Walking up the stairs is a simulator that is always at hand!

Hello, dear readers!

In the modern world, low physical activity has become the main cause of most diseases, as well as the cause of premature deaths. But even a small increase in physical activity can significantly reduce the likelihood of their occurrence.

It’s not difficult to increase your physical activity; for example, you can just start walking up the stairs! In today's article I will tell you how great the benefits of walking on stairs are!

While most people associate health benefits with exercise, scientific research suggests that natural exercise, such as walking or climbing stairs, has a much greater impact on health. For example, I previously wrote about the benefits of regular walking: The secret of health and longevity is walking in the fresh air.

Going up and down the stairs is perhaps one of the most accessible ways to improve your health. Stairs are all around us, and climbing them doesn't cost a penny!

Pros and cons of a climber simulator (escalator)

SKLZ

The length of the ladder is 4.5 meters, the crossbars are made of dense plastic, and special buckles at the ends of the ladder make it possible to connect it with other ladders.

Zelart

The variety of the line allows you to choose stairs made of plastic and polyester from 6 to 10 meters (from 12 to 20 steps).

Seco

The company makes it possible to purchase either one ladder (from 6 m) or a set of two, each 8 meters long (a total of 32 rungs).

Yakimasport

Pro ladder hurdle is a ladder-barrier that combines two simulators: a coordination ladder and plastic barriers with a height of 11 cm. In ladder mode, the width will be 63 cm, and in barrier mode – 46 cm.

Bd

The coordination ladder sportartikel with adjustable strong bars is 6 meters long, the number of bars is 15.

Select

The agillity ladder is made of dense rubber, which allows the ladder to stick tightly to the parquet and not break. Length 6 meters with the possibility of adding stairs.

Swift

A ladder with the ability to move plastic rungs. A carrying case is included. Length – 6 meters, 14 crossbars.

Miter

The coordination ladder agility ladder consists of twenty-one crossbars, the tapes are made of polyester, the movable crossbars are made of polypropylene. Plastic carabiners are attached to the ends of the ladder. The bag is included.

• The main advantage of a stair stepper over conventional ones is the low-impact workout that is safe on the joints, this is achieved through the use of a piston resistance system that absorbs shock.
• Climbing the endless stairs of a machine is a good cardio option for back problems if using a treadmill is prohibited.
• Rehabilitation studies have shown that the stair machine contributed to partial relief of lower back pain because it is aimed at activating the gluteal muscles, thereby removing stress from the back.
• Climbing stairs quickly increases the heart rate and starts the cardiovascular system. This not only allows you to quickly burn calories, but also accelerates oxygen consumption by active muscles.
• Such workouts increase endurance and burn maximum calories in minimal time, speeding up metabolism.
• Climbing stairs uses the largest, most metabolically active muscles in the body, which can help you burn more calories even after your workout.

The main disadvantage can be considered the high cost of simulators. Steppers are often large, reaching up to 2 meters in height, and require a lot of floor space.

Exception: stepper stairs put stress on the knee joints, so this is not the best way to train if you have inflammation and knee injuries.

Climber Matrix

– an American company produces stair steppers under the brand

. The brand is a leading manufacturer of this type of exercise equipment on the professional sports equipment market. Such exercise machines are intended for use in fitness clubs, but are also perfect for home use.

Climber StairMaster

- founder and first brand to release stair steppers. Although the manufacturer still produces high-quality, top-notch exercise equipment, Johnson is slightly ahead of the company. But the brand produces exercise equipment in a wide price range, which makes it possible to purchase a similar escalator for your home.

- a company that produces stair trainers

, not inferior to competitors in quality. The exercise machines are intended for professional use in fitness centers.

Major manufacturers of climbers

Climber Matrix

Johnson is an American company that produces stair steppers under the Matrix brand. The brand is a leading manufacturer of this type of exercise equipment on the professional sports equipment market. Such exercise machines are intended for use in fitness clubs, but are also perfect for home use. The cost of the manufacturer’s line varies from 596,000 – 1,200,000 rubles.

Climber StairMaster

StairMaster is the founder and first brand to release stair steppers. Although the manufacturer still produces high-quality, top-notch exercise equipment, Johnson is slightly ahead of the company. But the brand produces exercise equipment in a wide price range, which makes it possible to purchase a similar escalator for your home. Price from 320,000 to 1,019,000 rubles.

Climber Life Fitness

Life Fitness is a company that produces PowerMill stair trainers that are not inferior to competitors in quality. The exercise machines are intended for professional use in fitness centers. The cost varies from 950,000 to 1,480,000 rubles.

The benefits of a coordination track

• The load improves speed, coordination, agility and agility.
• Suitable for athletes and amateurs regardless of physical fitness level.
• Can serve as both a warm-up equipment and a main one.
• The workout allows you to burn calories just like running or other high-intensity cardio exercises, and also strengthens your cardiorespiratory system.
• Easy to use, easy to carry in a special case.
• Light weight.
• Suitable for training in any room and area.

Elliptical Arc Trainer

Efficiency: 3 Functionality: 2 Availability: 4

We think Arc Trainer raises too many questions. The machine forces your body to move in an unnatural manner and is not very suitable for tall and short people. If your knees are so bad that you can't run or walk, swim or bike instead.

What muscles work on the staircase machine?

The stair stepper works and strengthens most of the largest muscle groups - thighs, calves, hamstrings and glutes. The repeated movement allows the legs to work through a full range of motion, actively engaging the entire lower body. The main goal of the workout is to keep your back upright.

Depending on how the foot lands on the step will determine the load on the muscles.

1. Landing and pushing off with the toes of the feet affects the work of the quadriceps muscles of the thigh;
2. and with your heels on the gluteal muscles.

Also, skipping steps - after 2-3 steps, the gluteal muscles will be more stressed.

Harm and contraindications

This type of activity is not recommended for everyone.

Pain in the heart, joints of the lower extremities

The cause is a high and unusual load. Reduce the load or stop the activity until next time. If you experience discomfort during or after exercise, consult your doctor.

Ankle injury

Occurs when going up and down stairs incorrectly, as well as when using uncomfortable shoes.

Shortness of breath and dizziness

When there is severe shortness of breath, dizziness and darkness in the eyes - these are signals that there are problems with the heart. Seek help from a specialist.

Exercising on the stairs in the entrance and on the street brings great benefits to both the body and the body. However, it is not recommended for everyone as a health maintenance activity. Some will still have to give them up.

Exercise can be harmful. For example, pain in the heart may occur due to heavy exertion. Dizziness, shortness of breath and darkening of the eyes are signs that there is a problem. In this case, you should stop the activity or slow down the pace.

Also, pain in the joints causes the cessation of exercise on the stairs. If you constantly feel pain and discomfort from exercise, stop exercising and consult your doctor.

But there are conditions when athletics on the stairs is completely contraindicated for people. Avoid training if you have:

• scoliosis;
• joint damage (knee and hip);
• disruption of the heart and blood vessels;
• phlebeurysm;
• poor eyesight.

Restrictions also apply to pregnant girls. Intense gymnastics during this period is contraindicated. Exercising with stairs can also be dangerous because it is easy to injure limbs, especially ankles.

How to choose for your home

1. An important criterion is the ability to independently change the distance between the crossbars.
2. Choose the optimal length depending on the room and level of training (6 or 10 m).
3. Durability of materials: straps made of polyester or rubber, crossbars - nylon, plastic.

These simulators are representatives of an expensive segment for professional use, so the choice will mainly depend on price. Otherwise, modern electromagnetic simulators are equipped with a huge range of capabilities, from various programs and levels, to multimedia and compatibility with mobile devices.

Rowing machine

Efficiency: 5+ Functionality: 4+ Availability: 4

Not every gym has a rowing machine, but we consider it one of the most effective forms of cardio. A full body exercise with a large range of motion can be hard as hell. Just 10 minutes of interval training will burn a huge amount of calories. Unless you are a rowing veteran, your body will have a very hard time.

The biggest disadvantage of this machine is that poor technique can limit its effectiveness. If you pull the handles at head level, you will achieve nothing but entertainment for the audience.

Examples of exercises on stairs

1. Heels down

Stand on the bottom step and let your heels hang off it slightly. Place your body weight on your toes and grab the railing. Now slowly lower your heels down while maintaining balance. Return to the starting position and repeat the exercise 20 times.

2. Lateral raises

Turn your right side toward the stairs and, holding the railing, step your left foot over one step. Next, place your right foot on the step above and take your left foot over the step again.

On the next flight of stairs, do the same, but with your left side facing the stairs.

Now go down and repeat the exercise on each side 2-3 times.

3. sit-ups

Briskly walk up to the next flight of stairs, squat 10 times and go up another flight of stairs, then squat 10 times again. Overcome 2-3 floors in the same way. Go down and repeat.

4. Up and down

Climb the stairs one flight, stepping on each step, starting with your right foot. Climb the next flight, starting with your left foot. Alternate legs until you reach the very last floor.

Now go down and repeat 1-2 more times.

5. Raises with lunges

Climb one flight of stairs, lunging with your right leg after 1-2 steps (make sure that your knee does not go beyond the projection of your toe). As you climb the next flight, lunge with your left leg. Walk 3 flights on each leg, now walk down quickly and repeat.

As you can see, training on stairs is not as difficult as it may seem. The main thing is that you can train anywhere there is a staircase, and in any weather (if you train in the entrance of a high-rise building), and absolutely free.

Don’t put off training until later, but make a strong-willed decision - right today, give up elevators and escalators forever! This will definitely benefit you...

Did you find this article helpful? Then like us and write in the comments, do you practice training on stairs, and how often do you give up elevators?

Benefits of walking on stairs.

In addition to the benefits for the body, walking up the stairs has many other advantages. For example, no additional equipment or special clothing is required, the main thing is that the shoes are comfortable and stable.

You can walk on the stairs regardless of the weather outside, and this type of activity is available all year round. Such training does not require special skills and mastery; we have all been able to climb stairs since childhood.

To introduce this type of activity into your life, you don’t need to spend a lot of precious time. Stairs, as a rule, are everywhere: in apartment buildings, office buildings, on the streets and in public places, and besides, such training is completely free

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Scheme of exercises on the cardio simulator ladder

Interval training increases the intensity of the exercise, thereby increasing the oxygen consumption and calorie consumption that the body burns after exercise. Instead of just using pre-designed "fat burn" or "weight loss" programs on a machine, try doing your own interval training.

RPE is a measure of perceived exertion (how difficult an exercise is on a scale of 1 to 10).

Complex No. 1

Perform 3 rounds with a 1 minute break.

1. Slowly rise at 3-4 RPE for 60 seconds.
2. Step through the step at 3-4 RPE for 30 seconds.
3. Slow rise for 60 seconds.
4. Gain 7-8 RPE for 30 seconds.
5. Slow rise for 60 seconds.
6. Step through the step for 30 seconds.
7. Slow rise for 60 seconds.
8. Accelerate for 30 seconds.
9. Slow step – 30 seconds.

Complex No. 2

Perform a 3-minute warm-up by walking at 3-4 RPE before performing 5 rounds.

1. Double step at 3-4 RPE for 30 seconds.
2. Lateral Raise (Left Foot Step) at 3-4 RPE for 30 seconds.
3. Accelerate 7-8 RPE for 30 seconds.
4. Lateral lift (right foot step) at 3-4 RPE for 30 seconds.
5. Accelerate 7-8 RPE for 60 seconds.

How do steppers work and how are they useful?

What is the name of the walking machine? It is called a stepper or stepper. This is a cardio machine that simulates climbing stairs. The name is quite understandable: “step” is translated from English as “step”. Just like other cardio equipment, the stepper helps provide a person with the necessary volume of natural movements. The exercises are primarily aimed at working the muscles of the thighs, buttocks and legs.

One of the advantages of the simulator is its ease of use. It is also relatively inexpensive and takes up little space. For home use, people most often buy mini-steppers, which are attractive due to their compactness and functionality.

A walking simulator is most often purchased to lose weight and improve figure tone. In fact, the benefits of the stepper are not limited to this. The in-situ walking machine is also useful for the following:

• Strengthening the heart and blood vessels;
• Development and stimulation of the respiratory system;
• Activation of the back and abdominal muscles.

Controlling a standard model simulator from a computer

To control the simulator from a computer, a special program must be installed on it (included in the delivery package). The simulator must be connected to the computer using the appropriate cable (included in the kit), and power must be connected to the simulator. Then the packet switch is turned on and the green two-position switch button is pressed. Next, you need to run the program on your computer. In this case, control of the simulator from the remote control is disabled and switches to the computer interface. The ladder is controlled through an intuitive software interface by the operator on the computer. Moreover, the emergency “STOP” button on the control panel is available at any time. When closing the program, control of the simulator automatically switches to the control panel.

Orbitrek

Efficiency: 2 Functionality: 1 Availability: 5

We've placed the elliptical below the Arc Trainer because the latter offers more options. However, we face the same problems with a conventional elliptical trainer; movements are unnatural and ineffective. Plus, by setting the resistance to any level below 10, you'll burn calories just as efficiently as sitting on the couch.

The only advantage of the ellipsoid is the low load on the joints. However, we believe that cycling or swimming are much more effective if you are being held back by a knee injury.

The science!

Being strong opponents of all kinds of evidence, we think it is enough to refer to the information that helped us make a choice.

The Journal of the American Medical Association experiment compared different gym equipment (Airdyne, cross-country ski simulator, bicycle ergometer, rowing ergometer, stepper, and treadmill). It turned out that walking or running on a treadmill provides the maximum energy expenditure and is the most demanding in terms of aerobic endurance compared to other exercise machines.

Interestingly, scientists found that energy expenditure while running or walking on a treadmill is 40% higher than when riding a bicycle. Moreover, only the treadmill and rowing ergometer produced maximal oxygen consumption figures that corresponded to the level required to improve functional fitness.

In support of previous findings, scientists from the University of Dublin (Dublin, Ireland) conducted a similar study and concluded that the treadmill, ski simulator and rowing machine provided the maximum energy expenditure compared to the stationary bike and elliptical trainers.