A Satisfying Climb To The Top

Stair Climbing For Fitness: It's Simple. And Free

Courtesy: NDTV

I bought my first Bowflex in 1998 when I was 47 years old. Bowflex fitness machines were selling like hotcakes in North America, thanks to half-hour infomercials on late night TV (remember those?).

The Bowflex was one of the leading edge devices, along with the Total Gym, endorsed by Chuck Norris and Christy Brinkley, that sparked a whole new industry in the 90s – home gyms.

No longer did you have to schlep to a fitness club in lousy weather, driving halfway across town, only to have to wait for someone to finish their routine on a machine before you could get on it. Of course, that still happens today but it’s usually someone sitting on the machine checking their phone that causes delays.

Anyway, the home gym trend cooled off about the time that big fitness chains like Gold’s Gym or GoodLife in Canada began to spread with great success; they offered affordable memberships, modern and pleasant surroundings and the very latest in workout machines.

Today, we have both existing side by side: home gym equipment has evolved and the fitness centers still prosper and grow.

The only problem is you still have to transport yourself to Gold’s or GoodLife which, for me, can be a motivational chore. That’s why I’ve always preferred the Bowflex in my home (full disclosure: I don’t often use it but then people with gym memberships can be slack, as well…).

Since I am an “older adult”, I am appreciating some different ways of working out and staying in shape. One of those methods I now use was sitting under my very nose for 3 years before I realized it and started to take advantage.

I live in a 10-story condo building. This winter, I rarely went outside for a walk, so my cardio was limited to a pull-up bar and the Bowflex. Not the best way to get a good heartbeat going.

One morning, I bumped into my next door neighbor in the hall. He was panting like a racehorse after the Kentucky Derby and he told me that he’d been stair climbing.

“What a great idea,” I thought. The solution to cardio was right in front of me and totally free!

So I began to climb the stairs, from the fourth floor where I live to the 10^th floor and, let me tell you, it was a strenuous workout. I overdid it at first and I have since modified my routine but I can attest to the added strength in my legs and I know my heart benefits from the workout, too.

As fate would have it, I came across this story from the Washington Post and picked up by other U.S. papers, regarding the benefits of stair climbing for older adults.

We all know that maintaining fitness and particularly muscle strength is vital for older adults due to the loss of muscle strength with age.

But, as the story points out, the benefits are real; a study was done in Belgium involving a small number of healthy, older adults. Half were given an exercise regimen using a leg press machine while the other half began stair climbing.

Each group did their thing for 12 weeks, at the end of which time, tests were done to measure any improvement.

Both groups showed gains in muscle power and strength. Muscle strength relates to one’s ability to get up off the ground after a fall while muscle power relates to being able to catch oneself to prevent a fall. Both are critical capabilities to have as we get older.

There is an argument that the leg press machine is preferable; the individual can continue to gain strength since climbing stairs may result in a cap on strength gains.

But not many of us have leg press machines in our homes, which gets us back to the need to drive to a fitness club to use one. That’s not always an option for the older adult who may no longer be able to drive.

I would argue that climbing flights of stairs is the preferred method for one major reason: many older adults usually downsize to condos – not townhouse, two-story condos but apartment-style condos with multiple floors – hence, multiple flights of stairs.

That gives them the opportunity to get a good cardio workout, which starts with stepping out of their suite door. Pretty simple.

For me, it’s a very workable solution until the nice Spring weather returns. Or I start to use that Bowflex again…