For most people, doing sport in the gym cost them a lot of time. Yet, there is a simple way to make our body fit and healthy. basically, adult people are suggested to do physical activity for 150 minutes every week. Therefore, than spending 150 minutes in the gym, it is better to divide those minutes into seven days to do physical activity in a short period of time. Â We can do it at the stairs in our office, school, college. Even though it is a light sport, it can be used as a warming up activity before we do heavier sport.
1. Anaerobic Fitness.
Walking up and down the stairs is called anaerobic fitness since it trains our breathing system as well as increasing our breathing ability so that we are able to breathe longer. If we train it continuously step by step, it will make us not easily get tired while we do heavy activities. Anaerobic fitness trains our breathing system, our feet muscles and our heart.
2. Aerobic Fitness.
When we walk up and down the stairs, our cardiovascular organ is trained to increase our body metabolism step by step. Therefore, it is called as an aerobic fitness. If we do it at the first time, our body will feel fatigue easily. However, if we make it becomes our habit, our body will become more fresher and fit. But sufficient warming up will make this activity easy to do.
3. Cardio Training.
Besides doing treadmill, walking up and down can train our cardio in our body. We can measure how far our distance and how long we should walk up and down the stairs. Trained cardio is the same as running using treadmill. Even we produce more cardio by walking up and down the stairs than we run using treadmill. Because walking up and down the stairs costs us a lot of energy.
4. Core Training.
Our joints and our back often experience the pain. Walking up and down the stairs can reduce the pain. It is also called as a core training. It works best for people who work at the office who mostly spend their time sitting in front of the computer. They often feel the pain in their back, joint, and neck.
5. Forming Muscles.
Walking up and down the stairs can help us in forming our muscles in a very simple and easy way. Our feet muscles will be formed if we do this activity routinely. Besides, walking up and down the stairs will help us in reducing the fats in our waist, stomach, and thigh. This is simpler than doing fitness.
6. Strengthening Our Muscles.
If our muscles have been formed, walking up and down the stairs will make our muscles strong. Besides, it can prevent us from osteoporosis. Consuming sufficient calcium and routinely practicing walking up and down the stairs will minimize the risk of osteoporosis.
7. Reducing Our Weight.
Walking up and down the stairs routinely will reduce the fats and burn the calories. Our weight will reduce significantly after practicing walking up and down the stairs routinely. Walking up and down the stairs is good choice for we who are on diet since the activity will help and maximize our diet.
8. Reducing Stress.
Most people think that eating is the best solution when they are under stressful condition. Snack and sweet food become the best option to reduce the stress level. The calorie in snack and sweet food is big. If it is consume continuously, it will make us suffer from obesity, cholesterol and other dangerous disease. The expert say walking up and down the stairs for 10 minutes can boost our mental strength.
9. Thinking Positively.
Walking up and down the stairs will facilitate our blood flow to every part of our body, including to our head. Thus, it will make our mind can think freshly. We simply need a simple movement to connect every part of our body to gain the energy. Positive mind makes us be able to finish our work fast.
10. Strengthening Our Heart.
The burning calorie that we get after walking up and down the stairs is essential for our heart. Based on the research, walking up and down the stairs can reduce the risk of heart disease and train our heart so that it won’t easily tired while we work on heavy activity.
Besides, our respiratory system will improve by itself  so that we won’t easily suffer from asthma or hard breathing. Walking up and down the stairs burns 250% calorie. It is better than swimming with the same period of time. The experts recommend walking up and down the stairs to reduce our weight so that the calorie in our body can be burned effectively. Eventually the fats in our body will decrease.
11. Flattening Our Stomach.
If we want to have a flat stomach, walking up and down the stairs is the best choice if it is combined with healthy diet and healthy life style. Walking up and down the stairs for 5 sessions (30 minutes each) or 6 sessions (25 minutes each) every week will give us such an impressive result for our stomach.
12. Keeping Us Slim.Â
For reducing our weight, walking up and down the stairs can reduce our weight 0,5-1 kg per week. It also reduce our stomach size by reducing 500-1.000 calorie. For getting an optimal result, combining walking up and down the stairs with high nutritious food and low of calorie will make us full faster so that we will eat in a small portion.
Based on the researchers from University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, walking up and down the stairs will burn our 250% calorie. If it is compared to playing tennis, walking up and down the stairs burns 150% calorie. Meanwhile, if it is compared to cycling, walking up and down the stairs burns 63% calorie. And if it is compared to running, walking up and down the stairs burns 23% calorie.
To have the benefits of walking up and down the stairs for our health, we should know the tips and the technique of it.
6 Tips of Walking Up and Down the Stairs:
- We should know our limits and strength.
- We have to make sure that the area of the stairs is clear from obstacles.
- We have to be aware of the height of the stairs and the depth of the step.
- We have to check whether the handrails of the stairs are provided. If its provided, we have to make sure whether the handrails are safe for us to holding on to.
- If it is possible, we have to wear strong shoes.
- Before we walk up and down the stairs, we have to keep our hands empty for unnecessary things so that we can hold on the handrails.
10 Techniques of Walking Up and Down the Stairs:
- We should take our time in practicing it unless we will face unexpected dangerous condition.
- We should hold on to the handrails.
- When we go up, we should use our stronger leg.
- When we go down, we should use our weaker leg.
- We have to make sure that our both feet are on the step.
- We have to keep our posture well.
- We should avoid excessive leaning or pulling the handrails.
- We should be aware of our steps (going one step at a time is considered the safest method).
- If we are tired, we should take a rest.
- If we need help, we should directly ask for help.
WARNING:
Walking up and down the stairs is good for our heart but it is not good for our knee since it triggers early osteoarthritis. When we walk up and down the stairs, the load in our knee is 3,5 times our weight. It is such a heavy load for our knee. Therefore, we are suggested to hold on on something while we are walking up and down.