Health Benefits and Exercise Plan

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Climbing stairs gets your heart racing, as anyone who’s ever missed an elevator or escalator knows. This makes it a great low-impact exercise that is as accessible as walking since there are stairs everywhere, but burns a lot more calories.

Even short contractions have enormous health benefits, including improved heart health, weight loss And longer life.

According to doctors, the movement is simple but intense because climbing stairs forces you to work against gravity as you continually lift your body to a small height.

Is climbing stairs a good workout?

Yes, even professional athletes use stairs as part of their fitness routine.

“You’re training your heart, the most important muscle in the body, but you’re also training your legs and building muscle,” Dr. Carrie Jaworski, a sports medicine physician in Park City, Utah. and president-elect of the American College of Sports Medicine, TODAY.com reports. “It’s a great workout.”

“It’s great cardio,” adds Dr. Stuart Cerny, director of sports medicine at Stony Brook Medicine in New York. “It will also work multiple muscle groups, which will require more work and burn more calories.”

He notes that stair climbing works the quads, hamstrings, calves and glutes.

How many calories are burned when climbing stairs?

It depends on how fast you are going, but it can be significantly more than walking “four times more,” says Jaworski.

“Climbing stairs is one of the easiest activities you can do to burn calories without going to the gym,” says National Library of Medicine notes.

For a 155-pound person, an hour of stair running will burn more than 1,050 calories; According to scientists, climbing stairs can burn about 560 calories. Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

By comparison, walking on level ground at a moderate pace burns 246 calories per hour.

Most people can’t climb stairs for long at any pace, but because the exercise burns so much energy, “it’s very effective” even as a short workout, Jaworski says. “You can get more bang for your buck” compared to walking, she adds.

Health benefits of climbing stairs

Climbing stairs is associated with long life, researchers reported at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in 2024.

Analyzing nine studies with more than 480,000 participants, they found that people who regularly climbed stairs had a 24% lower risk of premature death from any cause and a 39% lower chance of dying from cardiovascular disease. people who missed the stairs.

Climbing stairs is also associated with a lower risk of heart attack, heart failure and stroke.

“If you have the choice of taking the stairs or taking the elevator, take the stairs because it will help your heart,” study author Dr. Sophie Paddock from the University of East Anglia said in a statement.

“Short stair climbs should be an achievable goal that can be integrated into daily life.”

Climbing stairs regularly can lead to fat loss, as well as improve blood pressure, cholesterol levels and insulin sensitivity. researchers reported in 2023.

How many steps do I need to climb for a good workout?

Climbing six to 10 flights of stairs a day (assuming 10 steps per flight) is associated with a lower risk of premature death. study found. It is also associated with a 20% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease, separately research marked.

Even a few minutes of walking up the stairs throughout the day can improve your heart health. study found. The results are based on people who “vigorously” climbed three flights of stairs three times a day.

Doing this three times a week “during coffee or toilet breaks during the day appears to be sufficient to improve fitness in people who are otherwise sedentary,” said study co-author Jonathan Little, a professor at the University of British Columbia. , in the statement.

The ability to climb four flights of stairs at a fast pace (in less than a minute) without stopping is a sign that you have good exercise capacity and a lower risk of premature death. research found it.

Can climbing stairs help me lose belly fat?

It turns out that you can pump up your abdominal muscles by climbing stairs.

In 2022, fitness influencer Camilla Akbas said using a stair-climbing machine while keeping her hands on the handlebars helped her get ripped abs in eight weeks.

This can work because if you don’t use your arms for balance, the exercise requires you to use your entire core to stabilize yourself, says Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. told TODAY.com.

He compared it to “essentially a 25-minute plank.”

Stair stepper machine vs real ladder

Climbing a real staircase requires more effort than a regular staircase. stair stepper in the gym, because rotating stairs or machine pedals keep you moving and provide some assistance, Jaworski says.

“A real staircase will make the workout a little more challenging,” she notes. “You’ll feel it faster than in a car.”

A real staircase also allows for more workout options rather than just going up the direction of a machine, Cherny adds.

But the stepper is still a good workout, experts say.

Is descending stairs a good workout?

Experts have different opinions.

Some say no because going down stairs can be harder on the knees, and “the climbing component will really benefit you the most,” says Jaworski.

Others say yes because the leg muscles still work, albeit in a different way, Cherny says. But cardio is less intense because you’re working with gravity.

Stair climbing workouts

Always consult your doctor before starting a new exercise program. Doctors warn that people with balance problems or knee pain when climbing stairs may need to find another option.

When climbing stairs, always monitor your heart rate because “your heart rate can spike,” warns Cherny.

Ladder Stepper Machine:

“Start with five minutes and increase that time by five minutes every week,” he advises. Many people strive to work up to 30 minutes.

Some people like to incorporate shorter intervals into circuit training—for example, lifting weights, then jumping on the machine for a few minutes, and then returning to weight training.

Your posture on the machine is important—don’t slouch, because that can aggravate lower back problems, notes Cherny. There is a bit of a learning curve, so ask a trainer to show you how best to use it.

Real staircase:

“Start by climbing one or two flights a day, and then start adding more,” says Jaworski. If you have access to a tall building with many stairs, climb as many flights as you can—until you get out of breath or your legs get tired—then climb back down and try again if you have the strength, she adds. .

Maybe in time you’ll try ladderbut you don’t have to go fast.

“Start at your own pace—the benefits come from doing the work, not from speed,” Jaworski notes. Only increase the pace if you want a more intense workout. Some people may use a weighted backpack or vest to make the task even more challenging.

To reduce the risk of falling, use the handrails and lean forward slightly.

Climb the stairs every day

Climbing stairs doesn’t have to be one long workout—you can get the same benefits by doing a few shorter sets of stairs a few hours apart, both experts emphasize.

“Your body doesn’t really know if it’s all done in one go or spread out throughout the day,” says Cherny.

Always take the stairs over the elevator or escalator to add variety to your day, Jaworski adds.

“You can certainly use (climbing stairs) for exercise, but you should also use it as a lifestyle and take the stairs whenever you have the opportunity,” she says.