Stair Exercises and their Benefits

Stair exercises

• Walk down stairs, never run. Running downstairs can actually hurt your legs, specifically your knees, due to the impact or force exerted.
• Stair exercises will improve stamina, burn calories and improve fitness.
• Stair exercising is a great way to get in shape and still enjoy some of the foods we want to keep in our diet.
• It’s hard to find the time. For others, exercise equipment and gym memberships may be too costly.
• The intensity of going up stairs is similar to that of jogging (ten km/hour).
• Heavier people breathed more rapidly during the climb.
• Each step takes .16 calories.
• Stair climbing is one of the least costly--and most convenient.
• Recommending 15 minutes of stair walking a day.
• Stair climbing can provide a cardiovascular workout for your heart and can even help strengthen your leg and hip muscles and bones.
• Stair climbing is an excellent way of losing body fat and toning up thigh muscles. It firms up legs, stomach and butt.
• It is highly time efficient, stair climbing takes just half the time of what other aerobic activities take to burn up the given number of calories.
• Stair climbing is beneficial for cross-training. This activity can be combined with running, swimming, cycling and rowing for excellent results.
• It does not require any expensive or specific equipment and can be carried out at any time of the day.
• Stair climbing improves bone density and studies have also proved that good cholesterol levels rise if it is incorporated in daily exercise regimen.
• Climbing stairs has proved to be a quickest and efficient way of losing calories.
• Stair climbing offers both aerobic and anaerobic benefits. It is aerobic because it works your cardiovascular system very heavily for the first several flights. However, after the first 10 to 20, it begins to strain your body's ability to provide itself with oxygen, and it quickly becomes anaerobic. For people who are seeking the benefits of both aerobic and anaerobic exercises, stair climbing may be perfect.
• Climbing stairs has proved to be a quickest and efficient way of losing calories.
• Get Fit in 12 Minutes a Day. Stair climbing is a quick workout with long-lasting rewards By Maggie Spilner with Sarah Robertson ,
• At least 700 steps a week, or 100 steps a day.
• It has been researched and proved that blood pressure rises during stair climbing exercises. So those suffering from hypertension should avoid this activity.

 If you weigh 160 pounds and use a stair treadmill for an hour, you should expect to burn around 650 calories, according to the Mayo Clinic. If you weigh more, you'll burn more. A 200-pound person will burn another 200 calories, and a 240-pound person burns close to 1,000 calories from this exercise.

The Basics of Stair Exercise

Using the stairs instead of the elevator starts a process of greater activity, but always remember:

• If you are beginning a workout program, be sure to begin slowly; using handrails if you are feeling unsteady.
• Walk down stairs, never run. Running downstairs can actually hurt your legs, specifically your knees, due to the impact or force exerted.
• You will burn fewer calories walking down stairs than you will walking or running up stairs.
• Stair exercises will improve stamina, burn calories and improve fitness. Though not a muscle building program, the benefits found in this form of exercise with respect to simplicity and convenience make it a perfect option for virtually anyone.
• Walking up stairs is a fabulous way to aid in coordination and use muscles in a different way than simply power walking or jogging.

So How Many Calories Are We Talking About, Anyway?

According to Healthy, Program of Northwestern Health Sciences University, "a 150 pound person can burn up to 10 calories a minute climbing stairs according to the Calorie Control Council (CCC)."

In other words, the calories burned clinbing stairs and through stair exercises can really add up. A one hour workout for that same person burns 600 calories. That's more than 4 1/2 cup servings of Turkey Hill Chocolate Nutty Moose Tracks ice cream, or approximately 3 servings of Gorton's crunchy Fish Sticks, or 3 Kellogg's low fat.

Strawberry pop-tarts.

In other words, stair exercising is a great way to get in shape and still enjoy some of the foods we want to keep in our diet.

No Time for Exercise? Take the Stairs!

Everyone knows that exercise does the body good. But for many people, it's hard to find the time. For others, exercise equipment and gym memberships may be too costly. Researchers are putting an end to these excuses. All the exercise equipment you need may be right in your home or office building. Instead of taking the elevator, just take the stairs!
How good of a workout do you really get from going up and down stairs? How many calories do you burn? These questions were of special interest to researchers in Singapore, where nearly 90 percent of the population lives in high-rise buildings.
The researchers monitored men and women going up and down the stairs of an 11-story building (180 steps). Participants were timed going up and down the stairs at a brisk, constant pace. Their heart rate and oxygen uptake were monitored to see how hard they were working. 
Results showed that stair-climbing meets the guidelines set by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) for exercise intensity. This was particularly true for going up stairs. The physical intensity while climbing rises for the first minute or two, then levels off. The intensity of going up stairs is similar to that of jogging (ten km/hour). Going down stairs, a milder intensity is set much earlier and is similar to brisk walking (four km/hour).
In general, the faster participants went up stairs, the more their breathing and heart rate increased. Exercise intensity varied somewhat based on gender and body mass. Men got up the stairs faster than women, but their heart rates didn't go up as much. Heavier people breathed more rapidly during the climb.
What is the energy cost of going up and down stairs? In other words, how many calories do you burn? The researchers estimate that each step takes .16 calories. Going up 180 steps burns nearly 28 calories, and going down burns about nine calories. To meet the ACSM guidelines for weight loss and body fat reduction, you would need to go up and down these stairs seven times (25 minutes), four times a week.
Stair-climbing is a convenient way to exercise. In terms of heart rate and oxygen uptake, stair-climbing can be used to meet the minimum requirements for cardiorespiratory benefits.

Calories Burned Per Weight

According to the Surgeon General, 61 percent of adults were overweight as of 1999, and approximately 300,000 people living in the United States dies each year due to weight-related issues. Therefore, since stair climbing is one of the least costly--and most convenient--ways of reducing calories, it makes sense that the Surgeon General included it (recommending 15 minutes of stair walking a day) in the "Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity" report. 

Benefits of stair climbing

• Stair climbing can provide a cardiovascular workout for your heart and can even help strengthen your leg and hip muscles and bones, since it is a weight-bearing exercise. You also can burn 10 calories a minute (or more) by climbing stairs. And for those who choose to exercise this way in their work building--on their lunch break--they get the added benefit of not having to travel elsewhere to work out, or to battle traffic to do it.

• Stair climbing is an excellent way of losing body fat and toning up thigh muscles. It firms up legs, stomach and butt.
• It is highly time efficient, stair climbing takes just half the time of what other aerobic activities take to burn up the given number of calories.
• Stair climbing is beneficial for cross-training. This activity can be combined with running, swimming, cycling and rowing for excellent results.
• It does not require any expensive or specific equipment and can be carried out at any time of the day.
• Stair climbing improves bone density and studies have also proved that good cholesterol levels rise if it is incorporated in daily exercise regimen.

Calories burnt with stair climbing exercise

Climbing stairs has proved to be a quickest and efficient way of losing calories. A 150-pound person can burn a whopping 10 calories a minute climbing stairs according to the Calorie Control Council (CCC).

Safety tips while stair climbing

• Invest in supportive shoes meant for aerobics.
• Hydrate yourself before climbing and also in between the exercise.
• Be aware of symptoms like dizziness, heart palpitation and nausea. If you notice any of these symptoms occurring, stop the exercise immediately and consult your doctor.
• Always maintain the right posture.
• Restrict the stair climbing to three or four days a week to avoid over use of the same muscles. You can run or cycle on other days.
• Climbing down the stairs is more strenuous compared to upward movement as you are holding back your feet. Hence, go easy, at least for first few days.
• Safety first. Choose well-lit stair cases and avoid isolated places. In case of emergency, someone should be able to hear you out.
• Keep some one informed about your activity

Stair climbing exercise

It has been researched and proved that blood pressure rises during stair climbing exercises. So those suffering from hypertension should avoid this activity. Persons with certain cardiovascular disorders or orthopedic problems may also be advised to consult doctor before taking up such vigorous exercise.

So Shun the elevators. Make stair climbing a regular physical activity. You can even play some music while going up and down the stairs to make it more interesting.

Reduces Exercise Time

Cheap

Building Up the Muscles in Your Legs

Stair climbing is excellent for building up difficult-to-build muscles in your legs. Stair climbing is particularly good for the quadriceps and the buttocks. Though these muscles can be exercised in other ways, stair climbing is unique in that it seemingly targets those very areas. If you want to get your butt in shape, stair climbing is one of the best ways to get it done.

Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercise

Stair climbing offers both aerobic and anaerobic benefits. It is aerobic because it works your cardiovascular system very heavily for the first several flights. However, after the first 10 to 20, it begins to strain your body's ability to provide itself with oxygen, and it quickly becomes anaerobic. For people who are seeking the benefits of both aerobic and anaerobic exercises, stair climbing may be perfect.

All-Purpose Training 

Stair climbing provides an excellent general workout. You get a strength workout in your legs. You get a speed workout if you decide to go quick. You get an endurance workout as you go up more and more flights.

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Adding it all up 5 minutes
By using the stairs, you may burn approximately 65 extra calories and burned 0.02 LBS of fat.

Your 5 minutes of stairway physical activity represents 16% of the 30 minutes of daily activity recommended in Canada’s Physical Activity Guide.

Adding it all up 10 minutes
By using the stairs today, you may burn approximately 130 extra calories and burned 0.04 LBS of fat.

Your 10 minutes of stairway physical activity represents 33% of the 30 minutes of daily activity recommended in Canada’s Physical Activity Guide.

Adding it all up 20 minutes
By using the stairs today, you may burn approximately 191 extra calories and burned 0.05 LBS of fat.

Your 20 minutes of stairway physical activity today, represents 66% of the 30 minutes of daily activity recommended in Canada’s Physical Activity Guide.
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In a second study of nearly 13,500 men, those who climbed up and down at least 700 steps a week, or 100 steps a day (half that of the first study), reduced their risk of death by nearly 20 percent. This reduction is comparable to what you'd achieve by walking about 2 miles a day, which takes most people 35 to 40 minutes. From a calorie-burning perspective, you'd have to walk briskly for 30 minutes to burn the same number of calories that you would climbing stairs for 15 minutes.

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Get Fit in 12 Minutes a Day

Stairclimbing is a quick workout with long-lasting rewards

Researchers in England and Northern Ireland asked 12 sedentary women to climb a 200-step staircase, progressing from once a day to six times a day. (They were allowed to take the elevator down.) Each ascent took about 2 minutes, so by the end of the study, the women were exercising only 12 minutes a day.  

In less than 2 months, they saw a boost in their fitness level, along with improvements in their cholesterol level that were enough to cut their risk of cardiovascular disease by 33 percent.

"This is among the best evidence that short bouts of exercise can have tremendous health benefits," says study author Colin Boreham, PhD, of the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

In a second study of nearly 13,500 men, those who climbed up and down at least 700 steps a week, or 100 steps a day (half that of the first study), reduced their risk of death by nearly 20 percent. This reduction is comparable to what you'd achieve by walking about 2 miles a day, which takes most people 35 to 40 minutes. From a calorie-burning perspective, you'd have to walk briskly for 30 minutes to burn the same number of calories that you would climbing stairs for 15 minutes.

Stair climbing is vigorous exercise. The higher intensity seems to be a key factor in these benefits.

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Stair exercises are one of the best exercises that can get you fit very quickly. If you do not have access to a gym, you can use your own body weight and do stair exercises.
Being a personal trainer, I always hear that "I can not work out because I do not have access to a gym when I go on a business trip". That is totally nonsense. I always recommend bring a pair of your sneakers and your work out clothing.
Sometimes your hotel might have a gym, or maybe they might not have a gym for their customers to use. However, I do know that pretty much any building that has more than one floor has a flight of stairs.
Below are some of the benefits of stair exercises:

• Improve your strength
• Improve your power output
• Improve your flexibility
• Improve your balance
• Improve your coordination
• Reduce your body fat levels
• Your exercise workouts can be finished in as little as in fifteen minutes
• No equipment is required only your body weight and a flight of stairs
• Improve in your anaerobic conditioning
• Have more a ton more endurance in your legs
• Improve in your aerobic conditioning
• Build buns of steel.

Here are two types of work outs that you can do to get fit.
Aerobic work outs--this is very simple! Just walk up a flight of stairs without holding on the handle. Walk in a comfortable pace while getting your heart rate up. If you feel that it is too easy, you can simply walk faster.
Leg strength and muscle build work outs--this is a variation of the first work out. You can simply walk 2 steps at a time. After a flight or two, you should feel that your quads and your butt burn! If this gets too easy, you can add some external weight such as a pair of dumb bells or a weight vest to increase intensity.

Gary Cheung is fitness professional in New York City. He has helped many people change their lives. He currently runs a free informational website on fitness and weight loss. For more information on stair exercises and bodyweight exercises.