Climbing Stairs for Weight loss (Part 3)
Safety tips for stair climbing
Generally speaking, stair climbing is relatively safe for most of us, but
as with anything it is not totally without dangers.
To help us get the most out of our stair climbing workouts and exercise
as safely as possible we should keep the following tips in mind at all times:
- Always warm up and stretch before climbing stairs, paying particular attention to the major leg muscles (calves, hamstrings, thighs and buttocks).
- Start out slow and easy, and don't increase our intensity by more than 10% each week.
- Be very careful coming down stairs. Don't come down too quickly and NEVER run down stairs, it's far too dangerous for no or little gain.
- Put our safety first and go at a speed that ensures we don't lose our balance or strain too hard.
- Wear a heart rate monitor so that we can see how hard our heart is working and to ensure we stay within the desired target heart rate.
- Always carry water with us and stay well-hydrated.
- Stop if we feel faint, dizzy or in pain.
- Take sufficient rest breaks during our workouts.
- Always consult our doctor before beginning any new exercise routine.
- Do not climb stairs if we have orthopedic or medical complications (such as high blood pressure, etc) that the intense nature of stair climbing may aggravate.
- Maintaining the correct posture while climbing stairs is very important to get the most out of our workout and minimize the chance of injury. Correct technique means leaning forward slightly from the hips with the back straight, looking forward, keeping our eyes on the stairs and placing our whole foot on each step.
- End every stepping workout with a cool-down period that allows our heart rate to gradually return to about 100 beats per minute.
- Dress comfortably and suitably. Newer synthetic workout fabrics tend to pull moisture away from the body and help keep us cool and dry.
- Always wear appropriate footwear in the form of comfortable, well-cushioned cross-training athletic shoes.
- Always use stairs that have good light and ventilation.
- Always respect the public nature of stairs by keeping to the left and passing on the right, not stopping anywhere along the flight of stairs and giving people who are ascending the stairs right-of-way.
- Lastly, consider the security factor. If we had to yell for help because we fell down, would anybody be able to hear and help us?
Conclusion
Climbing stairs is a great way to lose weight, improve our fitness and tone
and strengthen our legs, tummy and buttocks.
This article explained why climbing stairs is such a great exercise for
those of us with weight loss goals, and provided some very useful tips to
get us started stair climbing and doing so safely and effectively.
Good luck with your weight loss and thanks for visiting weightloss.com.au.
© Copyright Ultimate Weightloss.
This article was written by Scott Haywood.
Scott is the editor of weightloss.com.au. Scott has developed an expertise in fitness and nutrition, and their roles in weight loss, which led him to launch weightloss.com.au in 2005. Today, weightloss.com.au provides weight loss and fitness information, including hundreds of healthy recipes, weight loss tools and tips, articles, and more, to millions of people around the world, helping them to lead happier, healthier, lives.
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