What is it? Climbing stairs! In fact, the latest research shows that climbing stairs may be the most efficient way of all to burn up calories and strengthen our heart and bones no matter how much time you may have walking, cycling, swimming, yoga, or just about anything else Americans seem to be taking up to shape up. And a British study for one, found that regularly climbing stairs was directly associated with a reduced risk of heart disease.
According to a study at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, climbing stairs burns up 250 percent more calories than swimming for the same amount of time, 150 percent more than tennis, 150 percent more than bowling, 94 percent more than racquetball, 63 percent more than bicycling, 23 percent more than running, and 400 percent more than walking at two miles per hours. That means, for example, a 175 pound man walking up stairs for ten minutes will burn 202 calories, while the same man running at a speed of seven miles an hour for ten minutes will burn up only 164 calories.
Overweight people, the study showed, can lose up to twelve pounds by climbing two flights of stairs a day for a year provided, of course, that the climber doesnt eat more when he or she gets upstairs. Only strenuous activities such as dragging logs and sprinting seem to burn up more energy per minute than climbing stairs. And most importantly, regular stair climbing is also a beneficial additional exercise in a vigorous cardiovascular workout but dont over-do it.
