Benefits of Running Stairs
Running stairs is a popular conditioning workout for college and high school students who are training for track or football. However, this exercise is not for elite athletes and students only as other people can significantly benefit from running stairs. Actually, including this effective cardiovascular exercise into your training regimen provides a great array of benefits.
1. Strength workout
Each time you perform your exercises and run up the stairs, your entire body is basically working contrary to gravity, making this a kind of strength training. You will realize that you make use of the core muscles when running stairs because you are rotating at the waist while raising your feet. This kind of resistance training can easily boost your overall strength while developing the core muscles.
2. Cardiovascular exercise
Running stairs is an intense cardio workout. You can receive the most cardio benefits from this workout as it alternates between intense effort used when jogging up the stairs and the reduced effort jogging down. Long and steady cardiovascular exercises like running stairs are more effective for managing weight through fat burning.
3. Great workout substitute
When you travel, you may wish to continue doing your exercise routine. Sometimes you may lack the access to a training facility. In such a case, finding a place with a stairs or going to a school that has bleachers can temporarily fill in for traditional cardiovascular and strength workouts.
4. Hill training
Runners who take part in distance and cross-country races usually encounter hills during their races or training. For runners who live in flat regions, running stairs is the best method of enhancing both your stamina and strength so that you can easily handle various incline levels.
Nevertheless, because of the highly demanding nature of running stairs, most people usually dropout and stop performing this exercise.