Going up and down stairs is a good exercise to promote weight loss, tone your legs and combat cellulite. This type of physical activity burns calories, making it a good exercise for burning fat and at the same time strengthening your thighs and butt.
However, to safely climb stairs you should wear walking or running shoes, as they have good cushioning in the sole, reducing the impact on your joints, and wear comfortable clothing. Furthermore, it is important not to carry weight on just one side of the body, as this will prevent one joint from being overloaded.
If you are overweight, it is important to be careful when climbing stairs, and this activity must be monitored by a physical education professional to avoid injuries.
How to use stairs to lose weight
Going up and down stairs helps with the weight loss process because it promotes an increase in heart rate and metabolism, favoring fat burning and muscle mass gain. However, for this to happen it is important that a constant pace is maintained and that it is done with a certain intensity and frequency.
Initially, you can climb stairs at a slower pace and gradually increase it so that you can burn more calories and stimulate the bloodstream, which brings more benefits to the cardiovascular system and helps prevent diseases such as heart attack and stroke. for example.
Other benefits of using stairs
In addition to helping with the weight loss process, going up and down stairs also has other health benefits, the main ones being:
- Strengthen the muscles of the thighs and butt;
- Help combat cellulite and poor circulation;
- Stimulate blood circulation and protect the heart;
- Increase the feeling of well-being due to the release of serotonin in the blood;
- Reduce stress by helping to lower blood cortisol levels;
- Reduce the risk of thrombosis, osteoporosis and fractures;
- Prevent the formation of varicose veins, as it improves venous return;
- Improve physical conditioning and breathing.
Some important guidelines for getting the most out of stairs are: being close to the handrail to hold on if necessary, only going up 1 step at a time, not running on the stairs until you are in good physical shape, not carrying multiple items in your hands. ; Do not use stairs with slippery floors.
Is climbing stairs bad?
Despite being a great exercise for losing weight, using stairs as a form of physical activity should be avoided by people with knee problems such as osteoarthritis or chondromalacia, for example. In these cases, the joint is damaged and there is generally weakness in the thigh muscles, which puts even more strain on the joint, potentially worsening the situation.
Other situations that make using stairs for exercise inadvisable include heart problems, such as arrhythmia, vision problems and respiratory diseases that make it difficult for air to pass through. In these cases, it is important to talk to your doctor before adopting stairs as a lifestyle or type of physical activity.
Climbing stairs can also be discouraged, especially at the end of pregnancy, because at this stage the woman becomes more unbalanced and can fall, causing damage to her health and that of the baby.
