If you’re trying to lose weight and need a new approach, adding some stairs to your exercise routine or a few flights a day might be a good fit.
Studies have shown that it is more accessible and more effective than walking on level ground.
“Overall, it’s true that climbing stairs makes you fitter faster and burns more calories,” says Lauri van Houten, vice president of the International Skyrunning Federation, which oversees a wide range of disciplines, including vertical climbing. he says.
This includes events such as mountain running over 2,000 meters (approximately 6,500 feet) and the Stair Climbing World Championships.
These competitions are for physically fit people, but we’re talking about adding a few minutes of stair climbing to your daily routine and raising awareness about its benefits. For all ages.
“How many calories you burn is a question everyone wants to know,” Van Houten said. “Good news: Your overall energy expenditure from exercise is determined by your body weight, so the more weight you carry, the more you burn.”
Climbing up and down stairs burns calories quickly.
Studies show that you burn about 20 times more calories climbing stairs than walking on flat ground.
Even when you go down the stairs, your muscles are trained to slow down your descent, expending about five times more energy.
If you’re trying to lose weight, this may be all you need to know.
Dr. Alberto Minetti, a physiologist and biomechanist at the University of Milan, has conducted extensive research on human locomotion, such as climbing and descending stairs.
“This is an exercise that anyone can do,” Minetti told The Associated Press. “There are always stairs nearby. Unlike the gym, it’s free.”
Minetti calculated and explained why climbing the stairs is so effective at burning calories in a short amount of time.
“Moving 1 kg of body weight over 1 meter horizontally burns 0.5 calories,” he said. “Moving 1kg of your body weight vertically up the stairs burns 10 calories. So if you move vertically instead of horizontally, you burn 20 times more calories.”
Trained as a physician, Minetti has spent his career doing research rather than treating patients.
He suggested for those who are not very young or beginners to “watch your speed.”
He climbs the stairs himself in his third-floor home in Milan.
He says he often takes a few deep breaths before climbing, which helps him feel refreshed at the top.
in scientific researchMinetti claims that using your arms when climbing stairs gives you more leverage.
It also has handrails so it’s safe.
The magazine notes that most skyscraper staircases have handrails, and that using your arms maximizes “muscle mass and therefore mechanical/metabolic power during the ascent.” Pointed out.
“Although the arm muscles are relatively small, they’re better than nothing,” Minetti says.
stairs are everywhere
If stair climbing were an Olympic sport, Susie Walsham would own several gold medals.
She has won the race up New York’s Empire State Building (officially 1,576 steps) 10 times.
She has won over 100 international staircase race titles and was once considered the number one woman in the field.
Australian athletes have won five times to climb the Eiffel Tower.
Apparently, this was all too easy.
While living in Singapore, Walsham climbed a 29-story building 37 times in a row.
It took us over 4 hours to ride the elevator down each time, taking a short break for coffee or water after reaching the top. She covered a vertical distance of 3,200 meters (10,500 feet).
But let’s be grounded.
What are the benefits of climbing stairs as a regular exercise habit for us?
“You get a lot of bang for your buck,” Walsham told The Associated Press. “Running becomes more difficult for many people as they get older. Running puts more of an impact on the joints. But stair training is a great alternative.”
AP
Stairs are everywhere. One flight, two flights: at home, inside a skyscraper, at a stadium or arena, at work, in a shopping mall, on the subway.
The big advantage of climbing stairs is that it takes less time.
You can easily strengthen it by adding a few stairs each day or week, which will improve your balance.
On the downside, the views are not very good, especially the stairs of the towering skyscrapers.
