If your daily run has been feeling a little off lately, why not shake things up to boost your running routine? It is time for you to take the running stairs challenge, as it provides an excellent sprint workout to build foot speed and quickness.

Running stairs is an ideal workout to incorporate in your fitness routine. All you need is a flight of stairs in a public area or a set of steps in your home for a stair running workout. Stairs running is an explosive power workout that lets you work on your total-body strengthening, cardio, balance and coordination.

Here are the reasons why you should go stair running:

How does running stairs benefit your body?

1. Improves muscle strength

Want a tip-top body shape? You do not need any weights to build muscle strength. What you need is just to run the stairs. Running stairs mainly works on your lower body. Lifting and pushing your entire body through the stairs can build strength and tone your leg, thigh, hip and abdominal muscles.

2. Improves Heart Health

It’s the ideal workout to get your cardiovascular system into shape. Like any other intense exercises, such as HIIT, your heart will get better at moving blood and oxygen around your body. With that being said, it will improve your blood circulation in your body and lower the risk of heart disease.

3. Weight control

Running stairs for half an hour is an intense exercise. This workout will burn more calories and strengthen your agility skills compared to other exercises, such as walking or running.

Running stairs is challenging, so if you are trying to shed some pounds or maintain your weight, you will definitely build lean muscle, endurance and lose those extra pounds.

4. Improves overall health

Performing running stairs is good for your overall health. It helps your body to release endorphins, which improves your mood. Besides building strength, endurance and stamina, it also helps to regulate your sleep pattern better.

Like any type of exercise, working out will improve your self-esteem levels. Last but not least, it will also lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and other health issues.

What are the benefits for runners?

Instead of doing traditional runs, you can incorporate stair running to tweak your running routine. Here are the reasons why running stairs help runners:

• Build endurance and balance
• Improve running drills and agility skills
• No equipment needed
• Higher impact than running on a flat surface or walking
• Targets some of the largest muscle groups, such as glutes, quads, and calves
• Increases lung capacity and efficiency

Stair Climbing Workouts

If you are new to running stairs, you can start with walking the stairs and then slowly transition to a walk-run method to build your strength and let your body adapt to the stairs training until your body is ready to take on the next level.

Here is  the stair running workout you can challenge:

Pyramid Workout

Start with a dynamic warm-up and jog on a flat surface for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Next, time your run by running up and down a flight of stairs for 2 to 3 minutes.

Take a rest for 30 seconds and then continue for 4 to 5 minutes. Then rest for a minute.

From there, gradually add 2 minutes for another two sets or so to keep up the momentum and make sure you rest in between.

Last, jog for about 10 minutes to cool down.

Variety Workout

After warming up your body, start to run fast up the stairs for 1 minute and jog down.

Then, perform 15 push-ups. Repeat and do 15 squats for the second set. Same goes for the third set and perform a minute plank.

Take a rest for 3 to 5 minutes.

Next, finish up the exercise by running up and down the stairs for 5 minutes.

To challenge yourself, repeat multiple sets or increase times and reps.

Have you ever tried to perform a running stairs workout? Let us know how it benefits you as a runner. We would love to hear your thoughts.