February 12, 2015
By Lisa Lawston, personal trainer
Take steps to better cardio health! You don’t have to run out and buy an expensive piece of equipment, stair climbing builds endurance, strengthens muscles, and will increase your energy if you devote as much as ten minutes, twice a day. Like with all exercise proper form makes the difference.
– lift your leg high
– place your foot completely on the step
– push off through your heel especially if you have knee concerns ( Note: if you push off your toes, you will work more calf muscles )
– Shoulders back and down
– Belly button to spine
– Neck aligned with spine
– Add hand weights when you’re ready
Using proper form will help to prevent injury when you consider that forces through the kneecap when climbing are 2.5 times the body weight and going down, 3.5 times, so move consciously and activate your muscles.
Athletes from a variety of sports use stair climbing as a conditioning workout and you’ve probably seen people running up and down stadium or office building stairs. There are also competitive races up long flights of stairs. One of the most popular is the annual Empire State Building race. When you start your ascent and begin to tire, you will fully appreciate what it takes to run up 86 flights, a total of 1,576 steps and a gain in altitude of about 1,200 feet!
Check out the website for Stair Climbing Sport! This ancient form of exercise has an entire cult following.
