Are you finding yourself skipping your workouts? Or
feeling the weight of the quarantine is creeping up on you? Are you looking for
a way you can work out using your own home? If you have a set of stairs, you
are in luck, that’s enough for a great at-home workout. Here, Christopher Lee,
a fitness trainer from Buffalo, New York, shares five easy ways to exercise at
home, using nothing but the staircase.
Stair Pushups
Pushups are a fantastic way to build upper body strength. Place your toes on the last step of the stairs, or a
higher stair if you would like more of a challenge, and get into a plank
position. Place your feet together and your hands on the ground, each hand
beneath each shoulder. Keeping your core tight, complete 15 pushups, focusing
on using your arms to lift your body. Doing decline pushups creates more of a
challenge than level pushups. Decline pushups target the chest and shoulders
and can benefit upper body strength. You can also do incline pushups with your
hands on the stairs instead, to take away any extra weight on the upper body.
Elevated Lunge
For a rear elevated lunge, begin the stair lunges by
standing two feet away from the stairs and facing away from them, with your
legs hip-width apart and core muscles engaged. Placing your hands on your hips,
lift one leg behind you and place your toes on the bottom stair. Slowly bring
your knee to a 90-degree angle, then bend your leg to a 90-degree angle, and
then slowly bring your leg back straight again. Complete 15 lunges on each leg,
adding up to a total of 30 lunges. You can also do a forward lunge by standing
with your feet hip-width apart and core tight. Taking a step forward while
keeping your weight in your heels, lower your body until your thigh is parallel
to the floor, and the shin is vertical. To protect your knee, do not let it go
past your toes. Then push with the weight in your heel back into the starting
position.
Step Jumps
Begin the squat jump in a squatting position facing your stairs with
arms bent next to your sides. Being mindful of your knees, jump from the
squatting position and onto the first step using your arms in a swinging motion
to help give you momentum. Keep the weight on your heels and land yourself back
into a squatting position. Continue up the staircase, 15 more jumps. If jumping
upstairs is something you might not feel comfortable doing, you can complete a
step-up jump with calf raises instead.
Elevated Lateral Squats
Stand sideways at the bottom of your stairs, right leg
closest to the stairs. Raise your right leg and put it on the second step,
skipping the first. Keeping the core engaged and upright and your arms bent in
front of you, squat deep with the weight in your heels and your tailbone back.
Once you raise up, hop to the next stair and continue up the staircase two
stairs at a time. When you finish the stairs, run back down and do the same
amount on the opposite leg. Complete these three times.
Stair Sprints
Using your stairs to sprint is a great way to burn some serious calories. Start
at the bottom, setting a timer for 3 minutes. Once the timer begins, start
quickly running up and down your stairs as quickly as possible until the timer
beeps. Incorporate stair sprints several times into your workout to increase
your stamina and get your heart rate elevated. To make the exercise a little
more interesting, try increasing the number of stairs you sprint up. For
example, the first round is one stair at a time, the second round, take two
stairs at a time, etc.
Whether you do all of these exercises together for a
great workout or incorporate them one at a time throughout the day, you will
love how effective they can be. Your stairs can provide you with a great
workout right from the comfort of your own home. Of course, make sure you are
always careful to avoid slipping or getting injured!
About Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee, originally from Buffalo, New
York, is a certified personal trainer. Mr. Lee helps his clients build muscle
and improve their overall fitness. Christopher supports his clients as they
revamp their health and fitness routines, increase their metabolism, and get
stronger. His exercise programs and training sessions are designed to help
clients build strength, athleticism, and agility so clients can enjoy the
activities an