Endurance Training
“Enjoy yourself: if you enjoy what you do you'll be able to improve. Rest and listen to your body. Be safe and test your gear.” - Kilian Jornet, Mountain Endurance Athlete
Key Benifits
1. Improves cardiorespiratory fitness (VO₂max)
Endurance training is the primary way to increase cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) – your heart, lungs and circulation’s ability to deliver oxygen during exercise. Higher CRF underpins most of the mortality and disease-risk benefits¹ .
2. Reduces all-cause and cardiovascular mortality
Higher CRF from regular endurance training is linked to substantially lower risk of dying from any cause and from cardiovascular disease (CVD)², ³.
3. Lowers blood pressure & improves BP variability (hypertension)
Endurance training reduces resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure and improves blood pressure variability, a predictor of cardiovascular events⁴, ⁵, ⁶ .
4. Improves lipid profile & overall cardiovascular risk factors
Endurance training improves the lipid profile (LDL, triglycerides, HDL) and other haemodynamic markers, reducing overall cardiovascular risk⁷, ⁸.
5. Improves blood sugar control & insulin sensitivity
Endurance training improves glycaemic control and insulin sensitivity, and is a core intervention for type 2 diabetes.⁹
6. Supports weight loss & reduces visceral body fat
Endurance training is highly effective for reducing body fat and waist circumference, especially when volumes approach or exceed public-health guidelines¹⁰ .
Key Benefits
7. Reduces symptoms of depression, anxiety & stress
Endurance training has moderate, clinically meaningful effects on depression and anxiety across age groups and clinical/non-clinical samples¹¹.
8. Enhances memory function (especially in older adults)
Aerobic training is a significant contributor for improved memory and is a low-risk strategy to support healthy brain ageing¹².
9. Improves functional capacity, physical performance & quality of life
Endurance training increases aerobic capacity, walking endurance, daily activity tolerance and overall quality of life (QoL)¹³, ¹⁴ .
10. Lowers risk of multiple chronic diseases
Across populations, higher volumes of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity are associated with lower incidence of:
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Coronary heart disease and stroke
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Type 2 diabetes
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Some cancers (notably colon and breast)
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Dementia and cognitive decline¹⁵
11. Improves prognosis and survival in people with cancer (via CRF)
For people already diagnosed with cancer, better cardiorespiratory fitness (typically achieved through endurance training) is associated with better survival¹⁶ .
References