Endurance exercises like running, cycling, and swimming are recognized as resistance training, which improves cardiovascular and muscular endurance. Endurance athletes need both types of endurance to perform well, and strength training can also improve muscular endurance. Cross-training is important for overall fitness.
Exercises that can be performed over a long period of time, such as running, cycling, swimming, or other aerobic activities, are the types of workouts most commonly recognized as resistance training. Endurance refers to the ability to continue performing an activity, in this case exercise, for an extended period of time. Typical resistance workouts are less geared toward weight loss or muscle building than other workouts, and more geared toward improving cardiovascular system strength, which increases the time one can perform an activity.
One of the most common examples of an endurance athlete is a long-distance runner training for a marathon. Cardiovascular endurance is one of the most important factors affecting how long and how far that long-distance runner can run. The cardiovascular system needs to be able to supply your body with a constant supply of energy during the race. To train for the marathon, the runner might not only run for practice, but also cycle, swim, and do other types of cross-training exercises to ensure their respiratory and circulatory systems are in peak condition.
Sometimes resistance training also includes the types of exercises that improve muscular endurance rather than cardiovascular endurance. Muscular endurance allows muscles to repeatedly perform the same action against the same amount of resistance over a prolonged period of time. Marathon runners, triathlon athletes, cross-country skiers, or any other endurance athlete will need to develop extraordinary muscular endurance, as well as cardiovascular endurance. Muscular endurance workouts must be the same activity that the athlete is training to train the muscles to perform the required action over an extended period of time. For example, even if a marathon runner is cross-training to strengthen his heart and lungs, he must run distances long enough that the muscles are primed and not fatigued during the marathon.
A second important component of muscular endurance is strength training. Although not technically resistance training, strength training like lifting weights will greatly improve muscular endurance. Detailed strength training workouts can be tailored to fit an individual goal, whether it’s running or cycling long distances, repetitive bursts of strength like those required for tennis or martial arts, or anything in between. Ideally, an athlete should include all aspects of these exercises in their resistance training routine. The same marathon runner might cross-train for cardiovascular endurance and run and lift weights for muscular endurance.
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