Use Stairs For Your Workouts
Use Stairs For Your Workouts
Exercise should be fun, so try and set yourself a challenge to keep motivated. See how many stairs or reps you can complete in a set amount of time to add an extra element of challenge, and try to beat your record each week.
You could also set a ‘no elevator rule’ at the office to encourage others to take the stairs. Whatever you need to do in order to stay motivated and have fun is worthwhile, because every step counts when it comes to getting fit and shedding fat.
If gyms aren’t your thing or you don’t have access to a step machine, you can get just as good a workout outdoors, in fact, better. Stair climbing is far more flexible and allows you to mix in all manner of training techniques that you just wouldn’t be able to do on a step machine.
Stair climbing tips
Climbing stairs is a great way to strengthen your legs – from your calves to your glutes. The combination of the simultaneous ankle, knee, and hip extension against gravity means you work your legs naturally and without the impact commonly associated with jogging, running, or sprinting.
When you’re doing steady, prolonged aerobic exercise, your body turns fat into fuel. Keeping your exercise intensity at a moderate level requires discipline. Using a heart rate monitor is helpful, or simply rate your intensity level on a scale of 1-10 and try to stay in your 6-8 range.
A basic walk-up/walk down is a perfect introduction to stair training. Stepping for 20-30 minutes is ideal, but there’s no reason not to squeeze in stair training, even if you only have 10 minutes.
To climb stairs safely:
- Remember to hydrate, especially in the summer.
- Slow down and walk when you need to, or take a break.
- When climbing downstairs, it’s safest to descend using each step.
- Stair workouts require good balance. Therefore, ensure you are steady on your feet.
- Ideally, walk, don’t run down the stairs as this stresses the knees and ankles. You can also do as some stair climbing experts suggest and walk or run-up, but use an alternative means (e.g. elevator, sloping path) for your trip back down.
Use Stairs For Your Workouts
Include stairs into your routine
To effectively train to improve power, try bounding up the stairs while skipping steps. This advanced approach is an effective power-builder and is used a lot in athletic training. You can perform this as single leg hops or double leg jumps; it requires balance, concentration, and coordination.
Try high-performance hops or jumps up 10 steps and then return to your starting point, aiming for a maximum of 10 total sets. Because of the high-impact nature of this type of exercise, if you want to challenge your upper body for the remaining workout time, do push-ups.
Find and take stairs wherever you go. Avoiding the elevator at work or at the mall adds up and can go a long way to adding much-needed exercise to your daily routine.
Pushing your body up stair after stair against gravity is also a great exercise that develops cardiovascular fitness while building both strength and power. And as no staircase is never-ending, once you get to the top and walk carefully back down, you end up interval training without even realizing it. And interval training is one of the best ways to take your fitness to a whole new level.