Stairs are the ultimate training tool to get your bottom in shape, increase your cardio fitness, speed and muscular endurance.

Forget running kilometre and kilometres on a treadmill. Find a set of stairs and smash out 15 minutes of interval training to get more benefits than a 1 hour run in the gym.

Incorporating a balance or both resistance and cardio into your workout will allow you to achieve greater fat burning benefits than either just resistance or cardio alone.

The step acts as a resistance exercise toning your legs and glut (bottom) muscles, while adding speed (running) to the step action creates a cardio side to the exercise.

 

The perfect step:

To get the most out of your stairs workout you need to master the step.

Keep light on the balls of your feet. With each step keep your back upright, core engaged and the weight of your body evenly distributed between each leg. This will protect your knees and ensure full body alignment.

With each step push through the ball of the stabilising leg, driving the knee high on the other leg to get full muscular motion on the movement. After landing with soft knees on the ball of the foot,  drive the lower leg up and feel the burn.

 

Below is a 15 minute high intensity step workout.

 

Step your but into shape stairs workout:

Put the timer on for 4 minutes:

1)

Sprint up stairs

Jog back down stairs

2 lunges/ leg using the bottom step to elevate your back leg

Repeat however second round add 4 lunges/ leg, third round 6 lunges/ leg and continue to increase by 2’s until the timer goes off.

1 minute break

2)

Sprint up stairs

Walk downstairs

10 x squat jumps

Repeat until the timer goes off. 

1 minute break

Put the timer on for 5 minutes:

3)

Sprint up stairs skipping every second step

Walk down

Sprint up stairs NOT skipping any steps

Walk down

Repeat until the timer goes off. 

 

Congrats!! Workout complete!

Now have a big drink of water and a good 10 minute stretch down.

xx

 

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