You know it’s hard work. The fact that lifts and escalators exist means we are avoiding the physical work of taking the stairs.

If you are short on time, are injured or have to lug something heavy up, avoiding the stairs make sense. In other scenarios, why not take on the extra dose of activity?

But in the era of step counters and running clubs, taking the stairs really feels like a no brainer.

Here’s a nice study that showed the multiple benefits of taking the stairs:

https://lnkd.in/gcPD5ggg

The only thing that didn’t benefit from taking the stairs is the strength of the legs. That’s probably because a step is 6-9 inches tall. That’s not high enough to produce enough of a bend at the knee or hip joint. So the muscles don’t work too hard. 

Climbing stairs is a fairly economical activity for muscles. 

At the gym, I enjoy doing and making clients carry weights up and down the stair. Skipping a step or two, can increase the amount your knees and hips bend. This means more work for the muscles around those joints. And it’s a fair bit of cardio. Unfortunately we have only 3 small flights. 

There are terrific machines to mimic taking the stairs. These machines use taller steps to make the muscles work harder too.