How do I build endurance?

July 14, 2018 11:02 AM

I have been doing muay thai on and off for 8 years now - for mental health and fitness, not to become a fighter - but I have not been progressing in terms of strength/endurance.

Once in a while, I do yoga, which I really enjoy. I also bike to run errands and to see friends, but live too far from work to bike there/back.
The exercise is like best is highly active and with a group of people, so I feel accountable to push hard, but not overly social - I like being able to stay in my head in the crowd. I am a weak swimmer, and a bad runner. I am also bad at motivating myself at solitary workouts, but if I get to the gym, working out with everyone is motivating.
I've been thinking about trying out strength training at a nearby community centre, with a personal trainer. However, the trainer is $180 for 3 sessions + the membership, and I would then be on my own to push/motivate myself for workouts. The community centre also has swimming classes, which I can use, plus the summer in my city has been scorching.
If you're female, what exercise have you found useful to build endurance and that can be done in a group setting (if you're a lazybones like me)? What would you recommend to someone like me? And how do you stay motivated without getting kind of embarrassed about not becoming a Star Athlete?
I'm fit enough to do muay thai, but after 8 years, I am still substituting burpees with squats, and full push-ups with modified sit-ups. And to be honest, I'm a bit embarrassed that I'm not at the fighter level (although it's not a huge priority, and I've been working + in grad school for the past 3 years).

posted by elsmith to Health & Fitness (10 answers total)

A baby step toward strength you might enjoy is a body pump class, essentially weight lifting movements with relatively light weights and high reps, done in a group to music. "body pump" or "body attack" seems to be the generic name for these classes in the UK. They're a great workout and really fun; I dropped them because they fit awkwardly with high weight low versions of the same exercise, but I miss doing it a lot. They also should be good for endurance.
posted by ominous_paws at 12:25 PM on July 14, 2018

Concentrate on cardio for endurance and start practicing full burpees and full pushups at home and start doing them in training at least part of the time (you can switch to squats/situps after trying your max number of burpees and pushups.) Are there Pilates classes (mat) or HIIT (high intensity interval training) classes you can join?
posted by quince at 12:34 PM on July 14, 2018

I found that I gained a surprising amount of strength from barre classes, so I'd look around and see if there are any in your area. The classes involve energetic music, encouragement from the instructor, and very little interaction with other students, and generally work arms, abs, glutes, and thighs.
posted by mogget at 12:53 PM on July 14, 2018

My gym includes unlimited access to the classes offered at the gym, including yoga, bike/spin classes, kickboxing, cardio body pump, hiit, barre classes. I like that the classes are a group setting and the only self motivation I need to do is basically getting dressed and getting to the class. Once i’m There I don’t have to make any decisions on what to do and it’s easier to push myself harder. I think the type of class is somewhat secondary to the Quality of the instructor, in that you can have very challenging push you towards your limits teachers vs kind of going through the motions people. For endurance I think that cardio pump, high intensity intervals and spin have all helped me (my gym costs $40usd/month). I have seen parts of people’s personal training classes while working out, and i think you should definitely specify what you are trying to get out of the sessions if you decide to work with a personal trainer.
posted by tangaroo at 1:58 PM on July 14, 2018

I run and cycle for endurance, but a female friend of mine in grad school really liked boxing workouts. I don't think she did any sparring with other people, but they did group workouts that included punching bags, running up and down steps, some bodyweight strength exercises, and other all-around endurance training.
posted by brianogilvie at 2:11 PM on July 14, 2018

Endurance is mostly cardio. Take cycling more seriously, ride with a group or club... sounds like a good fit for you. You can't really talk while you're riding, and in a lot of go-fast-push-each-other type groups people are there for that exact dynamic. Personally I hate gyms/riding indoors but lots of people swear by those stationary bike classes if you like the gym.
posted by bradbane at 2:15 PM on July 14, 2018

I hesitate to recommend Crossfit as it can be a bit variable depending on the culture of the local affiliate, but if you want strength training with the motivation from a group of people it does fit the bill.

On a very general level, the core principle of strength development is progressive overload. It is entirely possible to spend 8 years doing consistent, tough, sweaty workouts (and being fit as heck) without developing much strength if the workload isn't progressively pushing against the limits of your strength.
posted by allegedly at 2:38 PM on July 14, 2018

Are you in a location with a chapter of the November Project? Maybe you'd like to start a chapter? Sounds like it's right in your sweet spot of social-but-individual--and it's free.
posted by Sublimity at 7:40 PM on July 14, 2018

Have you tried not replacing the burpees and pushups? You need to push yourself to progress!

I’m a solo runner and not a class-taker, but I take classes occasionally with friends or for a change of pace. The only one that has actually felt like a challenging workout to me (from what I’ve seen in classes/life I’m DECENTLY fit; less-so than people who take it very seriously but I’m generally active) has been a cross-fit style weightlifting class (I’ve never done cross-fit but it’s in one of those gyms and we do a lot of those exercises but it’s focused on lifting). I wish I could afford to take it more often, but I found an all-women class and the general feel is really supportive — but it’s a serious enough workout that everyone’s doing their own thing most of the time.

ALSO, if you’re a little like me (being in school and working like you say), maybe you’re really focused on being REALLY GOOD at stuff? And it’s been useful for me to embrace my mediocrity at some things. I’m a mediocre but dedicated runner. I’m pretty slow and I don’t increase my mileage much. But I do it very regularly. It makes me happy and sometimes I feel like less of a “real” runner because I’m not training for a marathon or whatever, but you know, I put a lot of effort into a lot of other things in my life and it’s been nice to have a thing that’s good for me that I approach relatively casually and just be where I’m at. When I want to push more I do, and when I want to take it easy and just be steady (usually!) I don’t push too hard.
posted by jeweled accumulation at 1:10 AM on July 15, 2018

Thank you all so much for the advice! I am going to push harder in my regular workouts, and go on longer bike rides - and I have joined the November Project in my city. I hope I can see the results I want (with hard work, of course).
posted by elsmith at 5:15 PM on July 15, 2018