The Best Ways to Exercise With Flights of Stairs

Stairs provide a free and effective method for working out. Contrary to what you might think, you are not limited to only running or walking up stairs. There are a plethora of exercises you can do with a single flight of stairs. While they might not be your typical gym exercises, you can still complete a well-rounded workout.

  1. Cardio Exercises

    • Combine sprints while skipping steps.

      Running up and down flights of stairs is a great way to exercise. However, you might find that adding variety is more challenging and enjoyable. Next time, try skipping a step while sprinting up the stairs. This will elevate your heart rate resulting in more calories burned. Another challenging exercise is hopping. Instead of alternating legs as you climb, hop up the stairs while skipping every other step. For a more advanced exercise, perform single leg hops. This exercise will require a great deal of power and balance. Perfect the bilateral hops before trying single leg hops.

    Resistance Exercises

    • The elevation and decrease of height provide a built-in level of difficulty for resistance exercises. Decline or incline pushups are an excellent upper body exercise. Use the steps to position yourself at a challenging level. Elevated split squats are another exercise utilizing the stair height factor. Choose a step that is comfortable yet pushes you to perform the exercise. Stand with the stairs behind you for this exercise. You can also train your triceps by using the stairs for triceps dips. To make this movement more difficult, elevate one leg at a time while maintaining balance.

    Combined Exercises

    • Some stair exercises provide you with a combination of cardiovascular and strength benefits. These exercises are a good method for strengthening your heart while also building lean muscle. The climbing lunge can be used to train your legs while also increasing your heart rate. Remember to evenly alternate your legs while lunging upward. Another exercise is side squatting while you move up flights of stairs. Turn sideways when performing the squats and rotate which side leads when going up the stairs.

    Considerations

    • Stretch before and after your workout.

      A certain level of caution should be taken when using flights of stairs for exercises. To protect your joints from excessive impact, always walk down if you are running or sprinting up a fight of stairs. This will also allow for recovery time before performing another exercise. When doing stationary movements, make sure your balance is maintained to avoid a painful fall. For busy areas, use the stairs during early morning or late evening when pedestrian traffic is minimal. Always go through a warm-up and cool down which include a variety of stretches. Check with your doctor to ensure you are capable of beginning an exercise program.