Add The Stairs To Your Home Workouts  

The clients at our Ottawa physiotherapy, chiropractic and sports medicine clinics include everyone from professional athletes to constructions workers and those who spend hours a day at a computer. While everyone wants to stay fit, when it comes to lifestyle, we don’t all have the same time to devote to it. When you include disruptions to schedules and availability, working out from home is the solution that fits all needs.

Even where there may be limited space, there is always a way to make a workout fit the room, especially where you can use stairs.

Simple Stair Workout

Adding stairs allows you to create challenging and rewarding routines. Simply climbing the stairs at a brisk pace is a good way to start.

• Taking a 10-12 step flight of stairs as a benchmark, you’ll burn 2 to 5 calories for every trip both up and down.
• Continuing to climb stairs for about 30 minutes will burn up about 235 calories (given a person weight approximately 55kg).
• If you live in an apartment building, climbing 10 stories of stairs, up and down five times each, will burn about 500 calories.

Whether you run or walk briskly, it’s important to remember good form.

• Lean slightly forward;
• Focus ahead, and avoid looking down at your feet;
• Add energy by pumping with your arms;
• Lift your feet and knees up.

Exercises For Stairs

One easy to remember exercise routine is to alternate 2 or 3 minutes of running up and down stairs with 30 to 60 seconds of rest, alternating for five or six iterations. Ask your Ottawa physiotherapist or other sports medicine specialist for advice if you have questions about where to start, or if you have a condition that may affect workouts.

Here are some more ideas:

Stair Push-ups

• Start by placing your hands on one of the two lowest steps, hands directly underneath your shoulders.
• Walk your feet back, (feet directly under hips), to a plank position.
• Perform push-ups, inhaling as you lower your chest down to the stair, and exhaling as you push back up.

Stair Lunge

• With your back to the stairs, stand with your feet a shoulder's width apart.
• Reach back with one leg to rest on a step.
• As you inhale, bend your knees and lower your body.
• Exhale as you extend your leg back to a standing position.
• Keep your knee of your front leg over the front foot.

Side Step

• Stand sideways to the stairs, with your knees and hips slightly bent.
• Step onto the first stair with the foot closest to the stairs.
• Follow with the second foot, keeping your core muscles tight.
• Continue up and down the stairs without crossing your legs over each other.

Stair Squat Hop

• Stand on the lowest stair with your legs and feet about shoulder width apart.
• Lower your hips into a squat.
• Now jump forward onto the ground.
• As you land, lean slightly forward to absorb the momentum and control the fall.

Our Ottawa physiotherapists, chiropractors and other sports medicine specialists are available to answer your questions about working out, and provide advice on working out with an individualized plan based on your condition and lifestyle. Call one of our Ottawa physiotherapy clinics today for a consultation.