Let me start this post by saying…I am no lover of stairs.
I don’t think ANYONE likes to take the stairs, because no matter how good of shape someone is in, stairs are a whole new ball game when it comes to exercise.
One of my good friends, Abduselam Yussuf, is the Manitoba Half Marathon champion, two years running. I worked with him on the fifth floor of an old building downtown that used to be a sewing company way back in the day. (I know that because of the needles we would find in the cracks of the floor all the time.) Being as old as it was, the elevator had a tendency to break down about once a month—sometimes more. And being downtown where you have to re-plug your parking meter and move your car every two hours, the elevator breaking down meant we were up and down five flights of stairs, five times a day.
Now, being a half marathon winner, Abduselam, or Abby, as I call him, is in pretty great cardiovascular shape. It’s safe to say his endurance is unlike most people’s. But when it came to doing those stairs, I have to say I felt better being out of breath mid-way to the fifth floor, when I saw he was in the same boat.
There’s something about stairs…
So here’s what you can do to help yourself out a little bit when it comes to taking the healthy, dreaded alternative to an elevator at work, school or anywhere else you may be: Practice!
Yes, that’s right… practice makes perfect, so why not practice your stairs?
Ever heard of a stair-master? Of course you have, it’s an old gym classic! And what’s the gist of it? You climb stairs, and that’s it. I’m telling you this is the hardest machine at your local gym. Don’t believe me? Try it for five minutes. I bet you’ll be tired after 30 seconds. Yes, it seems easy, but this thing will get you into better cardiovascular shape AND workout your quads and butt at the same time. It’s the triple-threat of exercise machines.
Here’s what I do on it:
I set a minimum time of five minutes on it, so that I don’t let myself quit before that.
Throughout the five minutes, I try to vary my speeds so that when I start the exercise, I’m going at a normal stair-climbing pace, and by the end I’m going at a light jogging pace up the stairs. When it’s at a slower speed, you can even skip a stair in between each step to make it more of a butt work out with bigger steps.
When my five minutes is up, I challenge myself to go for one more minute. And keep doing that in the last 10-seconds of each minute after the first five. When working out, ALWAYS ask yourself, “can I do more?” Often, you’ll surprise yourself. I’ve gotten to twelve minutes on the stair master with this goal-setting before.
And here’s a tip: Don’t EVER set a maximum time or maximum amount of reps or sets for yourself. You decide when your body can’t take it anymore.
Here’s another tip: This is a slow enough exercise that you can easily read while doing it— I used to study for exams up on those stairs! (AND, having something to distract you from the pain helps make it go by faster too.)
I want to see all of you master the stairs from now on, because realistically, they are a healthier option, and it makes all the difference in the world when you can take the upward challenge every day.
Sincerely,
Kristi
© Sincerely, Kristi. All rights reserved
Sincerely, Kristi 