STAMINA

1. INTRODUCTION

Stamina is a complex skill which is very important in the development and performance of
athletes, (See “Table 1”), whether they are participating in individual sports or as a team.
Compared to other skills, stamina can improve greatly with training.

People are considered to have stamina when they are capable of performing exertion with
specific intensity during a relatively long period of time without showing symptoms of
fatigue. And also when they are able to continue with the exertion in good condition after
symptoms have appeared.

According to Álvarez del Villar (1987), stamina training was initially performed in two ways,
through the continuous repetition of a gesture using fewer repetitions with greater intensity
and interspersed with breaks for recovery. This method of training gave birth to the
principle of overload, basis for all modern training sessions.

2. THE CONCEPT OF STAMINA

In general, stamina is considered as the skill used to perform a certain exertion in the
longest possible time, endure fatigue due to that exertion and recover quickly from it.

Thus, it can be deduced from this concept that stamina is a multiple physiological ability
which highlights three key aspects:

• The ability to sustain efforts over a long period of time

• The ability to resist fatigue

• The ability to recover quickly

Stamina is simply a system of adjusting the body to fight fatigue and dealing with it so that
it does not reappear later. This can be achieved through proper training.

Effects of stamina training

It increases the cardiac volume: it allows the heart to receive more blood and
consequently expel large amount of blood with each contraction.
It strengthens the heart: it increases the thickness of the walls of the heart, as well as the
size of the atria and ventricles.
It decreases heart rate: this allows the heart to perform a workout more efficiently as it
pumps more blood with less effort.
It increases capillarisation: it increases the number of capillaries and alveoli, which
improves oxygen exchange.
It improves the respiratory system: it increases lung capacity.
It optimises the removal of waste substances: it activates the functioning of detoxification
organs: liver, kidneys, etc.
It activates metabolism in general: among other effects, it reduces fat and cholesterol
levels.
It strengthens the muscular system.
It improves willingness and capacity for training
Table 1

3. FACTORS DETERMINING STAMINA

There are various factors that must be taken into account when studying stamina:

Energy sources

We get ATP (adenosine triphosphate) from the food we eat and they are stored in the
muscles. ATP is a molecule that produces energy needed for muscle contractions, nerve
conduction, etc.

The ATP needed for muscular exercise can also be obtained in other ways. There are
three different and successive exercises to get it. Any one of them will be involved
depending on the activity to be developed:

 Alactic anaerobic exercise: it uses ATP immediate mode and also CP (creatine
phosphate) from which ATP is obtained and stored in the muscles and it does not
require oxygen for its use.

Its reserves are very limited. It allows maximum intensive efforts during a short
period of time (10-15 seconds), without producing lactic acid.

 Lactic anaerobic exercise: it uses ATP produced by the decomposition of

glycogen deposits in the muscles and liver. This is produced in the absence of
oxygen and is generated as lactic acid waste product.

The reserves in this case are limited and allow this to be used in high intensity
exercises to a maximum of approximately 1 to 2 minutes.

 Aerobic exercise: it is an exercise which lasts more than two minutes. The body
uses the oxidisation of glycogen to obtain ATP, that is, a chemical reaction is
produced at the cell level during which oxygen is used to burn glycogen.

This exercise involves prolonged efforts of relatively low or medium intensity.

It is important to note that, if aerobic exercises are done for a long time and/or the
 intensity of physical exercise increases significantly, it goes back to anaerobic lactic
exercise which produces lactic acid.

Oxygen consumption

When performing exercises, the body consumes oxygen. The need for oxygen in the
tissues and muscles involved in physical activities depends on the intensity and duration of
the exercise and the number of group muscles involved in it.

There is a linear relationship between heart rate and the intensity of exercise performed
(See “Figure 1”), So, the greater the intensity, the faster the heart rate.

When the exercise is intense and/or immediate, the body cannot supply enough oxygen.
So it resorts to anaerobic exercise to obtain energy and then produces an energy deficit
which generates the so-called oxygen debt. The latter is the difference between the
amount of O2 supplied through breathing and that actually needed at the cellular level.
The oxygen debt is offset when the activity is finished during the recovery period.

Figure 1
Anaerobic threshold

Anaerobic threshold is the point at which the body

begins to produce lactic acid. It represents a single
variable, different for each person, and it is always
around 170 beats per minute.

One way of knowing anaerobic threshold is by taking

pulse beats two times in a minute after a continuous
race. The major difference is that it has better recovery
and increased anaerobic threshold. That is, it is better if
it moves from 170 to 110 beats in a minute than if the
change is from 170 to 140.

Fatigue

Fatigue is a transient and reversible decrease in the ability of performance. It is basically

due to decreased energy reserves and progressive poisoning of the body by the
accumulation of waste substances produced by cellular metabolism since their removal is
difficult.

The main waste products resulting from physical exercise are urea, lactic acid, carbon
dioxide, water and metabolites other than lactate. Urea and water are filtered by the
kidneys, CO2 is eliminated through the lungs and metabolites other than lactate and lactic
acid are removed by oxidation.

All these processes contribute to the slowdown of the different physiological functions and
the emergence of widespread feeling of fatigue, caused by the circulation of different
substances through all parts of the body.
 4. TYPES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
DEPENDING ON EXERTION

Exertion means the continued or intense use of physical skills to perform any physical
exercise. Depending on the type of exertion made, the way of obtaining energy differs. It
can be grouped into three classes according to whether the intensity is maximum, sub-
maximum or medium.

Maximum Intensity Exertions

These are exertions in which the heart rate exceeds 180 beats per minute. According to
the various authors, the duration of these types of exertions may vary between 3 and 5
seconds and 10 to 15 seconds.

Recovery from these types of exertions occurs after 1 or 2 minutes, when the heart rate
drops to 120 beats per minute.

The energy sources for the realization of these exertions are deposits of ATP (adenosine
triphosphate) and CP (creatine phosphate), which do not require oxygen for their use. The
cause of fatigue is the depletion of these energy sources.

Among the maximum intensity exertions are speed races and all the activities that require
explosive and short duration exertions such as jumping, throwing, sprinting, weightlifting...

Sub-maximum Intensity Exertions

These are those in which the heart rate is above 140 beats per minute. The duration of
such exertions is usually between 1 and 3 minutes. The recovery in this case occurs 4 to 5
minutes later, when the heart rate drops to 90 beats.

Once the ATP and CP reserves are used up, the energy source comes from the
degradation of sugars, glucose and fat. The causes of fatigue are insufficient intake of
oxygen on one hand and the accumulation of lactic acid on the other.

Among these types of exertions are 200 and 400 meter races in athletics, team sports like
handball or football, etc.
Medium Intensity Exertions

These are exertions in which the heart rate ranges between 120 and 140 beats per
minute. The medium intensity exertions last between 3 and 5 minutes or more. The
recovery is minimal in short duration exertions and between 3 and 5 minutes in the case of
high intensity exertions.

To strike a balance between the supply and use of oxygen in these types of exertions, the
main causes of fatigue are the use of the existing reserves, declining blood sugar, loss of
organic salts and ionic imbalances.

All low intensity and long duration activities, such as long distance races, cycling, lengthy
swimming tests, rowing, skating... fall within this type of exertion.

5. TYPES OF STAMINA

One of the main causes of fatigue is the muscles’ need for oxygen when the demand
exceeds the amount the body can provide. Energy is obtained through anaerobic
exercises and waste is produced.

There is an absolute correlation between heart contractions and oxygen consumption,

therefore, by controlling heart rate (number of beats per minute), the athlete can know the
exercises performed.

Based on the method of energy production and the muscles’ demand for oxygen, and
depending on the types of exertions seen above, we can distinguish between two types of
stamina: aerobic and anaerobic, which in turn can be divided into alactic and lactic.

All physical activities have proportions of both types of stamina: A 10 seconds exertion has
approximately 15% aerobic component and 85% anaerobic, whereas a two-hour-moderate
physical exercise has approximately 90% aerobic and 10% anaerobic component.

Aerobic stamina

This is also called organic and it is defined as the ability to perform low intensity exertions
for a long time while maintaining the balance between the use and supply of oxygen.

In this type of stamina, the body obtains energy through the

oxidation of glucose and fatty acids. The oxygen comes in
sufficient quantity to perform the activity in question, so it is
considered that there is a balance between the oxygen
provided and that consumed.

The activities developed through aerobic stamina are always of

low and medium intensity and the exertion can prolong for quite
some time.

A person at rest has between 60 and 70 beats per minute and can maintain an aerobic
workout up to 140 and even 160 beats per minute. Having overcome these values, the
exercise is essentially anaerobic. Therefore, to plan an aerobic exercise, it is essential to
take account of the target heart rate.

It is possible to make an estimate of the energy consumption that occurs in aerobic

activities. For example, if you work at 130 beats per minute, about 2 litres of oxygen can
be consumed every minute (See “Chart 1”). If the activity lasts one hour, the energy used
is as follows:

60 minutes x 2 litres of O2/minute x 5 Kcal./litre of O2 = 600 Kcal.

Anaerobic stamina

This is defined as the ability to withstand high intensity exertion at short duration, by
delaying the start of fatigue as long as possible, despite the progressive decrease in
organic reserves.

In this type of stamina, there is no balance between oxygen produced and that consumed
since oxygen supply is insufficient, it is lower than that actually needed to perform the
exertion. Activities developed through anaerobic stamina are high intensity and the
exertion cannot be prolonged for a long time.

It is important to note that this is only recommended for ages where an individual’s
development is high. Although it is normal to have some anaerobic exercises at specific
moments during the sporting activities of children and youths, it should not be encouraged
because the stamina to be improved at this age should be the aerobic.

Alactic Anaerobic Stamina

This is defined as the ability to withstand and maintain maximum intensity of exertion as
long as possible. It is so called because the process of using ATP reserves in the muscle is
done in the absence of oxygen and without the production of lactic acid as a residue.

Lactic anaerobic stamina

This is defined as the ability to withstand and delay the start of fatigue in high intensity
exertion.

In this kind of stamina, the energy obtained is through the production of ATP thanks to the
various chemical reactions performed in the absence of oxygen which are generated as
lactic acid residue and accumulated in the muscle.

6. STAMINA TRAINING SYSTEMS

The development of stamina helps to fight off tiredness, that is, it delays the start of
fatigue, postpones its appearance or keeps it as low as possible.

To improve stamina, we have different systems that allow our bodies to adapt to exertion
and improve the level of the athlete depending on the case. First of all, it is important to
note that you must improve overall stamina, and only try to work out more specific skills
later on. In addition, you must know that this skill decreases with age (See “Table 2”).
Training methods for developing stamina are very versatile (See “Table 3”), both for the
various application possibilities as well as its applicability to the different sports disciplines.
In general, we can talk of two groups of basic systems, the continuous and fractional
systems.

Evolution of stamina with age

From 8 to 12 years, there is an increased growth in the ability to withstand moderate and
continuous exertion.

Between 12 and 18 years. only aerobic stamina should be developed.

Around 18-20 years, maximum stamina capacity is reached.

From 23 to 30 years the maximum aerobic and anaerobic capacity is reached.

From 30 years, there is a slow decrease in stamina, less than that of the exertion and
speed.
Table 2

Continuous Systems

Continuous training, also called endurance, is the oldest and involves covering a relatively
long distance through sustained physical exertion (more than 30 minutes), without stops or
breaks, for example, running, walking, biking, rowing...

It is used to develop aerobic stamina and can be done in two ways: at constant speed,
where it always works with the same intensity and maintains the heart rate at 50-70 per
cent maximum during the entire movement. It is also done at variable speed, where the
exertion is performed by varying intensity that causes constant changes in the pace of the
beats.

Based on all the possibilities described above, there are different systems of continuous
stamina training:

➢ Continuous race (Finnish school): this method is used to improve aerobic stamina.
It consists of running at a uniform rate with moderate intensity on a flat land. The
distance depends on the physical fitness of the person: it must begin with short
distances with gradual increases in the distance of the race. It is supposed to cover
10-20 kilometres when the workout is greater.

Its objective is to maximise the absorption of oxygen and increase fat metabolism.
Intensity of exertion must be constant and heart rate must be maintained between
140 and 150 beats per minute, at an average of approximately 5 minutes/kilometre.

It is often used in the pre-season to prepare the body for exertion during regular
training sessions. It is also used at the warm-up stage, before the start of a physical
activity.

➢ Fartlek (Swedish school): it consists of a race interspersed with continuous

changes in pace, distance, intensity and frequency of strides... It is a game of pace
 and distances. Each distance is covered at a predetermined pace; the sections of
continuous stretches of the race are considered as breaks and the sections of
accelerations are the exertions.

It is the hardest system. It stimulates cross country races and its main objective is to
increase aerobic and anaerobic stamina, depending on the intensity of the exercise:

• To optimise aerobic capacity, exercise is performed over 10-12 kilometres,

interspersed with long distances (1000-2000 meters) with high intensity periods
of 200-400 meters.

• To optimise anaerobic capacity, fewer kilometres are covered with longer

distances of 200-600 meters, high intense periods of 100-200 meters and
accelerations of 50-100 meters.

The beats should be around 140 in gentle paces and 180 during the intense
ones. They usually perform 2-3 series of 3-4 kilometres with active rest of 5
minutes between them.

➢ Complete training session (based on Herbert’s natural method): it is the sum of

continuous race, fartlek and gymnastics. It is developed in a natural environment,
and different fields, distances, paces and intensities are alternated.

Example:

— 10 minutes of continuous race.

— 4 series of 20 meters race.

— 10 minutes of continuous race.

— 20 minutes pairwise exertion.

— 5 minutes of continuous race.

— 15 minutes of flexibility

— 10 minutes of continuous race.

It is possible to include various exercises: exertion, jumping, flexibility, acceleration,

climbing, throwing, balancing...

Its objective is to improve overall physical fitness but it is often used in the early
stages of training.

➢ Slopes: it is a system of short races which are focused on improving both aerobic
and anaerobic stamina (See “Table 3”).

It is a training session with overload which is often worked out 2 or 3 times a week
 for 1 or 2 months. It is a natural environment to improve stamina by changing the
pace of the race or intensity of exertion.

➢ Polish race: it is a training system based on continuous race with long work out at
variable pace and intensity regulated at the discretion of the athlete.

Example:

— 10 minutes of continuous race.

— 20 minutes of speed: between 4 and 6 series of 400-500 meters, at a slow pace,

followed by 50-100 meters of speed.

— 10 minutes of continuous race.

— 20 minutes of tempo runs: 4-5 series at a fast pace over short distances
between 150 and 600 meters, followed by a stretch of 400-500 meters at a slow
pace.

— 10 minutes of continuous race.

— 10 minutes of cool down.

The above is a great Polish race: warmup, speed, pace and cool down. There is
also a small Polish race, which has only three parts, pace has been eliminated.

Breathing is the parameter that identifies the intensity of exertions. This system
allows us to assimilate greater exertion and more exercise which is set to the
athlete’s desire to run.

Aerobic stamina Anaerobic stamina

Distance On 100 meters 20-60 meters
Gradient Small, 5-10 degrees Medium, 15-20 degrees
Climbing pace Slow Fast
Repetitions 10 _15 6_10
Rest Start to finish, 30-45 seconds Reduced to 140 heart beats
Table 3: Stamina Training on Slopes

Fractional systems

The use of fractional training began at the end of the 19th Century by American coaches to
train running athletes and today it is one of the most used systems in various sports
disciplines for stamina training.

They are characterised by interruptions unlike the continuous systems. Exertion is divided
into several parts of sub-maximum intensity which are alternated with time intervals known
as recovery breaks, which help the body to adapt. For example, there are three series of
ten minutes races with 5 minutes rest between them. The intervals between the rest
periods during which there is walking, stretching, etc. vary greatly.

Since this type of training can be done with various technical variations, it is a very rich
method with multiple possibilities that has led to various systems of stamina training.

By splitting exertion into different parts, greater training volume is achieved at a faster
pace with less fatigue. This system allows you to workout at great intensity in two ways,
depending on the number of heart beats you want to lower per minute:

Interval system

Exertion is split and it includes incomplete recovery breaks, that is, full recovery is not
achieved during the break. The two most popular interval systems are the following:

• Interval-training: is a training in which exertion is alternated with active breaks:

walking, light jogging... its purpose is to increase the cardiovascular efficiency and
anaerobic stamina, although it can also be adapted to improve aerobic stamina.

Characteristics:

◦ Heart beats should not exceed 180 per minute during training.

◦ Heart beats must reduce up to 120-130 during active break.

◦ Distances to be covered range between 60 and 400 meters, depending on the

type of stamina targeted.

◦ Between 10 and 20 repetitions are performed. Adaptations are achieved faster

with this system than the continuous race process, although its effects do not
last long.

• Pace racing (German school): also called stamina pace, is a variant of the previous
one but with distances adapted to 1/3 of the distance athletes cover in their
specialty areas.

To improve aerobic stamina, 3 to10 repetitions are made at the pace test, over a
distance of 400-1000 meters, and recovery is done by lowering to 90 beats per
minute.

To perform anaerobic exercises, the distances range between 60 and 300 meters,
at a faster rate than usual, with 4-8 repetitions and long breaks of 3 to 6 minutes.

Repetition system

The exertion is split equally, but the recovery break allows recovery to be complete:

• Circuit-training: it is the only stamina workout system which does not basically use
race, as it was originally created as an alternative for stamina workout in small and
enclosed places for climate needs.

This usually combines stamina workout with that of another physical ability,
generally strength. It involves having a particular space with a variable set of
 stations or exercises (between 6 and 12) organised in the form of a circuit. There is
a specific order for each individual to follow:

These exercises alternate the muscle groups to work and run consecutively, with
brief periods of rest between them. They perform up to 4 laps per circuit, and
include a break between 1 to 3 minutes.

• Training repetitions: their purpose is focused on increasing neuromuscular ability to

accustom the muscles to high oxygen debt.

They work by series whose distances vary between 20 and 300 meters, a maximum
or sub-maximum speed, with a number of not very high repetitions and complete
rests to allow for recovery.

The series can be performed in several ways:

◦ Exact: all factors involved (distance, pace, breaks...) always remain the same.

◦ Progressive: it always covers the same distance, but faster each time, without
changing the rest period.

◦ Simulators: they cover a distance similar to that of fractional competition in short

series with varying distances.

◦ Mixed: it varies the distance and rest time.

◦ Overload: it always covers the same distance and increases the intensity in a
lap of the race.

◦ Broken: the distance is very short and it is performed at maximum speed.

Aerobic stamina Aerobic/anaerobic stamina Anaerobic stamina

Fartleck
Continuos race Slopes Circuit training
Polish race
Complete training Interval-training Training repetitions
Pace racing
Table 4: stamina training systems

For further information:

– Handbook of Theory and Practice of Physical Fitness. Authors: De la Reina Montero, Leopoldo and
Martínez de Haro, Vicente. Free printable on-line book is in PDF. Webpage address: web.
[Link]
– Stamina. Author: Navarro Valdivieso, Fernando. Editorial: Gymnos. Madrid, 1998.