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The uphill struggle that pays dividends
Source: Agencies |
November 24, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WHILE gym lines form for treadmills, elliptical trainers and stationary bicycles, the stair-climbing machine is all too often the neglected wallflower of the cardio room.
But experts say if you master the stairs, you'll reap dividends in tight abs, butt and thighs.
"It's the intensity," said Kerri O'Brien of Life Fitness, which designs and manufactures exercise equipment.
"There's a vertical component. You're going to be working harder because you're going against gravity."
O'Brien said modern steppers evolved from so-called Jacobs Ladders, climbers prevalent in high school gyms of the 1950s.
"And ever since the 1950s, football and track teams have used running up stadium stairs to work out. People also use step climbers to train for mountain climbing and hiking," she said.
It's also an effective low-impact cardio choice. One study of 10,269 Harvard alumni found that those who climbed at least 55 flights of stairs a week had a 33-percent lower death rate.
A British study found that daily stair climbing among sedentary young women resulted in a rise in HDL, or good cholesterol.
Dr Hank Williford, of the American College of Sports Medicine, thinks steppers are a good fit for women.
"They're not bouncing around like with a treadmill and still they can increase their bone marrow density and prevent osteoporosis," he said.
"In regular going up and down stairs the energy cost is one-third going down versus going up.
"With steppers you do not go down the steps you just keep going up," Williford said.
But experts say if you master the stairs, you'll reap dividends in tight abs, butt and thighs.
"It's the intensity," said Kerri O'Brien of Life Fitness, which designs and manufactures exercise equipment.
"There's a vertical component. You're going to be working harder because you're going against gravity."
O'Brien said modern steppers evolved from so-called Jacobs Ladders, climbers prevalent in high school gyms of the 1950s.
"And ever since the 1950s, football and track teams have used running up stadium stairs to work out. People also use step climbers to train for mountain climbing and hiking," she said.
It's also an effective low-impact cardio choice. One study of 10,269 Harvard alumni found that those who climbed at least 55 flights of stairs a week had a 33-percent lower death rate.
A British study found that daily stair climbing among sedentary young women resulted in a rise in HDL, or good cholesterol.
Dr Hank Williford, of the American College of Sports Medicine, thinks steppers are a good fit for women.
"They're not bouncing around like with a treadmill and still they can increase their bone marrow density and prevent osteoporosis," he said.
"In regular going up and down stairs the energy cost is one-third going down versus going up.
"With steppers you do not go down the steps you just keep going up," Williford said.
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