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The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines endurance as the ability to resist hardship and adversity, specifically the capacity to withstand a long, strenuous, and stressful activity or effort. In sports, endurance entails an athlete’s ability to sustain a specific activity for a long duration. Accordingly, endurance sports involve continuous and prolonged varying intensity exercises.

Endurance sports have similar characteristics, including repeated large skeletal muscle group repetitive isotonic contractions, making them aerobic exercises with desired cardiovascular and metabolic effects. Additionally, for a sport to qualify as an endurance activity, the athlete must maintain a submaximal work rate for a long duration. Submaximal means that the individual increases the activity’s intensity but does not exceed 85 percent of their maximum heart rate.

Importantly, a person’s physiological state affects their ability to sustain such a daunting task. Physiological factors include muscle strength, psychology, and aerobic capacity. Aerobic capacity, also known as VO2 max, cardiorespiratory fitness, or cardiopulmonary capacity, measures an individual’s maximum oxygen consumption when engaging in physical activity.

There are four endurance types in sports. Aerobic endurance entails repeated moderate-intensity exercise for extended periods. This type depends on the body’s oxygen delivery system — the heart and lungs — and the muscles’ ability to use oxygen at a high rate over long periods. Aerobic endurance is vital for many sports requiring sustained exertion periods like cycling, rowing, swimming, cross-country skiing, walking, and extended runs such as the 10K run.

Anaerobic endurance is the ability to sustain brief, repeated high-intensity exercises, typically over 75 percent VO2 max. It includes activities requiring the body to produce energy without oxygen during short activity bursts such as weightlifting and sprints. Sports in this category involve energy-intensive movements; therefore, the body breaks down glycogen stored in muscle tissue into glucose to satisfy the energy demand. Notably, these exercises often last less than 10 seconds.

Speed endurance is the ability to perform repeated high-intensity work over a long period. It sharpens the muscle fibers, so they respond more quickly, allowing the athlete to reach high speeds instantly, making it an essential component in many sports, including sprinting, track and field events, hockey, soccer, and rugby. Athletes develop speed endurance through repetition running, where they take fast-paced runs, rest for a few minutes, then do another round of repeat sprints. Such training allows them to run at their fastest possible speeds for long without becoming fatigued from muscle lactic acid build-up.

Last, strength endurance, also called muscular endurance, is the ability to repeatedly exert a large amount of force over time. It is the ability to continue an activity despite fatigue. Strength endurance is important in many sports, including circuit training, harness running, and hill running, but it is especially crucial in weightlifting and powerlifting. These two sports require athletes to lift heavy weights for multiple repetitions over short periods, also known as sets. Strength endurance helps athletes maintain their form at high fatigue levels, allowing them to complete more repetitions.

Among the benefits, endurance sports increase heart rate to levels that stimulate the heart muscle to grow strong. Consequently, this can help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and increased cholesterol.

Endurance activities build lean muscles that keep the metabolism revved up even when one is not exercising. With many people living sedentary lifestyles, obesity cases are on the rise. These exercises help burn more calories than the average person consumes daily, making it easier for individuals to reach or maintain a healthy weight. Consequently, when people attain their weight goals, their self-image also improves.

It also leads to improved mental health. Endurance sports help individuals sleep better at night, leading to better mental health. They also boost serotonin levels in the brain, improving mood swings, stress, anxiety, and depression.