When we set out to get in shape, we want to achieve our goals as soon as possible. There are many methods to increase the performance of our workouts such as train climbing stairs. We are going to dedicate this post to analyze the advantages and benefits that we can get from this practice in order to transform our body.
Do you want to know all the advantages of training by climbing stairs? You just have to keep reading to learn them 🙂
Obstacles and training
There are many people who do running daily. It is a sport like any other. Running every day offers multiple benefits to our health. One problem that arises when you run around town is that not enough inclined ramps to carry out the workouts. Climbing hills increases our body's endurance and endurance capacity. By subjecting our body to a greater effort for a longer time, we will be pumping more blood to the muscles and, therefore, they will develop more. It also favors the development of lung capacity.
If the ramps are not steep enough to offer resistance, stairs are a good option. The main advantage of training by climbing stairs is that it has integrative capacity both aerobic power and plyometric work. It can be done in environments that are easy to find and covered, in case the weather is not favorable. No material is needed and it is completely free.
Benefits of training by climbing stairs
It is a training that can be done in different ways. Depending on the focus you want to give it, it has different types of intensities. It can be done in a more gentle way for the more initiated or more advanced. It is also a good option to do it at intervals to increase fat burning.
Broadly speaking, the main benefits obtained from this practice are:
- Muscle is improved through increased strength work. Any training needs strength work. During this work, different muscle contractions are carried out that give effect to the different types of movement. In running you should not work at maximum strength, but there should be a mixed work between strength and resistance to obtain more improvements and avoid possible injuries.
- Improves cardiovascular capacity. Carrying out a work maintained in the time and the suitable hardness, the cardiovascular system is being worked in each session. An easy way is to play with our pulse and recovery while we do the circuits. In this way we will be controlling the capacity we have to improve it.
- Improve running technique. If we want to achieve this, it is essential to carry out the work focusing very well on the position of the body at all times. We have to climb the stairs upright, do not skimp on raising the knees and use the sole of the foot and Achilles tendon and coordinate the movement of the legs with the arm movement exaggerating the gesture.
Variants of a workout
If all training is performed with the correct guidelines, this training must not cause any injury. On the contrary, it provides numerous benefits for our body and should prevent such injuries. The important thing about this exercise is to plan properly to follow the basic recommendations. It should not be practiced if we have problems with a tendon (especially the Achilles). The difficulty must be progressively increased so that the body can move forward and not injure ourselves.
The steps must be lowered one by one and use the quadriceps to cushion the impact. Stair training includes a multitude of variations depending on what you want to work on. We are going to see different variations for the same workout.
Work force
We conduct 3 series resting 5 minutes between each of them. To go down the stairs, we walk slowly to recover to the starting position. Each series has the different exercises:
Climb 10 steps:
- To feet together without rest.
- To race.
- In soft foot (5 with the left and 5 with the right).
- Standing together, jumping two by two (5 jumps in total).
- To race.
- Feet together, jumping two by two stopping in a semi-flexed position for 2 seconds.
Resistance work
For this job it is important to find a ladder that is as long as possible. In this way we can make the most of our capacity. In this case, we are going to perform 4 sets of 4 minutes and we will intersperse rapid ascents of about 25 or 30 steps with a return to the starting point at a trot. One climb will be in a race and another with jumps of feet together, another with a limp. Recovery between these series will be 3 minutes.
The variants of ladder training are limitless. It depends a lot on the capacity of each one, the place where you live and the stairs you can access. If desired, small sprints can be introduced to finish every 2 or 3 climbs.
Who is this type of exercise for?
Anyone can do this type of training. The only requirement is to adapt the efforts to the initial capacities of each person and to follow the recommendations of the coach. It is necessary to pay special attention not to have discomfort or old injuries in the knees or in the Achilles heel due to being overweight. It is a modality that every practitioner of this discipline should do to improve and progress.
There are many people who, after gaining muscle mass in a volume phase, choose to train by climbing stairs like cardiovascular exercise in the definition stage. In order not to lose the muscle gained, they shorten the rise and fall times, but decrease the rest. In this way, after a weight session of at least 1 hour, fats will be used as energy reserves. With a diet high in protein, the maximum muscle obtained in the previous phase can be conserved so as not to lead to possible losses.
As you can see, these exercises are variants so that the body is continually in effort and becomes more efficient. With this we will gain in health and our body will thank us in the long run. If you can't find a place with stairs, you can always go to a soccer field and climb the stairs to the bleachers. Have you ever tried this training modality?