The Power of Stair Climbing

This article appeared on the in Running Heros magazine.

You may have heard about the Empire State Building run up or closer to home, the Sydney Tower Stair Challenge? Perhaps Eureka Stair Climb or Q1 Stair Challenge? These are just a handful of the Stair Climbing events worldwide which is one of the fastest growing sports in the world!

So what is this quirky sport? Simply, Stair Climbing is climbing flights of stairs! Yes, that activity we all take for granted, complain about doing when the lift is out of order, complain about breathlessness after climbing up to the first floor… well this activity has become one of the fastest growing sports in the world and it’s taking Australia by storm!

People love Stair Climbing not only because it provides a time efficient, low impact full body workout but also because the inclusive Stair Climbing community welcomes people of all ages and capabilities into its vertical world!

How can Stair Climbing benefit runners?

Stair Climbing Australia has members from many sporting backgrounds. Apart from the average person who exercises to stay fit and looks for a challenge, we have rowers, cyclists, crossfitters and runners!

Why do our members who are already competent in their sport add stair climbing to their training?

1. Muscle stabilizers are used when Stair climbing leading to strengthening quadriceps and gluteal muscles in the way lunges and squats do. Strengthening these areas not only makes you stronger but also reduces the risk of injury.

2. When you climb stairs, you are working against gravity. This will help with a runners’ strength and power.

3. Many runners add hills to their training. Stair Climbing pushes your body even further than hills as stairs are steeper than an average hill.

4. Stair Climbing is a cardiovascular workout like you’ve never experienced, which will increase your aerobic capacity. When you climb, you breathe faster to take in more oxygen which accelerates your heart rate leading to an improvement in VO2 max.

5. Adding stairs to your training keeps your mind and body focused on a different activity.

How to Prepare for a Stair Climb race?

It’s an interesting change when runners do their first Stair Climb and most are surprised at how difficult they find it. We love when this happens because it opens a whole new world of fitness to even the most hardened runners! We embrace those that are drawn to our sport to enhance their strength and fitness. So how do you prepare for a race?

Eureka* is only a 11 days away but you can certainly add some training to help you achieve your best on the day. Here are our tips:

1. Firstly, find some stairs! Take a look here, click on your state and zoom in to see what is available in your area.

2. Warm up by either jogging or walking up the stairs at a “normal” pace for 10 minutes.

3. It’s important to maintain good form by keeping your body slightly forward using arms to help propel you up the stairs. If you are comfortable and are able, take two steps at a time. (The pace depends on the individual so push as hard as you can when ascending.).Walk down the stairs at a slower speed and yes, you guessed it…. Up again you go!

4. Do 2 continuous minutes up and down as fast as you can with 30 seconds rest between sets.

5. Increase the length of time to 4 minutes, then 6 minutes. Also increase your rest to 1 or 2 minutes returning to sets of 2 minutes.

6. Do as many sets as you are able. (The amount of sets depends on your level of ability. Minimum 10 mins and increase as you get fitter!). Cool down and stretch.

7. You may experience DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) in your calves. This is normal and generally happens the first few times this type of training is introduced. Click here for our complete 5 week training programs for beginner, intermediate and advanced.

Top tips for Stair Climbing beginners

We often have people gasp when we say our sport is Stair Climbing. The most frequent comment is “I can’t make it up one floor without being puffed out!” Here are a few things you need to know to get started on the road to better health and fitness:

1. We all get puffed out the first few floors! That feeling of heavy breathing is the body taking in more oxygen. Anaerobic respiration (not enough oxygen) becomes aerobic respiration (adequate oxygen).

2. Anyone can Stair Climb! It’s not easy when you start but it’s addictive! You quickly set goals and strive to achieve them… how much faster can you go? How many more sets of stairs can you do? How many people can you get to join you in your new found sport?

3. Starting is simple. Find stairs, put one foot in front of the other and start climbing! Start slowly and gradually increase your pace and length of time you train on stairs.

4. Once you are comfortable with climbing stairs, try double stairs! This is like doing an incline lunge! So beneficial for your glutes (buns of steel!) and your quads.

5. Use the handrail! By using the rail in a grapevine motion (hand over hand), you get an upper body workout as well, while reducing the risk of cardiac illness by 30% and increasing your bone density! Win win all the way to the top!

6. Join stair climbing groups on social media. You can find Stair Climbing Australia on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and our website, where you can ask questions, contribute to discussions, learn the latest on the sport Nationally and Internationally and keep up to date with events.

*Eureka Stair Climb

November 17th sees the last Stair Climbing event for the season. Eureka is the biggest of all the events being 88 floors, 1642 stairs. The day begins at 6.30am with the elite category racing up the stairs to beat the record held by Mark Bourne of 7min 34sec in the men’s category and Alice McNamara holding the women’s record of 9min 5sec.

After the elites have flown up the 88 floors, it’s time for the rest of us to do our thing! The average time taken to climb Eureka is 20 minutes but obviously, this depends on the individuals’ fitness level.The event provides both a timed and a walkers category for people who want to feel less pressure and take their time. We don’t compete against each other but rather strive to improve our time and get that elusive PB.

ANYONE can stair climb! Give it a go and join us on the day. Check out our calendar here.