Stairs are one of the greatest fitness tools out there. They can shape and strengthen your lower body like no other and they are almost everywhere. We have the chance to work those legs and glutes anytime we encounter a flight of stairs. What could be better?

The key to taking advantage of this worldwide fitness tool is how you actually step when you hit the stairs. Here’s some tips on how to step up your step up game…

Make sure your full foot lands on each stair.

Push through your heel.

Stand tall while you walk.

Take two stairs at a time. Or three.

Add some power/speed to it.

This allows you to turn each flight of stairs into a mini workout and posture tool for you instead of a chore and bad biomechanics reinforcer. Walking up the stairs incorrectly unfortunately keeps our weak muscles weak (glutes) and the dominant ones (hip flexors and quads) dominant so the more often we can do it better the stronger and more efficient we will get, all while balancing our body out a bit.

Once you’ve stepped up your stepping up it can become a lifetime tool for keeping your legs strong and burning calories, not to mention the balance and coordination benefits you keep as well.

I always take the stairs two or three at a time and bound up them any chance I get. I’ll also try to see how few steps I can get up a flight of stairs from time to time and it never ceases to amaze me the work it takes to do either of these approaches. Not everyone needs or is going to take their stepping up to this level but everyone can benefit from stepping up more consciously and often.

So next time you see a flight of stairs, don’t see a task/obstacle/annoyance, see a chance to strengthen your legs, balance, coordination and power (and of course tighten your glutes). Pretty soon you’ll seek out the stairs any chance you get.

Thanks for stepping, have a great day!

P.S.