No Stamina

kerrimeng4
kerrimeng4 Posts: 22 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've been doing T25 for almost 5 months now and I just feel like I have no stamina at all. I've always been active and keeping my stamina up has always been an issue. Is there anything I can do to make that better or is it all in my head that I just need to suck it up?

Replies

  • musclegood_fatbad
    musclegood_fatbad Posts: 9,809 Member
    Not a lot you can do to help. A lot of times stamina comes down to genetics. Keep working at it and it should get better slowly, also helps the lighter you are for carrying less weight.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    You have to build it overtime. And yes keep exercising, it will tire you out short term, but physical exercise increases your overall energy level and stamina over a long period.

    How about doing some strength training, perhaps sprinkle in some cardio along side that? Also adequate sleep is a must.

    Eat well, need to fuel your body with an assortment of foods, carbohydrates, high-quality fats, minerals, fiber and protein. Do you eat vegetables and fruit, do you eat fish and nuts to get in omega-3's. Hydrate well and everyday.

    Keep at it, if you have been doing T25 for 5 months time to change that..
  • Guitarman1994
    Guitarman1994 Posts: 45 Member
    Are you eating preworkout? You made need to incorporate that in if you arent. It will help. A banana, cottage cheese, or peanut butter is a great choice.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Long, moderate intensity cardio workouts, like a few hours of easy spinning on a bike, will improve your stamina like crazy.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    edited October 2016
    Are you doing T25 all out every day or allowing recovery days?

    When people start running, they are instructed to run at a very slow pace and slowly increase the amount of time as they go along. Studies have shown time and time again, that trying to sprint does not increase endurance/stamina for a new runner as quickly as running slowly does. These new runners are also not to run more often than every other day so they can recover after each run. Within around 9 weeks, the ones who follow that advice and stick it out can run for 30 minutes at a time, although still at a slow pace. After that, they can continue to run for longer distances and time and also begin to work a bit on increasing their speed. The easiest way to increase running speed at that point is to add more distance.

    I'd imagine the same holds true for most activities.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited October 2016
    kerrimeng4 wrote: »
    I've been doing T25 for almost 5 months now and I just feel like I have no stamina at all. I've always been active and keeping my stamina up has always been an issue. Is there anything I can do to make that better or is it all in my head that I just need to suck it up?

    First off, I would ask if you are fueling properly...also, are you avoiding carbohydrates? Secondly, you're not really doing anything to cross train and increase your stamina...you're doing the same 25 minute workout day in and day out...if you want to increase stamina you need to do some longer workouts...mix in longer, less intense workouts with shorter, more intense workouts.

    My primary exercise modality is cycling and to improve upon my abilities I don't just do the same thing every day...I don't just go for a 15-20 mile ride every day...I do shorter higher intensity rides...I do threshold intervals...I do longer (hours) endurance paced rides...i do medium tempo paced rides...I do hills...I do recovery rides, etc.

    You're not really going to build endurance and stamina doing the same thing over and over...and endurance and stamina are going to come with doing longer bouts.

    Also, what are you doing rest/recovery wise?
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
    kcjchang wrote: »
    If you are only training for 25 minutes, how is that going to translate to the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort of greater than 25 minutes? Short intense workout are great for performance over short periods. If you want to make your current 25 minutes easier, you need train at a greater intensity for 25 minutes or train longer at a slightly lower intensity. If you want to be able to push past 25 minutes, you need to train longer than 25 minutes.

    At the risk of derailing this thread, this is only true to an extent. I have found that workouts like Insanity help out on the mountain bike, and with other longer workouts. Insanity teaches you to shorten recovery times, and continue to work even when you feel like garbage. You can learn "active recovery," which will help you big time with longer sessions.

    Before I saw this quote, I was going to ask what type of objective criteria you are using to determine that you have or haven't improved. I haven't done T25, but I have done Insanity, Max 30, and the Asylums. All had some type of objective criteria to measure improvement. If T25 doesn't have this, you might have improved without realizing it. As you improve, you're going to work harder, and still feel like *kitten*, as you should!

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    kcjchang wrote: »
    If you are only training for 25 minutes, how is that going to translate to the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort of greater than 25 minutes? Short intense workout are great for performance over short periods. If you want to make your current 25 minutes easier, you need train at a greater intensity for 25 minutes or train longer at a slightly lower intensity. If you want to be able to push past 25 minutes, you need to train longer than 25 minutes.

    While it sounds good, I don't think this is necessarily true. If so, that implies if I want to get better at running marathons, I need to train by running more than 26 miles. In a sport that is based on building stamina, I don't think that advice is ever given.
  • Pathman1
    Pathman1 Posts: 52 Member
    Do you always work out at the same time each day and does your energy level change at different times of the day? At 5 months of T25 and you probably have boredom factoring in too, so maybe it's time to change it up.
  • kcjchang
    kcjchang Posts: 709 Member
    GauchoMark wrote: »
    While it sounds good, I don't think this is necessarily true. If so, that implies if I want to get better at running marathons, I need to train by running more than 26 miles. In a sport that is based on building stamina, I don't think that advice is ever given.
    Pretty hard to run a marathon in 25 minutes or build enough stamina to finish one only training 25 minutes a day. Hint, minute per mile is pretty hard without more horsepower. If the objective is only 25 minutes long than your right, ability to maintain that intensity for ~60%-70% (or 15-17.5 minutes) will allow you to finish. Nothing in this equation equates to winning, just finishing. I would hope if you want to finish a marathon in x minutes, you can at least run for x minutes at a lower intensity.
    singletrackmtbr wrote: »
    At the risk of derailing this thread, this is only true to an extent. I have found that workouts like Insanity help out on the mountain bike, and with other longer workouts. Insanity teaches you to shorten recovery times, and continue to work even when you feel like garbage. You can learn "active recovery," which will help you big time with longer sessions.
    Not to discount it but specificity to the demand of the event works much better. You don't run on a mountain bike (beside it yes, but pretty hard to move the bike forward by incorporating other exercises such as jumping, pushups, setups, etc).
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
    kcjchang wrote: »
    Not to discount it but specificity to the demand of the event works much better. You don't run on a mountain bike (beside it yes, but pretty hard to move the bike forward by incorporating other exercises such as jumping, pushups, setups, etc).

    No doubt about it that to get better at mountain biking/running a marathon/etc., you have to do that thing. Of course to run a marathon, you have to train doing some long distance, but not as much many would think. Here is a training regimen for running a marathon (courtesy of Google):

    http://marathontraining.com/marathon/m_sch_2.html

    Notice in 17 weeks of training this schedule only calls for running >20 miles three times, and most of the runs are in the 4-6 mile range. The intent I believe (I'm not a marathoner) is to get used to working at high intensity during these short runs.

    I guess my point is getting used to functioning at higher intensity for longer periods, with shorter rest periods and active recovery will help any activity, regardless of the length or specificity.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    for me when my stamina starts to go its either because I havent fueled my body enough,I didnt get enough sleep the night before or Im run down and needing a rest day.
  • kerrimeng4
    kerrimeng4 Posts: 22 Member
    Thank you everyone. Probably a combo of everything everyone mentioned. I workout first thing in the morning right after waking up so I probably need to eat something first. I've also been doing a second session at night and find that my endurance is better at night. I also have a 3 and 2 year old that have been up what seems like all night for the past month or so. Sleep deprivation could probably be a huge issue. I've noticed a huge improvement from when I first started and was able to run 3 miles without having to stop for a break but when it comes to high intensity things and my muscles start to burn I give up and it gets in my head too much. I agree that I need to switch up my workout routine but the 25 minute workouts work out so well with 2 kids and my husband is a farmer so he has pretty well been gone for the last 2 months. I think I'll ask for some new workout DVDs for xmas! Any suggestions?
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    kerrimeng4 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone. Probably a combo of everything everyone mentioned. I workout first thing in the morning right after waking up so I probably need to eat something first. I've also been doing a second session at night and find that my endurance is better at night. I also have a 3 and 2 year old that have been up what seems like all night for the past month or so. Sleep deprivation could probably be a huge issue. I've noticed a huge improvement from when I first started and was able to run 3 miles without having to stop for a break but when it comes to high intensity things and my muscles start to burn I give up and it gets in my head too much. I agree that I need to switch up my workout routine but the 25 minute workouts work out so well with 2 kids and my husband is a farmer so he has pretty well been gone for the last 2 months. I think I'll ask for some new workout DVDs for xmas! Any suggestions?

    you can go online and get workouts free. fitnessblender.com is a great site to do so. they have so many types to choose from and all levels of intensities as well.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
    as for dvds I have a bunch of jillian michaels,bob harper,befit in 90,a few jackie warner,a yoga one and a few others. I also use the wii and have just dance and zumba dance games I play
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    iron levels? it's always the last thing i think of, and then i go to give blood and the red cross does that little pinprick test thing and tells me to come back when i've eaten a cow.

    and then i go 'ohhhhh.' there's something about low red-blood count that makes you too stupid to realise what's happening to you.
  • singletrackmtbr
    singletrackmtbr Posts: 644 Member
    kerrimeng4 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone. Probably a combo of everything everyone mentioned. I workout first thing in the morning right after waking up so I probably need to eat something first. I've also been doing a second session at night and find that my endurance is better at night. I also have a 3 and 2 year old that have been up what seems like all night for the past month or so. Sleep deprivation could probably be a huge issue. I've noticed a huge improvement from when I first started and was able to run 3 miles without having to stop for a break but when it comes to high intensity things and my muscles start to burn I give up and it gets in my head too much. I agree that I need to switch up my workout routine but the 25 minute workouts work out so well with 2 kids and my husband is a farmer so he has pretty well been gone for the last 2 months. I think I'll ask for some new workout DVDs for xmas! Any suggestions?

    Insanity max 30 is great if you like Shaun T.

  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    kerrimeng4 wrote: »
    Thank you everyone. Probably a combo of everything everyone mentioned. I workout first thing in the morning right after waking up so I probably need to eat something first. I've also been doing a second session at night and find that my endurance is better at night. I also have a 3 and 2 year old that have been up what seems like all night for the past month or so. Sleep deprivation could probably be a huge issue. I've noticed a huge improvement from when I first started and was able to run 3 miles without having to stop for a break but when it comes to high intensity things and my muscles start to burn I give up and it gets in my head too much. I agree that I need to switch up my workout routine but the 25 minute workouts work out so well with 2 kids and my husband is a farmer so he has pretty well been gone for the last 2 months. I think I'll ask for some new workout DVDs for xmas! Any suggestions?

    Based on that statement alone, it is a nutrition issue - and maybe even a warmup issue. FWIW, I absolutely HATE working out in the morning. My muscles aren't awake yet and my body needs food. I've done fasted cardio in the morning before and it is absolutely horrible. Once I've been up for 10-12 hours, had a couple of meals and a snack, my stamina is MUCH better.

    If you insist on working out in the morning fasted, you just have to accept that your performance is not going to be awesome. If morning is the only time you have and you don't care if you are fasted or not, eat a meal with 20-40g protein and about 2x that much simple carbs to get your blood sugar out of the fasted levels quickly. The meal should probably be a little bigger than you would normally eat.
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    I don't know that working out fasted is necessarily the problem if we're talking about a 25 minute workout. Your body has more than enough glycogen stored for a workout of that duration. Eating shortly before a workout isn't going to impact that.

    I am regularly running 5 miles (50-55 minutes) in the morning right after waking up and before eating. That will change to afternoon runs once the weather cools down enough to make it feasible (usually late Oct/early Nov). This has been my usual pattern for 5 years. I don't notice a difference in how I feel and I can look back at my pace through the years and there's no noticeable difference in performance between morning runs and afternoon runs that can't be accounted for by temperature.
  • jdhcm2006
    jdhcm2006 Posts: 2,254 Member
    I know it's easier said than done b/c you have little ones, but it sounds like you need to get some more rest. That might help with your stamina. I know that if I don't get enough sleep my workouts are much harder to get through. Also, are you taking a rest or active rest day? Rest and active rest days are good. I take 1 every Sunday, and it seems to rejuvenate my body for the rest of the week.
  • Samoora92
    Samoora92 Posts: 34 Member
    I find that if I do my workout in the morning I do WAY better than doing it after 12. Also, I started taking Vitamin D which has been helping too!

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