Is endurance universal?

Question

Ok, if someone builds up a lot of endurance by swimming laps everyday, does that mean that they will be able to run farther, bike farther, etc.?? In other words, is endurance universal or is it activity specific??

hopefully the question is clear enough, and thanks in advance for your input!

Answer 1

While all exercise will help overall with other sports or endourance activities, it is not universal.

For example, a rower can be a lousy runner, why? Well, there are different muscles involved.  This is why when you train, you train for a specific sport.

This does not mean it will not help to cross train.  For example, a rower can swim laps better than a non-rower as they use similar muscles.

So, I would say is is activity specific depending on the activity.  Hope that does not confuse you.

Answer 2

Endurance is a term widely used in sport and can mean many different things to many different people. In sports it refers to an athletes ability to sustain prolonged exercise for minutes, hours, or even days. Endurance requires the circulatory and respiratory systems to supply energy to the working muscles in order to support sustained physical activity.

It is a common misconception to use endurance as a "universal" term, it's not. You need endurance, performance and strength, to be able to do all types of exercises at its best.

To answer your question, no. If you train hard at swimming, you have a good swimming endurance, which is far from being a good runner or biker.

For example, i have been doing bicycling for 3 years, so i said "how hard could it be to e a good swimmer?" Answer: hard. The same thing happened when i started running. So, in essence endurance applies to a specific type of training, unless you are one of the few elite trainers who do well at almost any sport.