6 Unique Health Benefits of Climbing Stairs Instead of the Elevator

(Image via Pexels/Matt production)
(Image via Pexels/Matt production)

Climbing stairs instead of taking the elevator or escalator is a great way to take more steps in your day and enhance your fitness level.

Climbing the stairs is a terrific method to get a few minutes of exercise throughout the day or at home (assuming you have a set of stairs available).

Climbing stairs and ditching the elevator. (Image via Pexels/ Erik Mclean)
Climbing stairs and ditching the elevator. (Image via Pexels/ Erik Mclean)

Even tiny amounts of increased activity throughout the day can build up to significant fitness gains.

Climbing stairs is a great way to build your muscles, improve your balance, and improve your cardiovascular health.

The activity uses eight to 11 kilocalories of energy every minute, according to Duke University, which is a lot more than other forms of moderate-intensity exercise.

Furthermore, peak exertion is reached faster than simply walking, which explains the difficulty in breathing after only a few floors up.


Why should you opt for climbing stairs?

Stairs are usually easily accessible, and climbing stairs is free. There's no need for an expensive membership or special equipment.

For most healthy people, this type of activity is generally harmless. Climbing stairs can help you operate better in everyday tasks by strengthening your leg muscles and joints. It can also boost energy and reduce the risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and osteoporosis.

Check out this list of benefits offered by ditching those elevators and climbing stairs:

1) Improves cardiovascular health

Climbing stairs as a kind of intense exercise improves cardiovascular fitness and increases your heart rate.

This can help protect you against high blood pressure and may reduce your risk of weight gain, diabetes, and other heart disease-related illnesses.

One study found that seven minutes of daily stair climbing over the course of ten years decreased the risk of heart attack by half.


2) Burns more calories than jogging

Cardiovascular benefits of climbing stairs. (Image via Pexels/ Mizuno K)
Cardiovascular benefits of climbing stairs. (Image via Pexels/ Mizuno K)

Take the stairs to effectively burn fat. Climbing stairs is considered a vigorous-intensity physical activity, and burns more calories per minute than slower-paced running, according to studies.

The average person will burn at least 0.1 calories for every step he/she ascends (thus one calorie for every 10 steps ascended). They will also burn 0.05 calories for every step he/she descends (so, one calorie for every 20 steps on the way down).

Even more promising for people who are already with high body fat percentage is the fact that the more weight you have, the more calories you burn when stair climbing.


3) Relieves stress

Have you had a particularly trying day at work? Walking up stairs and coming down can help you de-stress.

It will allow you to get some fresh air, and the physical exertion will help you unwind. You may also feel more invigorated and aware as a result of climbing up and down the stairs.


4) Provides different movement patterns

There aren't very many opportunities to move vertically in our modern environment. We walk, jog, and ride on flat surfaces.

Climbing stairs allows us to utilize typical movement patterns to help us climb or descend. Since our muscles and joints perform in different ways, this is beneficial for muscular strength and overall flexibility.


5) Strengthens various muscles

Climbing stairs for strengthening muscles. (Image via Pexels/ Mart Production)
Climbing stairs for strengthening muscles. (Image via Pexels/ Mart Production)

Stair climbing is an efficient approach to building muscles from numerous muscle groups. Moving on level ground engages your leg muscles.

Stair climbing also works out your glute muscles and gives your quadriceps and hamstrings a fuller workout.

While the legs are the primary movers, descending the stairs requires the use of your legs, abs, arms, back, shoulders, and just about everything else.

There are a few alternatives that combine the efficacy, ease, and accessibility of ascending stairs for those of us who are new to exercising (or have been out of the game for some time).


6) And it’s convenient!

Stairs can be found in a variety of locations, including running stairs workout, stairs workout at home, work, and the mall, to mention a few.

So you can climb the stairs for a few minutes no matter where you are. There's no need to join a gym, invest in expensive equipment, or even change your clothes. Simply locate the nearest set of start climbing stairs.