs of Mental Strength
- Mentally strong people know what they want.
- They tolerate temporary discomfort.
- They are flexible.
- They’re kind.
- They hold on until it’s time to let go.
- They respect and protect their happiness.
- They show emotional control.
- They have a powerful sense of empathy.
How to be mentally strong:
- Avoid self-criticism. It leads you to many negative consequences since, self-criticism creates negative vibes that can lead to depression, eating disorders, and anxiety disorders in long term.
- Be goal-oriented. Goal orientation is important, especially when it comes to making decisions. If you didn’t know what you don’t want, you may accept the wrong job, eat a meal that is bad for your health, and even marry a bad person for you. If you are goal-oriented and have clarity about what you need it will move you in the right direction.
- Celebrate past successes. Recognizing and celebrating success is a very powerful motivator because it reinforces your self-esteem and hard work. This, in turn, boosts your self-esteem and motivates you to take the next step toward achieving your next goal.
- Positive self-talk. Positive self-talk is an inner voice that makes you feel good about yourself and everything going on in your life. By re-enforcing optimistic positive self-talk you are encouraged to look at the bright side, pick yourself up when you fall, and learn from your failure.
- Take Action. The more you do something, the easier it is to keep doing it, whether you succeed or not. You taste success if you keep doing and improving from past actions. By maintaining the action, you are setting yourself up for a greater chance of hitting your goals.
- Manage Stress. Some of the physical signs that your stress levels are too high include tension headache, and pain in the chest, stomach, and joints. Your muscles are tensed when you’re stressed, and over time this can cause headaches, migraines, musculoskeletal problems, and digestive problems. Identifying stress triggers like job responsibilities, job pressure, and relationship issues to reduce stress
Benefits of good stamina:
- You can stand for long hours without being fatigued.
- You’re Mentally Sharp. If you’re mentally sharp, you have an excellent memory, and you find it easy to complete multiple tasks.
- Improved focus to perform specific tasks and better concentration.
- You can recover quickly from injuries and pain.
- You enjoy good sex life.
- You excel in the fitness test and stamina test.
A sedentary lifestyle is a top culprit for lack of stamina in modern society
Leading a sedentary lifestyle increases the risks of developing diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, obesity, osteoporosis, and many other health issues.
In addition, lack of exercise leads to weaker muscles and bone density which also decreases stamina and increases the chances of injury.
A sedentary lifestyle is both cause and effect of lower physical and mental stamina.
If you are fit with an abundance of energy that radiates in the form of confidence and propels you to success. Which in turn leads you toward enjoyment and a fulfilling lifestyle. Your perceptions of what you can and can’t do won’t stop you from living life to the full.
Depression and low stamina
A lack of energy and motivation can be a sign of depression.
Depression and other mood disorders have been shown to alter pain perception, which can trigger or worsen the pain.
Fatigue and depression leads to less activity that reduces stamina.
This inactivity can cause muscle and joint pain and stiffness.
You may feel forgetful, slowed, or inattentive if you have depression.
These cognitive symptoms may be signs of CD, or brain fog, a common symptom of depression.
In order to build stamina, you need to get out of depression-causing conditions and exercise is one of the good ways to lower the stress hormone, since stress is the main cause of depression in the modern world.
Sex is also a potent weapon against depression since it releases feel-good hormones. Having good sex life with a potential long-term partner improves mood.
Sex and exercise are the two most powerful weapons against depression.
Conclusion
Stamina is one of the important criteria for healthy people. People with good stamina are in general healthy. Building stamina is not tough, you need to eat a well-balanced diet, exercise, and be mentally sharp.
Check out the following blog post about building good stamina and healthy life:
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