Stair Runs - Fitness By Carrie Smith At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Why Do It?

Another portable solution for a good workout. You can use stairs at home, at work, around town or on escalators to sneak some exercise into your weekly routine.

Will Running Up Stairs Really Make A Difference

Anything that gets your heart and lungs working will make a difference. If you walk up stairs as part of your regular commute or working pattern, running up the same stairs will burn some extra calories. You can also devise a specific stair run workout which you can do at home or on some local steps, providing it is safe to do so.

When you run up stairs, ensure your posture is good. Your body should be upright and your shoulders relaxed. Lift your knees as you go up the stairs and keep on the balls of your feet. Swing your arms to help with the rhythm of your movement, To begin with, jog up a flight of 10 to 20 steps and walk back down to the bottom as recovery. To make the workout more difficult, use the same flight of stairs and run up them two at a time. Running quickly up single steps will give you a really good CV workout. Running the stairs two at a time will still work your heart and lungs and the bigger strides will give you an added toning workout for the lower body muscles - bottom, thighs and calves.

Any Special Advice For This One?

Obviously there are some inherent dangers involved with stairs so take care to plant your feet carefully on every step that you take as you run up, and walk down gently as you recover. If there is a banister, use it if you feel you need to and take a rest if you feel at all wobbly.

Why Do It?

Rowing is an incredibly effective way to work lots of muscles around the body at the same time and improve your fitness quickly. You can work to a high level of intensity for incredible fitness results and fat burning without putting strain on any part of your body. You will be supported either by a rowing machine or a boat, making this a low impact way to work out.

How Do I Do It?

Rowing is the one form of CV exercise where you are advised to ask a professional to check your technique. If you are slightly out of position, you could hamper your fitness gains, create muscle imbalances over time or do yourself an injury. The key points to look out for are:

- Sit upright as you row.

- At the front of the movement, lean slightly forwards from your hips.

- At the back of the movement, lean slightly backwards from the hips.

- From the front of the stroke, drive through the legs and follow this quickly with a pull of the arms.

- Do not lock your knees.

- From the back of the stroke, straighten your arms before you bend your legs.

- Breathe with a regular rhythm, ideally breathing in as you move forwards and out as you drive backwards.

Once you feel comfortable with the technique you can mix up your workout with timed sessions of faster and slower rowing with short recovery periods in between. It is a good idea to have your technique checked regularly just to ensure that, as you increase the intensity of your workouts, you do not move out of position.

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