There are very few people that run stairs and also very few people that don’t get winded when they climb a 8-9 storey building. Working the stairs makes girls trim and sexy and the dudes lean and mean. This is why bodybuilders, soccer players, Shaolin monks and even Victoria’s secrets models keep their conditioning up with this drill

But many athletes such as basketball and soccer players, track athletes and martial artist include this drill in their conditioning. And for good reason. Running stairs kicks ass! It melts fat and conditions you to be efficient at short distance sprinting such as running to catch the bus, scrimmaging on the basketball field, or rushing to get to class on time.

Running Stairs Technique

• Step on every other step. I’ve found that it’s best to run stairs by skipping every other step. This manner of running ensures proper stride frequency and speed of running
• Use your whole body. running and climbing are whole-body movements. Engage all your muscles – not just the legs.
• Use the quads. Climb stairs by pushing with your thighs. Make sure not to completely extend your legs – this puts too much strain on your knees. Instead, run by keeping your legs semi-flexed throughout.
• The role of the posterior chain. The muscles of the back of your legs – calves, hamstrings (back of your thighs) and glutes (your butt) are responsible for most of the movement that occurs in running and jumping. Don’t make the mistake to push through your knees only. Instead, try to use your posterior chain and extend your hips. Here is a post I wrote on this subject: Glute Activation.
• Run on your toes. Just a quick note here – when running try to step on your toes or more specifically the place between your toes and your mid foot. That’s how all animals run – they step on their paws and on NOT their heels.
• Use your arms. Make sure to use your arms to help you with the movement. Keep your elbows in, shoulders down (not shrugged) and your arms semi-flexed (like a sprinter).

Progressive Overload

• Climb more stairs. The simplest way to increase the difficulty is to climb more storeys.
• Run more rounds. A better option is, instead of climbing more storeys, to increase the number of times you climb the stairs.
• Climb faster. Still better is to increase your speed. This will not give you more fat loss benefits, but will improve your conditioning level.
• Climb slow but with a backpack. Another option – for hardcore guys or gals only – is to climb slowly but with a weighted vest or backpack on.

Stair Climbing Action Plan

• Start small. Don’t rush it. Start with onle a few stairways and gradually increase your speed.
• Increase difficulty once you get fitter. You will soon adapt and climbing the stairs will get easier. At this point increase the difficulty so that you continue getting fitter.
• Add climbing stairs to your daily routine. I like to focus my training around my life and not the other way around. So evening when I get back from walking my Lab Lucky we sometimes go for a sprint up the building stairway. I don’t think he appreciates having to climb a nine storey building LOL.

[Here's a documentary showing the hard training Shaolin monks have to go through every single day. Running stairs is a staple of their routine.]

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[I'm a Cougar from Cougar town and only a Cougar can knock me down. If you don't like my apples, don't shake my tree 'cause I'm a Cougar. Don't mess with me! I like them apples, girl LOL]

A Few Years Later These Same People Realize How Good They Actually Looked In High School

One of the reasons why people look good when they are younger is their lower body weight. I’m not talking about body fat percentage here, though it also matters. Simply being light, no matter what your exact body fat percentage, will make you look good. The human face looks better when there is less fat on it. People look prettier and younger when there is no excess adipose tissue covering the cheeks and the chin. In fact, many people can pass of for models when they have low enough body fat percentage.

Body Fat Spreads Across The Whole Body

Now, the way it settles in different areas depends on the gender and the different hormonal levels. Canadian strength coach Charles Poliquin has even developed a system, called Biosignature Modulation, to determine which hormone is off-balance depending on the irregularity of the fat deposits from one or another area of the body.

[When you are lean, the facial features are not covered in fat. This beautiful woman is in shape no doubt.]

By looking at a person’s face, skilled professionals can usually guess how lean somebody is. I find that I can asses fairly well people’s leanness by either examining their face or arms and shoulders. In fact, skin fold measurements taken from the cheek and the chin are a good general measurement. The way to look great then is to increase strength while lowering the body weight.

Athletes Who Make Weight For Competition Are Some Of The Best Looking People On Earth

There are many ways to induce the caloric deficit needed to keep that body weight down. Intermittent fasting works in probably the most natural way. If you wanna weigh less, just eat less. I’ve discovered fasting last year through Canadian nutritionist Brad Pilon’s book Eat Stop Eat. Kids and athletes create caloric deficit by moving and training a lot. Children are notorious for forgetting to eat when they play outside the whole day. This is a natural form of intermittent fasting.

Imagine what would happen if you reclaimed your high school body. Well, you can do it – your body structure is basically the same, now all that remains is to lose the excess weight without worrying about stuff like keeping training numbers up or preserving muscle. Just train and get the body weight down and you’ll get there.

Images: Nolan O’Brian Vincent Boiteau

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[Don't put your fat loss progress on lock down.]

Now, if you know how to avoid the biggest mistakes folks make trying to get lean, fat loss will be a piece of cake.

Mistake #1 – Eating too much.

Plain and simple, you won’t get leaner, even if you exercise, if you also over eat. It’s a mistake to eat something planning to burn it off later.

Solution: You have to eat less, you know. If you are not sure whether to eat something and exercise it off later, just stop. It won’t work like this.

Mistake #2 – Going all out for a short while and then failing to continue.

Solution: It you’ve got to lose lots of weight, you won’t do it ultra fast. It’s best to plan something that allows you to sustain it for a long time, preferable for periods of at least 6-8 weeks at a time.

Mistake #3 – Consuming too many carbohydrates.

Solution: This is a surefire way to make it very hard for yourself to succeed. Of course, it is possible to do it like this. The thing is, after ingesting carbs, your body plain won’t be able to burn off blubber for the next couple of hours. Limit your carbohydrate consumption from processed foods if you want to get leaner. Avoid breads and sugars, for example.

Mistake #4 – Not training with weights or other methods of resistance

By just under consuming food, you may actually lose too much muscle. You will look and feel flabbier and softer, even at a lower body weight.

[A photo of a gorgeous girl on a beautiful beach makes for a nice motivation, no? Beats pics of people sweating on the treadmill for sure.]

Solution: Do some resistance training 2-3 times per week. Body weight workouts, such as push ups and squats, free weights such as dumbbells and barbells, resistance bands, isometrics – these all get the job done.

Mistake #5 – Controlling only the amount of carbohydrates and not the total amount of food consumed

Lots of people fail fat loss even on a low carb diet. Although they limit their carbohydrates, they eat too much food and fail to create a caloric deficit.

Solution: The number one rule of fat loss is to create a caloric deficit. Both diet and exercise work. It’s better to have both. Cutting down on carbohydrates does help, but is not essential. The main thing is to limit those calories.

Mistake #6 – Not training to lose weight

Solution: Building muscle and losing fat are different goals. You get leaner by exhausting your entire body – huffing and puffing as if you sprint for the bus. You can lose weight with sports that make you run and sprint – soccer and basketball for example. Sports that are conducted in segments or rounds also work – boxing, martial arts, jumping rope, and sprinting. Body weight circuits work the same way.

Mistake #7 – Training for muscle mass too much and for fat loss to little

This is prevalent among men. We go to the gym and we think we are still not big enough. The truth is, losing fat would make us look good – leaner and more muscular looking. Plus the proportions will be just right.

Solution: If you’ve got belly fat or love handles, your goal should be to get your body fat down so that you look good with your clothes off. Once you are at that body fat level, then you can switch to gradually getting more muscular, if you still desire that.

Images XirannisX en Off digitalsophia

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When done regularly, this kind of training, will develop your coordination aerobic and anaerobic power and capacity, balance, quickness of feet and hands, speed, agility, and explosiveness. It will also of course greatly aid in weight loss. Get strong and keep your body weight down and you will develop a great body.

Jumping Rope – Workout Styles

• Basic jump – jump with both feet at the same time. Master this technique first. Make sure you jump by going up and not by flexing you feet the knees.
• Alternate foot jump – alternate your feet. You can skip one or two times with each foot and then switch to other one.
• Criss-cross – cross your hands in front of the body.
• Double under – jump a bit higher and swing the rope two times before hitting the ground

My Personal Rope Skipping Routine

Start off by working up to being able to jump rope for 1 minute nonstop. I hate it when things get complicated so I will not recommend to set a timer or whatever. Just count the number of jumps. Between 100 and 120 jumps will probably be about a minute of nonstop skipping. So lets simplify – two jumps equals one second.

Working Up To 1 Minute Jump Rope Workout

So the first goal is to get to 1 minute. To do this each workout do as many rounds of jumping as necessary and add up the total time until it equals one minute. It could be 6 rounds of 10 or 2 rounds of 30, etc.

Jumping Rope Workout – First Training Week

When you are able to jump for one minute nonstop, start adding one more round each workout. You will want to take a 3 minute rest between rounds to fully recover. Continue in this way until you are able to complete 6 one-minute rounds:

• Monday – 1 round
• Tuesday – 2 rounds (3 minute rest between rounds)
• Wednesday – 3 rounds (3 minute rest between rounds)
• Thursday – 4 rounds ((3 minute rest between rounds)
• Friday – 5 rounds (3 minute rest between rounds)
• Saturday – 6 rounds (3 minute rest between rounds)

Jumping Rope Workout – Second Training Week

You will rest only 2 minutes between rounds and will start adding one more minute to each round every workout. Let me clarify it:

• Monday – 2 min, 1 min, 1 min, 1 min, 1 min, 1 min,
• Tuesday – 2 min, 2 min, 1 min, 1 min, 1 min, 1 min,
• Wednesday – 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 1 min, 1 min, 1 min,
• Thursday – 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 1 min, 1 min,
• Friday – 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 1 min,
• Saturday – 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min;

Jumping Rope Workout – Third Training Week

Finally you will be resting only 1 minute between rounds. You will be adding 1 more minute on every workout:

• Monday – 3 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min;
• Tuesday – 3 min, 3 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min;
• Wednesday -3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 2 min, 2 min, 2 min;
• Thursday – 3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 2 min, 2 min;
• Friday – 3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 2 min;
• Saturday – 3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 3 min, 3 min;

At this point you will be jumping for 18 minutes with 5 minutes of rest total.

[Christian Bale working up a sweat in the movie American Psycho. Regarding jump rope technique, notice how the upper arms are held close to the body. The movement comes from the wrists.]

Jump Rope Proficiency – Now What?

After you adapt to doing six 3-minute rounds, you have a few more options to increase the difficulty. You can focus on speed, alternate between different skipping styles in each round or do calisthenics – push ups and squats, during your breaks. Get yourself a rope and start skippin’!

Image: Vincent Boiteau

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