Everybody seems to hate the stairs. Poor stairs, they’re so helpful to us, yet get such a bad rap.
And why do you think that is? The simple answer is going up stairs requires an effort and for most folks, that sucks.
Elevators and escalators have therefore become the norm to reach any destination that involves going up or down.
It’s funny when you think elevators have only been around for 142 years.
German inventor Werner von Siemens created the first electric elevator in 1880.
The poor folks back then had to walk up to everything, all the time.
Back to this amazing, trail-blazing stairs workout.
If you have access to any sort of stairs in your building at home, office, or anywhere else, use them.
This probably is one of the best workouts you’ll ever do!
You’ll blast your fat and build lean muscles throughout your body.
The Routine.
This is a 3-part routine, involving walking the stairs, 2 strength training exercises, and sprinting the stairs.
It’s ideal if you have access to at least 5 or 6 flights of stairs, but the routine can be performed in a house with just 1 or 2 flights.
It just means walking up and down more often.
Part 1 — Stair Walking
Let’s assume you have 4 flights of stairs available.
Walk up at a decent pace, but make sure you keep your heart rate below your aerobic threshold — 180 BPM minus your age.
Walking up burns your leg muscles and easily elevates your heart rate without much effort. There’s almost zero impact on your knees and ankles making this exercise great for your heart, bones, and joints.
Then run down quickly, with a low center of gravity, to keep your balance and protect your knee and ankle joints.
I call this tippy-toe running.
The faster you can go down, taking small steps, the better this exercise is for your coordination, balance, and confidence.
Repeat the walking up and down session 2 to 4 times.
Part 2 — The Strength Routine
Once you’ve completed one set of walking up and down, then you can start to add the strength training exercises during the second hike up and down.
Up — Stair Lunges.
Instead of walking single steps, now you need to take 2 steps at a time and go down into a deep lunge on every step up.
Your next step up goes all the way up 4 steps to hit the next deep lunge on your other side.
Repeat this lunge routine for a good 10 steps, or more if you can.
Then continue walking up slowly to recover and repeat the exercise 3 times on your ascent.
That way you’ve already completed 3 powerful step lunging sets, further blasting your legs.
Down — Reverse Incline Push-Ups.
Now you’re running down taking those quick little well-coordinated steps with a low posture.
Stop after 2 flights of stairs and the Inverse Incline Push-Up begins.
- Position your feet 2 or 3 steps up
2. Put your hands on the ground in front of you, shoulder-width apart
3. Begin the push-ups, slow to mid-speed, focusing on good form, going all the way down, and extending back up
4. Try to reach 5 to 10 reps, more if you can
Continue gently running down the stairs, stop after 2 flights take a break — when you’re ready and focused, repeat the incline push-up.
Complete 3 sets on your way down and you’ve just done an amazing shoulder, chest, neck, core, and back workout.
Part 3 — Step Sprints
The last part, but it’s the toughest one — sorry.
However, this will be quick, and I won’t ask too much of you.
The goal is to sprint the whole set of stairs, well, almost!
No seriously, you’re already tired and your legs are going to be pretty fried at this point. I’d like you to aim for 2 to 4 short full-speed stair sprints, depending on how you feel and what you can manage.
Get into the sprint starting position and off you go at full power, one step at a time, as fast as you can moving those heavy legs up those damn steps!
Try to hit 2 flights for 10 to 20-second sprints, then stop and rest for 2 minutes.
Walk a flight or two slowly and get ready for the next sprint.
You’ve completed the Trail-Blazing Stairs Workout! Well done.
Notes:
• Make sure you’re drinking lots of water as you progress through this workout.
• Go home, lie down, rest, and thank yourself for mastering this challenging routine.
Summarizing.
Natural workout options are available to you wherever you look. All you have to do is use both man-built and nature’s objects, be creative and get down to it.
This powerful exercise combination incorporates;
- Aerobic Fat-Burning
- Strength Training your Whole Body
- Super Fat-Burn and Lean-Muscle-Building Sprinting
Truthfully, there’s hardly any other form of workout that can beat this routine inefficiency and the results it delivers.
Rob
