What’s so special about climbing stairs? Researchers in Canada answered the question by monitoring 17 healthy male volunteers with an average age of 64 while they walked on the level, lifted weights or climbed stairs. Stair climbing was the most demanding. It was twice as taxing as brisk walking on the level and 50 percent harder than walking up a steep incline or lifting weights. And peak exertion was attained much faster climbing stairs than walking, which is why nearly everyone huffs and puffs going upstairs, at least until their “second wind” kicks in after a few flights.
eight flights a day enjoy a 33 percent lower mortality rate than men who are sedentary — and that’s even better than the 22 percent lower death rate men earned by walking 1.3 miles a day.
You've heard it before—ditch the elevator and hoof it. But exactly what do you get in return for all those sweaty steps?
In a study published in the European Heart Journal, 69 hospital employees used the stairs exclusively for 12 weeks. Here are the ways they benefited, on average:
Lung capacity: up 8.6 percent
Body fat: down 1.7 percent
Waist circumference: down 1.8 percent
Diastolic blood pressure: down 2.3 percent
LDL (bad) cholesterol: down 3.9 percent
In a study published in the European Heart Journal, 69 hospital employees used the stairs exclusively for 12 weeks. Here are the ways they benefited, on average:
Lung capacity: up 8.6 percent
Body fat: down 1.7 percent
Waist circumference: down 1.8 percent
Diastolic blood pressure: down 2.3 percent
LDL (bad) cholesterol: down 3.9 percent
