Dorothy FarrarEndurance
Endurance is the resistance to fatigue and the ability to recover quickly after physical and mental stress. Endurance is an important part of athletic performance. To increase general fitness and from the point of view of health, endurance (basic endurance) is of great importance.
Regular endurance training can reduce the body fat percentage and thus be helpful when losing weight. It should therefore always be part of a weight loss program or diet. Moderate aerobic exercise has been shown to have positive effects on the body’s health, particularly in preventing cardiovascular disease.
What is endurance?
Endurance can be defined as resistance to fatigue and the ability to recover quickly after physical and mental stress.
Endurance forms the physiological basis of sporting performance with the other main motoric forms of stress: strength , speed and mobility. Therefore, they are also summarized under the term condition (conditional skills).
From the point of view of training science and medicine, endurance has become the most studied subject among the main forms of motor stress, not least because of its health relevance.
From the point of view of mass sport and the development of general performance and the health aspect, the distinction between general, special, aerobic and anaerobic endurance is important.
General Endurance (Basic Endurance)
Basic endurance is a sport independent fatigue resistance at long-term loads using large muscle groups .
Special Stamina
The special endurance is the ability to achieve a high level of performance under the temporal conditions of the sporting specialization.
Aerobic Endurance
Aerobic endurance is when there is enough oxygen available for the oxidative combustion of glycogen ( carbohydrates ) and fatty acids during exercise.
Anaerobic Endurance
Anaerobic endurance occurs when the oxygen supply for oxidative combustion is insufficient and metabolic processes that take place without the participation of oxygen play a significant role.
Basic endurance
From a sport-related point of view, basic endurance is important because, on the one hand, it can be positively transferred between sport disciplines and, on the other hand, it is the basis for the development of special endurance. Positively transferrable means that basic endurance is a necessary basis for a promising exercise process in all sports. The main components to be mentioned are the increase in the ability to work under pressure, to recover and to concentrate.
Classification of endurance according to time
Short Term Stamina : 35s. – 2 minutes (Anaerobic-lactic energy supply)
Average endurance : 2min. – 10 mins. (Anaerobic energy supply)
Long-term endurance 1 : 10min. – 35 mins. (Aerobic energy supply, onset of fat metabolism)
Long-term endurance 2 : 35min. – 90 min. (aerobic energy supply)
Long-term endurance 3 : 90min. – 6 hours (aerobic energy supply)
Long-term endurance 4 : more than 6 hours (aerobic energy supply)
Provision of energy for endurance performance
Endurance performance is determined by organ systems that are responsible for the mobilization of energy substrates and the oxygen supply. In mass sports, the focus is on general performance and health aspects, so the goal is to develop general aerobic endurance.
Their performance is primarily limited by their ability to consume and transport oxygen. Therefore, the cardiovascular system and the metabolism play a decisive role in the provision of energy in the general aerobic endurance area.
Every physical movement is linked to the presence of energy. The human body has only one direct source of energy available, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The breakdown of ATP is the key energy-yielding process for muscle work .
The capacity of these energy-delivering pathways is limited. Carbohydrates are the most effective form of energy supply for endurance performance. In contrast to the provision of energy from fats or proteins, less oxygen is required when burning carbohydrates and the release of energy is faster.
Fats (mixed combustion) are always consumed during endurance performance, but to a much lesser extent than carbohydrates. The carbohydrate storage (liver, muscle, blood) allows a movement time of about 60-90 minutes at maximum performance. After that, food intake, preferably in the form of foods rich in carbohydrates, becomes unavoidable.
Endurance training and fat burning
Regular endurance training has been proven to have positive effects on fat metabolism. This means that the training produces enzymes that improve the muscular energy supply (oxidation of fats) in the muscle. Fat burning should not be equated with fat loss. Intensive and regular endurance training is an extremely effective form of reducing body fat.
Why is endurance training healthy?
Regular endurance training causes various adaptation phenomena according to the methodological design. The most important adaptation processes of endurance training are: an increase in the maximum cardiac output by increasing the stroke volume and the resulting reduction in heart rate at rest and under stress (economization of the heartbeat).
The training leads to the formation of new fine blood vessels for better oxygen transport in the heart (improvement of the capillarization/capillary vessels) of the heart. This results in an increase in the maximum oxygen uptake capacity, an overall increase in blood volume (absolute hemoglobin content) and an increase in the maximum respiratory minute volume.
In addition, endurance training creates more capillary systems in the muscle tissue and there is also an increase in mitochondria (energy power plants of the body), the myoglobin content and enzymes (ATP resynthesis as an energy supplier) in the muscle cells.
In the meantime, many studies have proven the health effects of appropriate endurance training, especially in the area of preventive care for cardiovascular diseases .
Important preventive adjustments are the economy of heart work (reduction of heart rate) and the reduction of blood fat levels, with the associated reduction in deposits in the vessel wall (plaque), which can lead to an infarction (heart attack) if completely blocked.
In addition, endurance training can make a decisive contribution to lowering blood pressure (high blood pressure). Therefore, endurance performance, more precisely general aerobic endurance performance, is described by some scientists as the “most important health factor”.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.