7 Effective Stair Running Workouts to Develop Speed and Power

If you want to take your fitness to the next level, you should try stair running workouts. There are several benefits to these workouts, including toning your body, strengthening your lower body, burning fat, and others.

Before understanding the benefits of stair running workouts, take a look at the types of workouts you can do.

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7 types of stair running workouts

These workouts are extremely helpful if you want to work on your speed, power, and endurance.

1) Simple stair climbing

One of the most basic stair workouts simply involves climbing staircases. You can do this almost anywhere, and you don't need any equipment apart from a staircase.

All you have to do is simply climb the staircase at a pace you feel comfortable with and repeat this multiple times. In fact, when you start with stair running workouts, this is what you should keep in mind.

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2) High intensity stair workout

In this exercise, you climb up the stairs quickly, but come down slower. The idea should be to follow the HIIT format. Put in all your efforts when climbing up the stairs, but around 20% energy when going back down. Do this circuit at least 8 to 10 times.

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3) Pyramid stair workout

In this workout, you run up and down the stairs for 2 minutes before taking some rest. Next, you do the same for 3 mins and rest again. You can continue doing this for 5 minutes. However, this depends on every individual’s endurance level. If you can push for more, it is recommended to strive further.

But if you can’t, remain patient and continue as long as you can. This is one of the stair running workouts which help in improving endurance.

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4) Quick-feet stair workout

In this workout, you imitate the motion of quick feet but go up the stairs while doing so. It might take some time before you can execute this without issues. The idea is to retain the quick-feet motion as much as you can. However, be careful whilst taking the steps.

Your balance and stability will improve as you continue this workout.

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5) Lunge-step stair workout

In this workout, you skip a step every time you climb the staircase. The idea is to have your front leg lunge and push through with your quads when bringing your back leg to position.

If you’ve done stair workouts before, you can skip two steps, but ideally, it’s safer to skip one step. This exercise works on your legs and your balance, but take extra caution while doing this exercise.

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6) Climb and jump

This is a stair workout which mixes climbing the stairs and jumping. The idea is to climb a couple of stairs and jump a few. Not only will you force the body to burn extra calories for excess energy, but you will also work on overall stability, balance, and endurance.

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7) StairMaster

All the above stair running workouts are outside the gym. However, if you do not have the time to workout outside, you can always use the StairMaster with your strength training. It’s an effective cardio machine which perfectly replicates steps and its speed can be adjusted as well.

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Benefits of stair running workouts

Now that you know the type of stair running workouts, it’s time to know the benefits.

1) Works the legs and calves

These workouts are a great way to work the leg and calf muscles. Almost all the pressure is endured by these muscles and this forces the corresponding fibers to grow back thicker and stronger.

2) Focused on the health of your heart

Stair workouts are an effective way to take care of your physical fitness, which ultimately takes care of your heart health. The fitter you are, the healthier your heart is. Nevertheless, you must always warm up and cool down before and after doing stair running workouts to reduce any form of unwanted stress on your heart.

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Bottom line

You must include stair running workouts in your routine to work on your physical fitness. This will improve your balance, endurance, stability, and others while burning extra calories.

Remember to immediately stop and rest if you feel dizzy or nauseous at any given point. Finally, keep yourself hydrated at all times, even if you do not feel thirsty all the time!