Stairs: The Cardio You Need To Be Doing
Integrating a stair workout at least once a week will literally change your body and your cardiovascular health. Its a great cross training workout to balance your cycling, running and strength training. You'll burn more calories by doing stairs in 30 minutes compared to doing a steady paced run, bike or elliptical for an hour. If you are looking to lose body fat, increase your cardiovascular health and build your leg strength, start doing stairs.
Dependent on how your body feels, you can either walk or run up the stairs. Do not worry about what anyone else can do, just focus on getting better each time you do the stairs by either beating your time, adding another flight of stairs or another set of each exercise. You can either use a set of stairs at home or get some natural Vitamin D at a set of stairs outside.
On your way back down the stairs, take more time than it did for you to go up them. This will allow your body to recover and get oxygen and ATP back into the muscles. See below for the amount of time to take coming back down the stairs based on whether you are walking or running up the stairs.
Walking the Stairs - Take between the same to 1.5 times the amount of time it took you to go up the stairs (If it took 20 seconds to walk up, take between 20-30 seconds to walk down)
Running the Stairs - Take double the amount of time it took you to go up the stairs. (If it took 20 seconds to run up, take 40 seconds to walk down)
Stair Workout: 30 minutes or less
3 sets of each exercise (one set = 4 flights of stairs)
Hit each stair
Side step, right over left foot
Every other stair
Side step, left over right foot
Have a great workout!
All the Best,
Mike