Fitness
Surprising exercise secrets I learned from speaking to the fittest woman in history
Most people wouldn’t mind being a little bit fitter. But the fittest? That seems unreachable. However, many argue that all-conquering CrossFit athlete Tia-Clair Toomey is, by objective measures, the fittest woman in history.
Toomey, who is an ambassador for the fitness app Pliability, has won the CrossFit Games – an annual competition to find the fittest man and woman on earth – an unrivalled six times on the trot. In 2023, she paused to have her first child, then returned in 2024 and won the competition two more times.
In the midst of her winning streak, the 32-year-old also represented Australia in weightlifting at the 2016 Rio Olympics, won gold in the same event at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, qualified for the 2022 Winter Olympics in the two-woman bobsled and completed a Hyrox doubles race in a lightning-fast 54 minutes 24 seconds.
In short: Toomey is incredibly fit. The average person might not be able to emulate her superior fitness levels, and most don’t want to – they simply want to be fit and healthy enough to thrive in everyday life. You can, however, benefit from her insights about how to approach exercise.
Read more: Do these three things each week to be fitter than most Brits
1. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good
“You can’t be perfect at everything all the time,” says Toomey. “Trying to juggle too many things at once is where many people come unstuck, because you’re stretching yourself too thin. So it’s important to find balance.”
The aim is not to do everything immaculately, but to identify the things that are truly valuable to you – these might be your workouts, work or supporting your family – and take pride in throwing the (cluttered) kitchen sink at them.
“Even if it’s just a simple workout, you can feel really fulfilled at the end of the day knowing you gave it your best,” Toomey says. “I think a workout is a perfect place to demonstrate this.”
Read more: Walking experts reveal the number of daily steps you need to boost health – and it’s not 10,000
2. Small changes make a big difference
Most people set themselves lofty fitness (and life) goals, then fall short of them. Just look at how many New Year’s resolutions have been discarded by the time February rolls around. Toomey suggests a more manageable approach.
“If you can get 1 per cent better every day, you can’t ask for any more than that,” she says. “It’s when you create excuses, stop challenging yourself and give up on pursuing your chosen goal that you stop progressing and plateau.”
She recommends making small tweaks to improve how you feel each day, rather than obsessing over a daunting target.
For example, you could head to bed 15 minutes earlier and keep your phone out of the bedroom, drink an extra glass of water, go for a walk after dinner or eat an extra portion of fruits and vegetables. Small changes soon accumulate to make a big difference over time.
“It takes a lot of pressure off people when they break their goals down like that,” Toomey says.
Read more: Study reveals the small changes to your diet, sleep and exercise that can add years to your life
3. Be open-minded
A lot of people use the phrase “exercise isn’t for me”. This is likely linked to a less-than-pleasant experience at some point in their past.
But exercise is a very broad umbrella, and Toomey urges people to remain open-minded when approaching it. This is something she learned firsthand.
“I enjoyed my first CrossFit session, but I didn’t really enjoy the coach, so I opted not to go back for two months,” she says. “Who knows where I would be now if I never went back because of that one interaction.”
Toomey ended up trying a different gym and finding a coach who was more passionate and encouraging. “Then I was hooked and fully committed,” she says.
For the everyday exerciser, this could mean changing the variables to make your workouts more fun. For example, if you don’t like how running feels, you could swap to a lower-impact activity like swimming or cycling. Or if you find solo strength training sessions boring, you might join an exercise class.
There is no need to suffer through a certain type of exercise just because someone told you it’s the best. Take a playful approach to your workouts and continue to experiment until you find something you enjoy. Because if your exercise plans are fun, you are far more likely to stick to them.
Read more: The easiest way to strengthen your entire body, according to this expert coach
4. Put your ego aside
If you have ever watched Toomey compete, it’s hard to imagine her struggling with anything exercise-related. But, she says, when she first started CrossFit training she found it difficult to hold a barbell overhead in a stable position.
This was exposed in a CrossFit workout named “Nancy” – five rounds of a 400-metre run and 15 overhead squats (squatting while holding a 30kg barbell overhead).
“I was a runner prior to CrossFit, so I would race ahead during the 400m runs, but then the overhead squats were very challenging for me,” Toomey says.
To learn the correct technique, she started by scaling back the overhead squats, using an empty barbell rather than one loaded up with weight. Then, as she improved, she gradually increased the load on the bar.
“It’s all about building confidence,” Toomey says. “Everyone wants to go from zero to 100, but you need to put your ego aside, take your time and put the work in to actually learn a movement. That is how people evolve.”
If Toomey is willing to scale back exercises to learn them properly, the rest of us should be too. That might mean starting with goblet squats rather than barbell squats, wall press-ups rather than full press-ups, or walking rather than running.
There are exercise options to suit all fitness levels – you just have to find the appropriate ones for you and gradually progress them over time.
Read more: Sitting all day wreaks havoc on your hips and spine – here’s how to stop that from happening
5. Variety is the spice of life
What is the one exercise Toomey wishes more people would do? She struggles to pick just one before prescribing variety.
“I just love seeing people active,” she says. “But constantly doing one thing will have a lot of impact on the body. I think it’s really important to have a variety of exercises. That way you’re constantly working different muscles, building broad fitness and stimulating the mind in different ways.”
This is good advice for any exerciser. The body works on a rough use-it-or-lose-it basis, so if you don’t use a joint or muscle to its full potential, it can weaken and tighten over time. Greasing the groove on a wide range of movement patterns is the best way to prevent this and stay mobile for decades to come.
Read more: After 50 you need to train smarter – the eight rules for strength training in midlife, according to experts
6. Commit to a plan
A one-off workout cannot transform your fitness, but a progressive exercise plan can. This is why Toomey recommends finding a structured programme to follow over a longer time period than just a single session.
“That is going to help you stay motivated, particularly if it’s linked to some sort of sports or fitness goal like your first 10K, triathlon or pull-up,” she says.
“It gives you something to aim for. Otherwise people think, ‘Oh, I’m just going to keep doing this forever,’ and it can feel quite overwhelming. Following a programme helps you build healthy habits that you integrate into your daily routine and actually stick to.”
Read more: I specialise in coaching people aged 40-plus – do these six things for immediate results
7. Look after yourself
Muscle isn’t built in the gym. What you do during your workouts triggers myriad positive physiological changes, but the actual adaptations happen while you are recovering.
For this reason, Toomey places a great emphasis on sleep and nutrition, prioritising quality fuel and recovery between her training sessions.
As part of this, she regularly uses a sauna, breathwork and completes a stretching and mobility protocol via the Pliability stretching app shortly after waking each day.
“I tend to wake up feeling a bit stiff and sore from the previous day,” she says. “But I want to walk into the gym feeling strong and confident. That stretching session acts as a form of meditation as well, helping with both mobility and mental clarity.”
Read more: Swap the gym for this trainer’s six-move kettlebell workout to build full-body strength at home
Athletes need to think about stamina and endurance all the time. Whether you’re a runner, a basketball player or a swimmer, your ability to push hard and keep going often determines who wins and who comes out on top.
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
But endurance and stamina aren’t just important for athletes. They can also affect how easily you tackle everyday activities, like yardwork or helping a friend move.
Exercise physiologist Christopher Travers, MS, explains what sets stamina and endurance apart and how to build up both with a variety of workouts.
How stamina and endurance work together
Stamina and endurance often go hand in hand — but they’re different.
Think of stamina as how hard you can push yourself, and endurance as how long you can maintain that effort.
In car terms, stamina reflects how hard you push on the gas pedal for a quick jump in speed. Endurance reflects how far you can go before running out of fuel.
Together, they help you reach your destination and achieve milestones in your physical performance.
Let’s dig a little bit more into what makes each unique.
What is stamina?
Stamina describes your mental and physical ability to sustain high-intensity effort over a shorter period of time. It’s that quick burst at the starting line, the second-wind sprint you get during the last push of a marathon and the fast acceleration that carries you uphill.
“With stamina, you’re trying to push through at a higher heart rate,” says Travers. “It’s your power, your speed and your repeated burst of effort.”
What is endurance?
Endurance describes your body’s ability to sustain low-to-moderate-intensity activity over very long periods of time. It’s the ability to endure a marathon, miles of cycling and long workout sessions without stopping or decreasing intensity.
“With endurance, you’re learning how to maintain a certain level of intensity for the longest period of time,” says Travers. “You’re focused on your breathing, keeping a steady pace and sticking to correct form so you can go longer without running out of energy.”
How to increase endurance and stamina
Building stamina and endurance involves different approaches to physical fitness. Stamina relies on quick bouts of high-intensity exercises, while endurance is less intense but for longer periods of time.
Working on both simultaneously can improve your performance and make a significant impact on your overall health. Let’s now focus on each one individually.
How to increase stamina
Circuit training is a great way to build stamina because it combines strength and cardio exercises with limited rest. A circuit involves moving through a series of exercises that target different muscle groups with little-to-no break between each one. After completing a circuit, you take a longer recovery before repeating the entire circuit.
“The big thing with stamina workouts is your recovery,” notes Travers. “When you finish an entire circuit made up of several quick exercises, you want a longer recovery so you can come back and do the entire circuit over again at the same high intensity.”
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) can also improve stamina. HIIT alternates short bursts of intense exercise with brief recovery periods, training your body to:
- Work hard even when you’re fatigued
- Recover quickly between exercises
- Tolerate higher levels of exertion
- Use oxygen more efficiently
A stamina workout might combine these approaches by using a circuit of high-intensity exercises followed by a longer recovery period before repeating the circuit.
Exercises commonly used in stamina workouts include:
- Hill sprints
- Box jumps
- Stair climbs
- Mountain climbers
- Jump squats
- Burpees
How to build endurance
To build endurance, you’ll need to learn how to maintain a certain level of intensity for longer stretches of time.
“With endurance, we’re going for that longer, steady state and gradually increasing our time and our distances,” explains Travers. “Endurance requires consistency over weeks and even months.”
It helps to focus on workouts that keep your body moving for extended periods. Cardiovascular exercises are especially effective at building endurance. But strength training can be adapted to improve muscular endurance, training your muscles to work longer before they become fatigued.
When working on endurance, you want to increase the amount of time, distance or reps as you progress through your training.
Common exercises for endurance include:
- Cycling
- Running
- Hiking
- Swimming
- Rowing
- Planks
Final note for the miles ahead
Whether your goal is to move faster, exercise longer or simply keep up with the demands of daily life, stamina and endurance can help you get there. Building both takes consistency and practice. But over time, those efforts can pay off in improved performance, better fitness and greater confidence in what your body can do.
“If you train consistently and you’re seeing progress, both your stamina and endurance are improving,” encourages Travers. “It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time, practice and attention to your overall health.”
GLP-1 medications have reshaped the conversation around weight loss, but fitness experts are quick to point out that the blueprint for a strong, healthy body hasn’t budged. In fact, it’s never mattered more. The fundamentals of healthy living, from strength training and prioritizing protein to staying active, remain essential for preserving muscle, supporting metabolism and creating results that last. Here’s what top trainers want everyone taking a GLP-1 to know.
“Weight changes quickly, but structure doesn’t,” says Tracy Anderson (@tracyandersonmethod), founder of her namesake movement catalog. For anyone relying on GLP-1s without prioritizing movement, she has a clear warning: The body you’re uncovering still needs tending. “The health of your metabolism relies a lot on how you interact with your muscles.” And for Anderson, that means keeping movement varied and consistent. “You want to recruit as much activity as you possibly can in your body. It’s not enough to just say, ‘I’m going to lift; I’m going to build muscle.’ Things atrophy, and you want to keep as much awake and as much alert as you possibly can.”
“When you’re on a GLP-1, as much as 40 percent of the weight you lose may be lean muscle mass,” explains Kira Jones (@kirajones), founder of Cacti Wellness, who adds that the fix for this is non-negotiable. “It’s essential that GLP-1 users actively work to gain and maintain strength and build muscle. Muscle protects your metabolism long-term and provides that toned appearance.” Her advice: Strength train two to three times a week with weight that genuinely challenges you, prioritize protein at every meal and protect your recovery. “Eating well and exercising means nothing if you don’t give your body time to properly digest food, rebuild muscle and release stress.”
Nicole Winhoffer (@nicolewinhoffer), founder of the NW Method, has watched GLP-1s change not only her clients’ bodies, but also their relationship with movement. The risks she highlights are both physical and behavioral, particularly when medication replaces lifestyle habits. “For some individuals, GLP-1s can work best when paired with natural long-term habits around nutrition, movement and overall wellness.” But, she’s also seen something more encouraging: clients who feel better in their bodies showing up differently in the studio. “I would encourage anyone on a GLP-1 to incorporate dance into their routine. Dancing is a great way to improve self-esteem and build confidence in both social settings and personal style.”
-
Texas4 minutes agoTalarico, Paxton campaigning in Texas this week. See events
-
Utah10 minutes agoKSL News Daily: The nuclear debate Utah can’t avoid – KSLNewsRadio
-
Vermont16 minutes agoThe nation is craving protein, but Vermont dairy isn’t cashing in
-
Virginia22 minutes agoStudy: VA the fourth most ‘retirement-friendly’ state
-
Washington28 minutes agoWhat is the Farmer’s Almanac fall forecast for the Washington DC area?
-
Wisconsin34 minutes agoWisconsin April storm victims get tax relief until Nov. 2, 2026
-
West Virginia40 minutes agoBridgeport named ‘Best Place to Live in West Virginia’ by popular website, Morgantown rounds out top 10
-
Wyoming46 minutes agoWyoming authorities call on Rocky Mountain Power to explain role in massive November power outage
