Building Strength and Stamina
Key Expressions
1. Build up stamina
To slowly increase strength and endurance over time.
Stamina refers to the physical or mental energy needed to do a tiring activity for a long period. "Building it up" implies a gradual, step-by-step process. In fitness, you cannot achieve maximum endurance overnight; it requires consistent, incremental training so your heart and muscles adapt over time.
- A: Why do you run every morning? B: I'm trying to build up stamina.
- Climbing stairs is a good way to build up stamina.
- Swimming laps every other day will help you build up stamina before the summer marathon.
- She had to build up her stamina again after recovering from a severe flu.
2. Push one's limits
To challenge oneself to do more than one normally does.
This phrase is used when you deliberately step out of your comfort zone. Whether you are lifting heavier weights, running a longer distance, or tackling a complex mental task, pushing your limits is about testing the boundaries of what you thought was possible in order to achieve personal growth.
- A: That workout looked tough. B: Yeah, I wanted to push my limits.
- People grow when you push your limits.
- The personal trainer encouraged him to push his limits by adding ten more pounds to the barbell.
- If you never push your limits, you will never know how much you are truly capable of achieving.
3. Stick with it
To continue doing something even when it's hard.
This phrasal verb is a highly encouraging way to tell someone not to give up. "Sticking" implies adhering firmly to a plan or a routine. It is often used when the initial motivation fades and discipline is required to see long-term results, such as maintaining a strict diet or following a tough winter workout schedule.
- A: I don't see any progress yet. B: Just stick with it. All your effort will pay off.
- Learning a language takes time, but you have to stick with it.
- The first week of waking up at 5 AM is brutal, but if you stick with it, it becomes a habit.
- She wanted to quit the intensive coding bootcamp, but her mentor convinced her to stick with it until graduation.
Power Pattern
That would really help...
A polite and enthusiastic way to accept an offer of assistance or to suggest a solution to a problem.
This pattern expresses that a certain action will provide significant relief or benefit to the speaker or a situation.
- That would really help me manage things at the office.
- That would really help the organization pay for its community events.
- Luna, can you move over for a bit? That would really help me clean the house.
- If you could chop the vegetables while I cook the meat, that would really help me finish dinner on time.
- Getting a new software program for the team? That would really help us speed up the project.
Power Vocab
Rep
Short for "repetition."
It is primarily used in strength training as a unit to count how many times you perform one complete motion of an exercise. For instance, going down and coming back up once during a push-up is considered exactly 1 rep. This is different from "laps," which is the unit used for completing a circuit around a track or a pool in activities like swimming or skating.
- Do 10 reps of push-ups.
- I ran 5 laps around the track.
- He struggled to finish his last few reps of heavy squats.
- To build muscle mass, try doing fewer reps with a much heavier weight.
