Climbing Stairs for Weight loss
Most
of us go out of our way to avoid stairs, but using them as part of our
exercise routine is a great way to lose
weight, improve our fitness and
tone and strengthen problem areas, like our legs, tummy and buttocks.
This article explains why climbing stairs is such a great exercise for those of us with weight loss goals, and provides some very useful
tips to get us started climbing stairs as safely and as effectively
as possible.
Why climb stairs for weight loss
Stairmaster machines are among the most popular pieces of exercise equipment
in gyms all over Australia and the world.
These machines certainly can provide us with an outstanding workout if used
properly, but as with most things in life, there is no substitute for the
real thing, and climbing stairs is no exception.
Climbing stairs for weight loss and fitness is great for many reasons. Here
are just a couple of them:
- 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).
Getting started climbing stairs
The hardest part of getting started climbing stairs for weight loss and
fitness is usually finding some stairs to climb!
At first, it may not seem like there are any suitable stairs close by for
us to climb, but when we start to think about it, it can be amazing how many
stairs most of us have around us.
If possible, stairs with a reasonable number of flights is best, but with
a bit of creativity it is possible to get a good workout even if the only
stairs available have a single flight.
To help you find suitable stairs near you, here are a couple of typical
places to find them:
- High-rise car parks.
- Shopping centres.
- Office buildings.
- Apartment buildings.
- Train stations.
- Overpasses and road bridges.
- Schools and Universities.
- Parks.
- Sports grounds.
- Double storey homes.
- Local monuments and lookouts.
- Piers.
- Foot bridges.
Can you think of any more?
Continued on next page...
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