Running stairs often gets overlooked as an exercise tool. This is unfortunate since running stairs can be one of the best body weight exercises for getting you in shape very quickly.

You don’t need fancy treadmills or stair climbers or elliptical machines; you just need a good set of stairs. One of the best places to do this is your high school football bleachers or a park that has a good set of stairs. Get your sneakers on and get to stepping. If you happen to work in a building then you can run the stairs in your building. I would recommend doing this at the end of your work day since most workplaces don’t have showers that you can use and your co-workers don’t want to get periodic sniffs of your aroma during the day. If you do it at the end of the day then you only have to put up with yourself on the ride home.

Running stairs can provide a number of benefits. It can get you in shape very quickly. The act of running up and down stairs is much more difficult than it sounds. It will ramp up your heart rate and enable you to burn calories at a rapid pace. Running stairs is one of the best ways to burn body fat no matter if it resides in your belly, your thighs or some other place. You will build great endurance and strength in your legs. Your aerobic capacity will increase. The list of benefits could go on and on. If you have never tried running stairs then you should give it a shot.

There are a tremendous variety of workouts that you can perform. There is a pretty thorough program that has been developed called the Ultimate Stair Exercise Program. It has been created by Virgil Aponte. Virgil is a personal trainer and physical education teacher in New York City. He has served as conditioning coach for the New York Mets Baseball Academy and as an assistant on the WNBA’s New York Liberty’s strength and conditioning staff.

So check out the Ultimate Stair Exercise Program and see what you think.

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