Fitness and bodybuildingExercise
There is free sports equipment near you, with which you can train at any time. It's a staircase! In just 15 minutes you can build real strength in your legs and abs, clear your mind and break a sweat.
Author:
Casey Smith
It happens that just the thought of going to the gym makes you feel uneasy. What if you need to work out, but really don’t want to go to the gym and work out surrounded by a crowd of people? Find a flight of stairs and a fun 15-minute sweatshop workout on the steps is in your pocket. All you need is a pair of running shoes and a good plan!
Below is one of our favorite stair workouts. It is short, heavy and unique in terms of load. Use a flight of stairs with at least 10 steps (more is better). Do 3 to 5 sets of each exercise. Rest as much as you need, but remember that shorter rest periods help raise your heart rate and burn more calories.
If you're new to fitness, some of these exercises may seem daunting. We just ask you to try it! After that, do what you can. If you are more experienced, increase the intensity and you will find that this workout gives you quite a hard workout!
Walking or jogging up the stairs
Start with 5-10 minutes and gradually increase the training time. Be sure to rest between sets, and when walking no longer seems difficult, switch to jogging.
Try to find a long flight of stairs. This way you will be able to climb the stairs continuously for several minutes, which will give an increased load on the muscles.
Running plan for beginners
Combine straight running with walking up stairs, and be sure to do some additional strength training to improve your fitness. You can try this plan
Monday
Warm up by walking slowly – 5 flights of stairs up, 5 flights of stairs down, repeat 3 times. Then go outside and run in a straight line for 20 minutes, keeping your heart rate at 130-140 beats. Then walk for 5 minutes, breathe deeply, and do several stretching exercises.
Tuesday
Your usual strength training, plus a brisk walk “one flight up, one flight down” for 15-20 minutes. To enhance fat burning, walk immediately after a strength workout.
Wednesday
Day of rest
Thursday
Intervals – 5 flights up, 3 flights down, 20 minutes, light stretching
Friday
20 minutes walk plus 3 sets of 2 flights up and down at a fast pace
Saturday
Your usual strength exercises
Sunday
Day of rest
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Lunges on the stairs
In addition to cardio, you can also include strength training in your workout. The muscles of the legs and buttocks are excellently worked on the stairs.
Performing lunges on stairs will significantly increase the intensity of your workout.
The exercise should be performed in the same way as regular lunges, but upward. This puts more stress on the supporting leg. During training, it is advisable to lower your leg as low as possible, making sure that the supporting leg does not go beyond the level of the toe. During the rise, it is necessary to transfer the weight forward not to the toe of the supporting leg, but to the heel.
Pros, cons and contraindications of running up stairs
Laziness and reluctance to disturb neighbors are not contraindications. Medical "barriers" to stair running include:
- Injuries of the ankle, knee, hip joints;
- Severe scoliosis;
- BMI is more than 33;
- Phlebeurysm%
- Heart diseases;
- High blood pressure
However, if you are sure that there is something wrong with your health, consult your doctor. The advantage of this training is, as they say, that it is always at hand. Every home has a staircase, and if you're lucky enough to live somewhere that doesn't have one, you'll probably find some in a park nearby.
In the process of “stepping” you will strengthen the muscles of your thighs, buttocks, and you can even pump up your abs a little. During movement, the core muscles are forced to actively work to keep the body in an upright position, and if you also lower your shoulder blades to your pelvis and retract your stomach, you have every chance of improving your figure. As a result, you will simply get used to walking correctly and will maintain this body position in everyday life. Running will also help you get rid of 500-900 kcal per hour, depending on your training. In addition, to train on the stairs it is not at all necessary to have the most sophisticated fitness uniform or the most fashionable sneakers. Almost any tracksuit and running shoes are enough. Well, of course, you should take care of sports bras, and “seasonal additions” in the form of a hat and gloves in winter. So, who else doesn't want to run?
There is only one downside to this type of exercise - running causes a quick adaptation to almost any cardio and you will soon have to increase your jogging time or add other activity to continue to get a useful load. Yes, this means you won't sweat as much in your favorite step aerobics class, and you might want to give it up in favor of something more intense and varied. Also, running up stairs is not suitable for everyone; the level of training greatly affects the results of training.
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Burpee
This workout is ideal for large steps. You need to perform it on the bottom step, and then jump up to be on the step above. Afterwards you need to do one more repetition, jumping back to the bottom step.
For the correct technique, you need to stand up straight, then squat down, resting your hands on the floor, take your legs back in a jump and at the same time lower yourself to the ground, as if doing a push-up. From this position, you need to rise to the “plank” position with emphasis on straight arms, then pull your legs towards your hands while jumping and jump as high as possible.
Crawling on stairs
To do this exercise, you need to get on all fours with your feet on the floor and your hands on the bottom step. From this position, you need to start crawling up the steps so that the load is on your right arm and left leg or vice versa.
Attention! If the steps for training are low, then you are allowed to step over several of them at the same time.
Romanian squats
This is a type of squats, which in terms of execution technique is no different from classic ones. During the exercise, the load on the legs increases due to the fact that the free leg does not stand on the floor, but rests on a step. When training, the back must be straight, the supporting leg must stand firmly on the ground.
You need to lower your knee as low as possible, while the supporting leg cannot lift off the floor.
Jumping on the steps
Jumping is great for developing strength and endurance. To perform the exercise, place your feet shoulder-width apart, doing a half-squat, and place your hands behind your back. Next you need to jump forward and up to another step. When jumping from the ground, you need to move your arms forward or up, helping yourself to push off the ground as hard as possible and maintaining balance.
It is advisable to jump carefully, landing on your toes, and when jumping, tense your abdominal muscles and pull the lower part high to the ribs.
So, exercises on the stairs are considered one of the best types of training when you want to achieve the effect of burning fat, strengthening the lower body - buttocks, thighs, calves, and also building excellent abs. Along with such benefits, it is very beneficial for the lungs and cardiovascular system.
Sergei Samotoilov's blog
Very often I hear complaints about the lack of time to study. A lot of work, household chores, children, parents, everyday life, etc. As a result, time passes, and along with it, your health leaves you. So, no matter what reason you find, by the age of 40-50 you will have a lot of sores. Although, you can always find a way out and take care of your health! For example, take a simple staircase in the entrance. Perfect exercise !
The ladder is a great exercise machine, the importance of which no one even knows! Not only does it use 2/3 of the muscles of our body and develop the cardiovascular system, but the main thing is that this simulator is always with you! 24 hours a day! We're talking about the case when you don't have time to visit the gym! Therefore, put on your uniform and go!
You don’t even need to think about what your neighbors will say..)), they have their own cockroaches in their heads, you have yours. Besides, you're here for your health, and they probably have beer in their bag.
So, let's see how the muscles work in the “Staircase” exercise.
In this case, we practically perform the exercise “Stepping onto a bench (step, box).”
What familiar movements are taking place here?
- Hip extension (when you stand on your foot, the leg goes back under the body);
- Shin extension (knee straightening).
- Stabilization of the spinal column (the upper body does not fall forward).
Now let's see what muscles work:
- Single-joint muscles - hip extension - gluteus maximus, adductor magnus;
- Muscles – tibia extensors – quadriceps femoris (rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, medialis and vastus intermedius).
- The back surface of the thigh - the biceps muscle, the semitendinosus, the semimembranosus muscles - bear a slight load (due to the fact that simultaneous extension of the hip and knee joints occurs, and the length of the muscles practically does not change).
- The spinal extensor muscles stabilize the spine from tilting forward.
As you can see, in this “unnoticeable” exercise, the largest muscles of our body work, which make up 2/3 of the volume of skeletal muscles on the human body. Almost the entire lower body!
Of course, without external weights, such as barbells or weights, you will not be able to gain significant size using a ladder. But! I guarantee excellent muscle tone. You will always be in shape!
And of course, the cardiovascular system will thank you very much for taking care of it! Saturating the blood with oxygen when you breathe hard is always beneficial for the body and tissues as a whole. The respiratory system supplies oxygen, removes carbon dioxide, and helps regulate the acid-base balance in the body. “Staircase” is the perfect exercise for losing weight!
If, however, you can’t train without a trainer, and there is no gym nearby, I suggest you use my distance training. Go to the page and carefully read how to do this.
Now I will give several program options. You can go through them and then you will understand that the Staircase is not only an element of the interior. So, let's agree that we have an entrance, or some other staircase, 1-3 flights. And also, there are no problems with the knees and spine.
Program 1.
Aimed at muscle tone (tightness):
- Warm up. Ascent and descent from the first to the last step of the flights. 3-4 approaches, with low intensity (we walk energetically). Rest between sets for 1-2 minutes.
- Main part. 1st approach (an approach is considered to be an ascent from the beginning of the flights to the top and then descent to the starting position) - we slowly climb the stairs, stepping over one step and concentrating on the sensations in the muscles of the front leg. 2nd approach. We go up two steps, concentrating on the sensations in the muscles of the front leg. Slowly! Then, having reached the top, we go down one step. Slowly, controlling the sensations in the back leg. 3rd approach. You repeat the second approach, with the only difference being that you do everything first with your right leg without changing, then with your left. Rest between sets for 1 minute.
- Hitch. Walk a little. Slowly shake your legs and stretch a little. Wait until your breathing is restored. All! Take a shower.
You do this for a week, and you can pick up anything heavy.
Program 2.
Aimed at developing the cardiovascular system (endurance + weight loss):
- Warm up. Ascent and descent from the first to the last step of the flights. 3-4 approaches, with low intensity (we walk energetically). Rest between sets for 1-2 minutes.
- Main part. We work according to the Tabata method. We take a timer and record 16 time intervals of 20 and 10 seconds. Of these, we work hard for 20 seconds at the limit of our strength, run up and down the stairs, and rest for 10 seconds, restoring our breathing. For variety, alternate the number of steps when you run up - 1 or 2. Leave one down. (Alternatively, you can not run up, but jump, if there are no problems with your knees and spine). You need to do 2-3 laps, depending on your training.
Like this! Try it, and believe me, you will soon understand that the stairs are a great exercise machine! If you have questions, ask them below.
Author: samotoyloff
1, total, today
