Why Even Runners can get Winded Walking Up Stairs

I consider myself to be a pretty healthy person. I am somewhat fit, workout a few times a week, am considerate about what I eat. I walk everywhere and feel pretty good, but why is it when I go up stairs I feel so out of shape?

Going up stairs is a much different workout for our legs than running. You are doing single leg body squats with every step and you have gravity working against you while also trying to maintain ballance.

When you are going up stairs you are usually going from a resting point, to doing a lot of activity very quickly. As your body realizes it needs to use more energy, it will take in more oxygen and then your heart rate will increase to deliver that oxygen to your muscles quickly.

The amount of steps also plays a role in this, after a certain amount it becomes more like training your body to be ready for stairs. Everyone has their own threshold for how many stairs they can climb before tiring out. To increase this amount you must condition your legs.

Ways to condition your legs include:

Taking the stairs more, seems obvious right. Increase expose to taking stairs will help your body become use to the activity. Real stairs also work your body more efficiently than taking a stair stepper because you are using the full motion of your body.

Riding a bike, especially in intervals. This will allow your heart rate to lower and raise in different sets while also maintaining endurance. This will help control little burst of energy, and will cut down on resting time after you have taken the stairs.

Squats are a great way to strengthen your lower body muscular endurance. Keep feet flat and shoulder length apart, chest high, and abs drawn in.