We're coming upon the last days of Winter and if you're like me, you're getting 'gym-ed' out. Not being able to go outdoors to change up your workout every so often can be stifling (unless you like the cold weather workouts, in which case, more power to you!).
People often fall into a rut of either doing the same workout over and over or barely working out at all. Being on the same treadmill or elliptical day after day can get boring. And boredom leads to uninspired workouts, which can ultimately lead to no workouts.
My co-worker and I ran stairs today in one of our building stairwells.This is something I did often back when I worked in SSA's gym, but since I have been over here, I haven't done them. I think it was just a matter of getting comfortable with my new surroundings. But we found a great set of stairs with five flights (SSA had 4, but were wider) and not too much traffic to dodge. The object is to sprint all the way to the top, then walk back down. I don't recommend running back down stairs. Walking back down is safer and offers some recovery time. My co-worker also had the idea to do doubles and triples, that is, stepping over 2 steps at a time, then 3.
This was brutal stuff, but an incredible workout. It's invigorating, gets your heartrate way up, and burns a boatload of calories. And even more so, it's a nice deviation from the same old gym surroundings. You're more isolated with less distractions. It's just you and your music. You really get a good chance to focus and challenge yourself. After running one round of 5 flights, you find yourself saying, 'ok, just one more', but after a while, you keep challenging yourself, and you try another, then another, etc. I stopped because my lunch break was over, but I doubt I would have lasted too much longer anyway. I did 11 rounds with a mix of sprints, doubles and triples. My legs were mush afterwards.
My challenge to you is to find yourself a set of stairs and run them one day instead of going to your gym. Chances are, you have access to stairs in your work or your home. You should base how many rounds you perform on what your stairs look like. If it's only one flight in your home, go more for time instead of rounds. Shoot for 30 minutes of straight step work. If you're on your lunch break in your work building and you have more stairs, shoot for doing rounds. How many you do depends on how many flights there are.
Make sure you go very easy on your first couple. If you go balls-out, as hard as you can on the first couple, your heartrate will skyrocket too quickly and you may get light-headed. This will affect your workout in a negative way. Your first couple rounds should be nice and easy to work out the kinks in your legs and get your blood moving. You should really start to hit your stride in the middle rounds. By the end your leg muscles should be screaming.
This will certainly count as a leg routine for the week, as well as a cardio workout, so you get more bang for your buck this way, as it's a more efficient use of time. I'm a huge proponent of more work in less time.
This is a lot of high impact, and can be hard on the knees, so I don't recommend this as a daily routine, but try to get it in once a week or a few times a month. And if you're new to running stairs, use common sense and take it easy. Try for a shorter amount of rounds and work your way up as it gets easier to you.
Let me know how it works out for you or if you have any questions.
Of course, consult a Doctor before starting any type of exercise program.
