The terms endurance and stamina are often used in the context of physical exercise. While people have a generally correct understanding of what they mean, these two terms are often mistakenly used interchangeably. While stamina and endurance are both parameters of exercise, there is a key difference between these two concepts.
Stamina refers to the ability to sustain an activity for a long period of time without getting tired. In other words, staying energetic for a long time. In running, for example, stamina is the total time the body is able to sprint. Stamina is especially important in sports that require large bursts of energy; like soccer, football and baseball.
Endurance, on the other hand, is defined as the maximum time the body, or a specific muscle can exert force and sustain one particular exercise. Examples of activities that require endurance are push-ups and sit-ups. Endurance is made up of two components: cardiovascular endurance and muscular endurance. The first is the ability of your heart and lungs to fuel your body with oxygen. The latter is the ability of your muscles to work continuously without getting tired.
So while endurance and stamina may be similar, they don’t mean quite the same thing. Regular aerobic exercise can help you improve both of these fitness qualities.
