Take The Stairs

It's a no cost activity that's easy to prepare for, and it gives you a complete body workout, so what's not to like about stair climbing?

Without a doubt, stair climbing is an awesome cardio workout. Gravity forces you to work hard and there's maximum benefits attained in minimal times. 

One of the best parts of this type of routine is that is easily measurable. You can count your steps and repeat until your fitness level improves and you can add more sets. 

It's great for your legs, glutes and stomach, and, when done correctly, has low impact on your joints. You can target specific muscle groups by mixing up the ways you ascend and descend, and it definitely will help you hit your target heart rate . As with any exercise, it may be best to start out slow and steady and build your strength and endurance, as well as familiarize yourself with the proper techniques to avoid injury. 

Consider these variations to target specific areas of your body....

• Sprinting up sections or flights of stairs will give you a HIIT style of workout and improve your anaerobic capacity, great for fat burning.
• Do a ladder, where you start with small sections or minimal flights and then add more with each additional lap. This will switch you from anaerobic to aerobic as you go further and further up your ladder.
• Change up the stride, by going two steps at a time instead of one, focusing more on the back of your quad.
• Do crossover steps, alternating left on one flight and right on the other, to work different muscles and get your brain thinking too.
• Go up backwards, to target your calves and the back of your quad.
• Jump from step to step, to get a plyometric workout and improve explosive power.
• Bear crawl up to work your upper body, and down if you're feeling super strong and brave and want to push your limits even more.
• Sprint Plus, with a set of push-ups, sit-ups or other body weight workout done after each set of sprinted stairs.
• Partner Plus, where you or your partner do sets of body weight workouts while the other runs the stairs.
• Weighted, if your joints are good you can carry a few pounds or strap on a weighted back pack to add to your own body weight.
• Dual purpose, where you carry barbells or kettlebells and do bicep curls, overhead thrusts or some other upper body workout as you ascend or descend.

Ramsay stairs on Scotsman's Hill, going down from Salisbury St. to the Elbow River pathway.

I happen to live near a set of stairs which run down the bluff in Ramsay. There are 159 of them and they're fairly close to the spacing on a standard set of stairs, so it's not much of an adjustment to make when doing a workout routine. According to my GPS watch, the stairs cover 1/8 km on the horizontal over a 30 m elevation gain, so 20 laps will equal 5 km and give you 600 m of rise and descent.

Crescent Heights stairs, going down from Crescent Rd. to Memorial Drive

I've also run the Crescent Height stairs quite a few times. Interestingly, they're completely different than the Ramsay stairs, notwithstanding the additional 9 risers. The actual treads and risers have a completely different measurement than those on the Ramsay set and it makes for a slightly different workout, as you need to adjust your stride, so to speak. I find the ascent much easier on the deeper tread, especially since I run down and take two steps at a time. However, it feels a little bit awkward going up, when accustomed to my usual stair climb in Ramsay.

When the weather is nice you can probably find plenty of local places in your city to get out enjoy the great outdoors while doing your stair workout. Here's some ideas for Calgary stair climbs and check out these ones for Edmonton stair climbs. 

When it's cold, snowy or rainy, you can find something indoors, like that office tower you work in or condo building you call home. I've even done laps on the stairs when staying in a hotel. In any case, always be considerate of your personal safety as stairwells can be quite secluded. Might be best to run with a partner, which can also add challenges and motivation to improve your strength and endurance.

All in all, a stair climb is a great workout and quite adaptable to your fitness level, with many options to target specific muscles or improve aerobic or anaerobic capacity. Plus, it's a nice change from the usual routine and you know what they say..." a change is as good as a rest".