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Running the stairs .... old-fashioned and cheap

post #1 of 46
10/11/07 at 1:13pm
Thread Starter 
Who else runs the stairs? I used to do morning fasted cardio but I'm mixing it up now by running the stairs in the morning (after breakfast and first dose of E/C). I love it! Today I did 64 flights of 16 steps each. I can do 16 flights at a time now, which is a good improvement over the 10 or 12 I could do when I started two weeks ago. I like it because it is -- challenging (to better your own results each time), cheap (free), and fast. I'm done in 1/3rd the time of low intensity cardio and I feel more worn out afterwards. Here is a photo I snapped of me running the stairs in my navy Isaia and Santoni FAMs
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post #2 of 46
10/11/07 at 6:24pm
this is ridiculous, hahaha

is this in an office? like... you get to work then go blazing up and down the stairs? If I was a coworker, I would be youtubing that!

i am actually laughing just thinking about it.



That said... running bleechers in high school was one of the toughest training I did for cross country and probably one of the more beneficial for tuning our bodies for a 3 mil race. (yes, bleechers for cross country training).
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post #3 of 46
10/11/07 at 6:54pm
Hoff, i thought you meant something like stairmaster in your work out clothes.

isaia suit and FAMs? at the office building? no.
you will smell like sweat . and the sweat will trickle down your legs into the insole of your FAMs and deteriorate them. plus, they are high impacting, especially leather soles on tile stairs.
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post #4 of 46
10/11/07 at 7:18pm
We just moved down the street from a football stadium and I'm so looking forward to running the stairs. They have no equal for building speed and strength.
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post #5 of 46
10/11/07 at 7:24pm
Isn't that hard on your knees long-term?
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post #6 of 46
10/11/07 at 7:27pm
Thread Starter 
OK I don't really do it in a suit and leather shoes. That was a stock photo but I thought it funny. I don't find it hard on my knees (I've dislocated both and hyperextended one) -- going down is harder on the knees I think. Going up isn't bad. Going down is hell on the calves. I tend not to go down -- I ride the hi-rise elevator. I hope to keep up the leg strength and improve it for cycling next summer (should be a good substitute during the rainy season when a trainer gets boring)
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post #7 of 46
10/11/07 at 7:32pm
correct. going down the stairs is actually not good for your knees/legs and joints.

anatomically, our knees are built to walk forward or go up an incline, but a decline or going down the stairs puts a grating force on the femur end bone against the knee cap? i believe and slowly grinds away material.

that is why basketball players start declining when they are in their mid 30s. all those years , running and abruptly stopping (very similar in effect to the knees as in going down stairs) has grinded away alot of their knee material and strength and durability.

you see, basketball players usually still have the strength and stamina and talent as a younger player (if they keep in shape) but it is the knee and joint problems that slows them down.
too much stop and go stop and go running which eventually wears down the knees and joints.

that is why it is always best to do stairmaster, or if you go up actual stairs, lot of persons in the know, take the elevator back down.
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post #8 of 46
10/11/07 at 7:37pm
Going down inclines eccentrically stretches your muscle fibers which places a greater force/stress on them than concentric contractions. Thus, going down stairs/hiking down a mountain is often what causes you to get sore later, not going up.
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post #9 of 46
10/11/07 at 7:39pm
Thread Starter 
Would you agree, though, that going up is still good cardio while going down is harder on the joints? I liked the calf soreness as it is tough to get that much work in otherwise but I won't go down if it is hard on the knees.
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post #10 of 46
10/11/07 at 7:42pm
going up stairs is great cardio. it is old fashioned true and solid cardio. it will never grate your joints and turn your bones and cartilage into dust, which will circulate within your blood and be dumped out as waste.

going up will cause soreness as well. as any exercise , if not done on a regular basis, the first few times of doing a cardio or weight training will add soreness due to the muscles repairing itself broken down because it was not used to something like that initially.
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post #11 of 46
10/11/07 at 8:07pm
You can induce serious calf soreness by running POSE style (landing on the forefoot, touching heel to ground, flicking heel back, land on other forefoot, repeat) on a flat surface. It took me around three weeks to get over it, but it was effective for a time. But that changes your running mechanics and doesn't offer the climbing benefits as stairs do.
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post #12 of 46
10/12/07 at 3:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHoff View Post
Would you agree, though, that going up is still good cardio while going down is harder on the joints? I liked the calf soreness as it is tough to get that much work in otherwise but I won't go down if it is hard on the knees.

oh absolutely, muscle damage is rarely really a good thing.
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post #13 of 46
10/13/07 at 2:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas View Post
You can induce serious calf soreness by running POSE style (landing on the forefoot, touching heel to ground, flicking heel back, land on other forefoot, repeat) on a flat surface. It took me around three weeks to get over it, but it was effective for a time. But that changes your running mechanics and doesn't offer the climbing benefits as stairs do.
How about climbing them without letting your heels touch the ground at all? I often do high speeds on the treadmill like this while at an incline. It's a bitch on your calves.
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post #14 of 46
10/13/07 at 5:14am
I used to run the stairs in my old apartment, and got pretty good results from it. It used to be ~110 steps from basement to rooftop in that building (no elevator, so I walked down and used that as my rest period in between). I had a pretty decent workout going where I would sprint the 110 up, then do 15 pushups, 20 situps, 10 burpees on the roof...walk down and catch my breath....repeat x 6. Since I was only investing like 30 mins every morning in it, was efficient and effective.
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post #15 of 46
10/13/07 at 11:11pm
I was once at a pretty ghetto 24Hr Fitness, the thing was in what looked like an old office building, the ceilings were only 7-8' high and I remember seeing an older Indian guy running on the treadmill in a plaid blazer. It looked really uncomfortable. I've often thought of how funny it would be to workout in a thrifted suit then try to hit on the ladies.

Running up stairs is good. Hill repeats in cross country is what made you fast, man they sucked. I actually do elliptical machines now since they work arms and legs at the same time.

If you are having knee problems try some hyaluronic acid.
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