EXERCISE STAMINA/RÉSISTANCE ACCORDING TO WEIGHT

28Haveitall2020

Hi
Just curious to know if at a lower weight your ENDURANCE and intensity in exercise is much better. I keep telling myself at a lower weight the endurance is far better.
Wanted to know if in the 150's you have even a greater endurance during exercise ?

When I was in the 170's I believe my physical strength was greater than now in the 200's.

Thanks

dawnkirkwood18

I don’t know if it is because of weighing less or the fact that I work out and strive for gains in endurance (during cardio) but now at 165-170 (down from 210 in January) I have much more endurance. I can easily walk or hike 10+ miles and then do more- I don’t drop after exercise and need to relax- it energizes me to do more. When I started a 30 minute walk would cause me to ache and need to rest for awhile. I am also stronger as I actively work to become stronger with strength training a couple times per week.

springlering62

Well, I average 20k+ steps a day lately.

At 220+ pounds, I would often puff climbing the stairs. Hell, we even bought this house with an elevator as a preemptive move to age n place because of my joint pain.

I certainly couldn’t have done an arm balance, and running 5k wasn’t even on my radar, nor was doing weighted squats or bench presses.


So yes to endurance, intensity and stamina as a result of weight loss.

28Haveitall2020

springlering62 wrote: »

Well, I average 20k+ steps a day lately.

At 220+ pounds, I would often puff climbing the stairs. Hell, we even bought this house with an elevator as a preemptive move to age n place because of my joint pain.

I certainly couldn’t have done an arm balance, and running 5k wasn’t even on my radar, nor was doing weighted squats or bench presses.


So yes to endurance, intensity and stamina as a result of weight loss.

👍

AnnPT77

No, not for me personally. YMMV.

If you lose weight, it makes some common exercises be literally, objectively less work - exercises where a big part of the work is moving your body around - things like walking, running, stairs and more. Less body, less work.

For those, the exercise gets easier and you can do it longer/harder, even without better fitness level.

Then, some people find they include more movement in daily life in order to lose weight (such as intentional exercise), or just by default move more in life as they get lighter and it becomes easier to move. Any increases in movement do tend to increase endurance, and ability to move more intensely.

Those two effects can complement each other, for big life-improvement results.

For me personally, I didn't see noticeable improvements in endurance or intensity. I was the oddball who'd been pretty fit even while obese, even competing as an athlete. I'm a rower, on-water and machine, and have been for around 18 years. I've only been at a healthy weight for about 5 years.

When I lost weight, my best rowing machine pace (race time) didn't improve; it stayed about the same. (Very limited impact of bodyweight on how much work is involved, with machine rowing.) My on-water speed improved noticeably, because part of the work is moving the bodyweight along with the boat, but it didn't feel easier to row. If you think of intensity as speed, that's more intensity. If you think of intensity as something like heart rate at maximum effort, intensity didn't change. I didn't notice any endurance improvement for either thing, because my endurance was already pretty good, though I suspect there might have been an unnoticeably small improvement for on-water rowing, since it became slightly less work to go any given speed. My resting heart rate didn't improve much (maybe a couple of beats); it was already pretty low.

I didn't notice any differences at all in endurance or intensity capabilities in other exercise things I do (spin classes, bike riding). Walking did become easier to do, and to do longer.

You didn't ask, but I did notice improved effective flexibility after weight loss: I could bend and stretch to a greater degree, without the fat in the way. For example, in that stretch where I stand and raise my foot behind me, and grab the ankle with my hand and pull the lower leg toward my rear, I struggled when fat. I assumed it was tight quads. It was much easier after I lost weight, so I think it was really mostly leg fat creatng an obstacle.

I think it's individual. Hope you're seeing great results, and will see continuing improvements!

Duck_Puddle

Well-at my heaviest I was morbidly obese and couldn’t walk across a room without getting out of breath and needed to stop and rest when going up the stairs. I also spend 0 minutes doing any kind of physical activity.

I started running and lost weight. A lot of weight.

I’ve been in a range from 60-85 pounds lost (from my start) for several years. I’ve been a higher and lower weights at various points, while doing everything from training for ultramarathons to taking significant rest after a strenuous training block.

My endurance is dependent on my training much more than weight. I typically spend 10-15 hours/week running and working out. That Is a LOT more than the 0 I spent when morbidly obese. I am not at my lightest weight now, but have much more endurance because my training is focused entirely on that at the moment. I have been this same weight before (many times) and have had less endurance because my training was less/different.

I am faster at lower weights. But endurance for me depends on my training.

However-all this with the caveat that I do not believe it would be possible for me to do this level of activity at my starting weight. So from that standpoint, yes-losing weight has helped.