8 Reasons Why You Should Focus on Stair Climbing
If you often don’t get the time or don’t feel like doing cardio when you hit the gym, stair climbing could be a great way to burn some extra calories in your daily life without feeling like you’re putting in a cardio session.
Stairs are plentiful — they tend to be all around you. You can find them anywhere you go, like your office building, school, parking garage, or the mall. They are a very convenient way to exercise because you can take them anytime for as long as you want. For example, at the office, you can take the stairs to get to your floor or get off the elevator early and then take a few flights on your way into the office. The same with going home or leaving the office for the day.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to treat or diagnose any condition. It is recommended that you speak with your doctor before starting any exercise program, changing your daily nutrition, or adding any supplements to your regimen.
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What is Stair Climbing?
Stair climbing is exactly what it sounds like — walking or running up stairs. But don’t let the simplicity fool you. This is one of the most underrated and brutally effective forms of cardiovascular and muscular endurance training out there. Whether you’re grinding it out on a stair climber machine at the gym or taking on actual steps in a stadium or office building, stair climbing torches calories, builds powerful legs, and challenges your cardiovascular system in ways flat-ground cardio just can’t match.
It’s a functional movement that mimics real-life demands. Think about it — you’re training your body to move against gravity, one step at a time. That’s resistance and cardio rolled into one. And for those chasing better glutes, quads, calves, and hamstrings while also looking to shred fat? Stair climbing delivers.
How Many Stairs Should I Climb for a Good Workout?
Let’s cut to it — there’s no magic number. Like any form of training, how many stairs you need to climb depends on your current fitness level and your goals. But here’s a good rule of thumb: if you’re breaking a sweat, breathing heavier, and your legs are burning, you’re doing it right.
For beginners, shooting for 50 to 100 total stairs (that’s about 5 to 10 flights) is a solid starting point. Do that a few times a week and build up. Intermediate to advanced? You should be aiming for 200–400 stairs or more in a single workout. That might mean doing 20–40 flights, or grinding it out for 20–30 minutes on a stair climber if you’re training indoors.
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Want to burn serious calories? Climb at a steady pace for 20+ minutes or do intervals — 2 flights fast, walk down, repeat. Trust me, your legs and lungs will know you’ve been working.
Bottom line: It’s not just about the number, it’s about consistency, effort, and progression.
Can You Burn Body Fat Stair Climbing?
100% yes — you can absolutely burn fat with stair climbing. In fact, it’s one of the best forms of cardio for fat loss because you’re not just moving your body — you’re working against gravity. That means more muscle activation, higher heart rate, and more calories burned in less time compared to steady-state walking or cycling.
Stair climbing hits the big muscle groups (glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves) and the more muscle you engage, the more fat you burn. Even better, it elevates your heart rate quickly, making it great for both steady-state fat burning and HIIT-style workouts that crank up the afterburn (EPOC).
A 30-minute stair climbing session can torch 300–500 calories, depending on your intensity and body weight. That adds up fast, especially when paired with solid nutrition.
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And here’s the bonus… because it builds muscle while burning fat, stair climbing can help you look leaner and more defined, not just lighter on the scale.
So yes, if fat loss is the goal, stair climbing deserves a spot in your weekly routine.
8 Reasons You Should Start Stair Climbing Today
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is a great way to get some exercise and burn some calories. Here are eight reasons why you should take the stairs and utilize stair climbing more often.
1. Burn more calories
Fun fact: If you climb the stairs, you burn more calories than jogging. Climbing stairs instead of taking the elevator can help you burn 5-11 calories per minute. This may not seem like much, but it adds up to some major calorie burning over time, which can help you lose or maintain weight. The average person burns about seven times more energy stair climbing than taking the elevator.
2. Reduce the risk of strokes
Stair climbing is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of stroke. According to a study from the Harvard Alumni Health Study involving over 11,000 men, physical activity such as stair climbing can decrease the risk of stroke. For example, in men who had reported climbing the equivalent of at least 20 flights per week, researchers found a vast reduction in their risk of stroke over the long term. This was in addition to any benefits they may have had from any other forms of regular exercise.
3. Improves muscle strength, bone density, and joint flexibility
Stair climbing is a weight-bearing exercise that can improve your bone density and can help prevent osteoporosis by placing pressure on your bones. It’s also an excellent way to improve muscle strength through repetitive motion, which helps prevent injuries during sports activities or everyday tasks like climbing stairs or lifting groceries into your car.
4. Supports cardiovascular health
When you are stair climbing, your heart rate increases, so it can pump more blood to the working muscles. By doing this more often throughout the day, your heart gets stronger and will be able to pump more blood, even while at rest. This improves your cardiovascular health by making your heart work less hard when you’re at rest. Research has shown that regular exercise can improve cardiovascular health and fitness and help prevent cardiovascular disease. In fact, research shows that people who exercise regularly live seven years longer than those who don’t!
5. Boosts muscle strength
When you take the stairs, you have to use your legs, arms, and back muscles to lift yourself upward step by step. This strengthens those muscles and improves their endurance. You’ll be able to do more things more easily because your muscles will be stronger than before you started climbing stairs regularly. Studies suggest that using skeletal muscle can help improve blood sugar, which may have implications for preventing and managing diabetes.
6. Enhances coordination
Climbing stairs requires good coordination between your feet and hands as well as a balance between upper body and lower body movements. This helps improve your overall coordination skills and makes it easier for you to complete daily activities like walking up or down stairs without tripping over yourself or falling down because of poor balance control when walking on flat surfaces such as floors or sidewalks.
7. Builds endurance
When you run, your body uses energy at a faster rate than in any other type of exercise. In fact, running uses twice as much energy per minute as walking and nearly four times as much as cycling or swimming. You can use this fact to your advantage by increasing your workout intensity through stair climbing. Climbing stairs is a great way to get a cardiovascular workout without putting too much stress on your joints or muscles. It’s also an excellent way to build endurance because it forces you to work harder for longer periods than lower-intensity exercises like running on a treadmill or riding an exercise bike would allow.
8. Stress reliever
As we know, stress is one of the biggest killers around, so anything that can help relieve it is worth considering. When you’re walking up steps, your heart rate increases, and blood flows faster through your body to deliver oxygen where it’s needed most. This gives you a natural boost of energy and helps clear your mind so that you can concentrate on what’s important rather than dwelling on negative thoughts or past events.
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