NOVEMBER CHALLENGE...
Are you ready for November?
Are you ready for the November Challenge.
Challenge No. 3 is starting tomorrow.
What is it?
Are you feeling the anticipation.
STAIR CLIMBING.
YES.
STAIR CLIMBING.
In fact 5,000 stairs for November.
I know this is a lot.
That is:
166 stairs per day
1,250 per week (worked out over 4 weeks)
stairs 2 days a week - 625 stairs each workout
stairs 3 days a week - 500 stairs each workout
Also count all your incidental stairs that you climb. If you live in a double story house, you will be surprised.
Try your best.
Take it easy.
Rest when you need to.
Make it fun.
I know this is coming from the person who says that fun runs are fun!!
There are so many walks that have stairs.
Get out and get amongst it.
I love this time of the year for bush walking.
Here are some great walks that I can personally recommend.
1000 stairs - Kokoda track memorial walk, Dandenong Ranges National Park. Tree Fern Gully Track, Tremont.
1001 steps - Bayview Park, 188T Quarry Road, Narre Warren Mount Cannibal Reserve, Garfield
You Yangs Regional Park, Flinders Peak, Turntable Drive, Little River.
Werribee Gorge Circuit walk, 204 Myers Road, Pentlands Hills.
These are just a few.
I will show case some more throughout the month.
Why is stair climbing good for us?
What are the benefits?
Start off with a couple of flights, Start slowly and build it up as you feel more confident and get fitter.
These are the benefits of stair climbing in a nutshell:
Burns more calories:
Stair climbing engages your body’s largest muscle groups to repeatedly lift your body weight up, step after step.
Thus using your muscles to carry your own weight is far higher to running as compared.
Maximises your cardio efforts:
It also raises your heart rate immediately thus maximising your cardio benefits.
Increases core muscle strength:
Climbing stairs is a great way to amp your core muscle strength.
Tones and sculpts your body:
It also engages every major muscle in your lower body - glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, abs and calves to exercise and thus tones your body better.
Low impact workout:
You don’t have to ideally sweat it out while climbing stairs. Just a few stairs every day will give you a good workout.
Safety first: Never run down the stairs, be confident while running up, and take a break when needed.
If you have knee pain when climbing stairs please seek professional help and make sure that stair climbing is ok for you. Unfortunately sometimes the best of exercises are not good for everyone.
Another option is to use the stair climber at the gym if it is available to you. The stair climber is a great piece of cardio equipment and is low impact.