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The Thousand Step Workout

Posted on Wed May 28th 2014 by Dan

We previously wrote about the health benefits of stairs and how they can help you stay fit. We told you about how climbing stairs burns calories three times faster than walking across a level surface and strengthens muscles and raises heart rate.

The benefits are plain to see but one man in California is taking the staircase workout to a whole new level.

The Thousand Steps Beach in Laguna California is home to a long, straight, concrete staircase providing access to and from the beach. The staircase is also a popular meeting place and hang-out spot and seeing people work out on or around the stairs is a common site.

The steep staircase features around 230 steps, providing good exercise for anyone who decides to walk up them all, and a thorough work-out for anyone who tries running up to the top. However, if running up one at a time doesn’t seem enough, you could follow in the footsteps of George Nakor, who has devised his own extreme “Thousand Step Workout”.

The 25-year-old student has formulated his own super workout by repeatedly racing up the steps, performing a different exercise each time. George hauls himself up the steps ten times, six times a week, equating to total weekly climb of more than 12,000 steps. That sounds difficult enough but it’s only when you take into account the fact the staircase rises at an angle of more than 45 degrees that you really begin to comprehend the feat of strength and stamina that is being accomplished.

George’s exercise regime consists of leaping up the staircase several steps at a time, ignoring the handrails then doing push-ups at the top. After sprinting back down the bottom, he pulls himself back up the stairs using the rail – an incredible test of endurance. These drills are interspersed with various pull-ups and dips, combing to make the ultimate staircase-based exercise regime.

This is an extreme example of how stairs and handrails can be used as part of daily workout and you shouldn’t attempt to replicate something like this in your own home. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use your stairs at home for a bit of a workout, even if it’s just walking up and down the steps a few times. And remember, you should consult your GP before you start a new exercise regime.

Written by David Chapman of UK Stair Parts