How to improve your endurance

Why most people train endurance wrong

The classic error is training everything at a medium-hard pace: too hard to build a base, too easy to drive adaptation. Endurance athletes across every sport train roughly 80% easy and 20% hard.

Build the base

Three easy sessions a week at conversational pace. Run, ride, row or swim — the mode matters far less than the consistency.

Add the right intervals

One interval session a week is enough. Match the interval to your sport.

• Team and court sports: 10 × 30 seconds hard, 30 seconds easy
• 5K–10K running: 5 × 3 minutes at hard effort, 90 seconds easy
• Half marathon and up: 3 × 8 minutes at steady-hard effort
• Combat sports: rounds matching your competition format

Track it simply

Weekly time spent training is the metric that predicts progress. Track hours, not perfection.

Your first month

1. 01

   Weeks 1–3 — easy volume only

   Three conversational sessions a week. Resist the urge to push — this phase does the heavy lifting.

2. 02

   Week 4 — add one interval session

   Replace one easy session with intervals matched to your sport.

3. 03

   Weeks 5–8 — extend the long session

   Add 10% to your longest session each week, with a lighter week every fourth week.

4. 04

   Week 9 — test it

   Play a full match or run a timed effort. The second half is where the base shows up.

Frequently asked questions

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