Stair walking: a great exercise option

Walking up the stairs can prolong life.

Walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator can is the second-most ‘efficient’ way to exercise; the first being walking, according to ‘Dr. Dean Ornish’s Program For Reversing Heart Disease’.

Walking up the stairs burns more calories than walking on flat surfaces, strengthens and tones your legs, improves fitness and also saves your time as it allows you to exercise while doing your regular activities.

Walking up the stairs is a great exercise to reduce weight and improve fitness levels for the following reasons:

• It does not cost any money to walk up the stairs
• Access to stairs is not so difficult, especially in cities
• It is a very effcient way of burning maximum calories and is especially useful for those who have limited time to exercise
• Because of gravity and weight of the body, we are forced to work more than usual and that helps burn more calories
• It is a fairly intense exercise that increases heart rate which is good to improve cardio fitness
• Stair walking strengthens and shapes most of our problem areas – calves, thighs, buttocks, abs (tummy)
• It can be mixed with other exercises like walking, skipping, weight training to maximize results
• It does not require great fitness level to start stair walking; rather once you start, it improves fitness levels
• It improves bone strength as it is weight bearing
• It is non-jerky and hence has a low impact on knees making it safe; however if knees pain, stop stair walking and consult a doctor

Dr. Ajay Sati.