For many people, when the temperature turns chilly, running outside really is no longer an option. Joining a gym working out on cardio equipment is a viable option, but one of the reasons I love running outdoors is that it doesn't use electricity, so it keeps my carbon footprint just a little bit smaller.
How about using the stairs in your home, apartment or office building? It may seem a little silly at first, but it's really a great way to exercise your heart and lungs, and it tones and strengthens your lower body too.
Try these variations:
- Walk up and down the stairs.
- Sprint up and down the stairs.
- Run up, walk down.
- Walk up, run down.
- Walk up the stairs, skipping every other step.
- Do squat lunges (where you bend and then straighten your front knee) to strengthen your quads and bum.
- Hold lunges to stretch your hip flexors.
- Place your left leg on the ground at the bottom of the stairs, and your right heel on the third, fourth or fifth step (depending how flexible you are). Keep your right leg straight, fold your torso towards your right knee and stretch your right hamstring.
Fit's Tips: If you don't have stairs in your home, do the stairs during your lunch hour at your office.
Versace
Lipsy
Tom Tailor
And if you work in a one story building and live in a one story home where can one find stairs? Is it ok to just walk into an office building and start running up and down their stairs? What is the real stair etiquette? I'm being serious - I would LOVE to find some public stairs where I feel safe enough to go and run them by myself. Any ideas?
1I have a question too, in our house we just have less than 30 stairs does it count if i take one stair up and down for twenty minutes?
2well i mean using a stair as a step? i hope i receive an answer because i posted this question tow times in another page too
3two* wow i will disconnect before i leave more wrong comments really sorry excuse me lol
4If there is an outdoor stadium in your area, you could use the stairs there. I go to the local high school football field and run the stairs in the bleacher area.
5I've run up and down smaller stairs many times. Bahar I think going up and down Any stairs is better than none.
6Does anyone know if there's a video of the squat lunges? I don't really get it.
i LOVE this picture, cuz you can TOTALLY tell they are posing and not actually going up/down the stairs!!! hahahahahahha
7ooh the monuments in DC are perfect for this. and also the arlington cemetary, before i realized i wasn't allowed to jog in there (oops, gosh darn it! i totally didn't know!) i'm glad you gave me a routine! perfecto!
8My college which is up the street from my house has a good back staircase that few people use. I learned this while I was on the crew team and we ran them sometimes at practice. We would usually run up and walk down. I like to run up and jog down. Its four floors but eight flights, and you really feel it at the top. This is definitly one of my favorite workouts.
9Luckily I live on the third floor of a 3 family so stairs are key.
Although at work, during normal hours, in heels-I'll pass.
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