Improve Endurance
12 weeks · 4 milestones
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Endurance is measured by how hard you can work and for how long before your body forces you to stop or slow down. Before training, you need a specific, repeatable baseline test — not your general sense of how fit you are. Complete one of these two tests before beginning any endurance training: either a 12-minute Cooper Run Test (measure the total distance you can cover in exactly 12 minutes of continuous running at your hardest sustainable pace) or a 1-mile walk test (walk exactly one mile as fast as possible and record both the time and your heart rate immediately on finishing). Record the result and write down your target for 8 weeks: not your dream result, but a realistic 10–20% improvement on your baseline.
Proof required
Submit your baseline test result: if Cooper Run, the GPS distance in metres covered in 12 minutes, the date, and the app or device used; if 1-mile walk, the time in minutes and seconds, your immediate post-walk heart rate, the date, and how heart rate was measured. Include your 8-week target as a specific number (not a range).
What gets checked
- The baseline test is one of the two specified formats — a generic 'I ran for 20 minutes' does not provide a repeatable measurement that can be compared at M3
- The GPS distance or timed result is produced by a device or app (phone GPS, running watch, treadmill), not estimated by memory — the test method must be identified so the M3 re-test can use the same method
- The 8-week target is a specific improvement on the baseline — '1500m in the Cooper test' when the baseline was 1200m is specific; 'I want to run further' is not; the target must be achievable (10–20% improvement) not aspirational