Stairway to Heaven

 

 So today for the second day in row I took to the stairs at the local playground my son and I frequent. I have been hitting these stairs for the last month or two. The first day I believe I did three rounds. I got up to five and kind of got stuck there failing to do 10 which was my initial goal. But yesterday when I attempted 10 rounds as I had been doing for the past two weeks, I actually made it. But for some strange reason my camera shut off on me near the end. So today we headed back and I sure enough did it again with my motivation right at my side. 

 Climbing stairs is definitely a workout that will challenge your body, endurance and actual strength and stamina. It is one of the best exercises when it comes to pure FAT BURN, strengthening the lower body, toning the butt, thighs, calves, losing inches from those love handles and belly and building great abs. Along with these benefits is the immense good it does for your lungs and cardio vascular system. You can burn more calories walking/running up steps in 30 minutes than a one hour run or walk, plus it challenges your body. 

 Start doing steps regularly and soon, you will be running up flights of stairs, feeling fitter, younger, stronger and leaner. I know finally reaching 10 rounds made me feel a little like Rocky. Next goal 20 rounds let's see how long it takes me to achieve this.

Start off with a couple of flights, you can walk and or run slowly. As you get better, run and then skip 2 steps at a time. Listen to your body it will let you know when you are ready.

GREAT POINTS:

• It is totally free and just about all of us can get access to a set of stairs.
• It leverages gravity and the heavier we are, the harder we’re forced to work and the more calories we burn.
• It is a relatively intense exercise that quickly increases our heart rate and in doing so can greatly improve our cardiovascular fitness.
• It helps strengthen and shape our most common problem areas like calves, thighs, buttocks and tummy.
• It is a very efficient way of burning maximum calories and is great for those of us with limited time to exercise.
• It can easily be mixed with other exercises, like walking, skipping and weight training, to maximize results and stair-climbing workouts are easy to build progression into.
• It can be done by almost anyone, regardless of fitness level.
• Because it is weight bearing, it helps build bone strength.
• It is low impact and safe for the knees (providing correct technique is used and a preexisting condition doesn’t exist).

Health Benefits:

Burns more calories:

Stair climbing engages your body’s largest muscle groups to repeatedly lift your body weight up, step after step.

Thus using your muscles to carry your own weight is far higher to running as compared.

Maximizes your cardio efforts:

It also raises your heart rate immediately thus maximizing your cardio benefits.

Increases core muscle strength:

Climbing stairs is a great way to amp your core muscle strength.

Tones and sculpts your body:

It also engages every major muscle in your lower body - glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, abs and calves to exercise and thus tones your body better.

Low impact workout:

You don’t have to ideally sweat it out while climbing stairs. Just a few stairs every day will give you a good workout.

Safety first:  Stay focused as you go down the stairs, be confident while running up, and take a break when needed.