Can climbing stairs every day help you lose weight?
Many people believe that "climbing stairs more is good for health", but some doctors warn that stairs are not for everyone, and they are not suitable for all people and all environments! White-collar girls who are keen to climb stairs instead of fitness or weight loss should pay more attention: be careful to climb out of the radish legs and hurt the knee cap.
The famous customs building located on the Bund in Shanghai currently has 4 elevators in operation, and it is very crowded during the rush hour of commuting and get off work every day. To this end, the Bund Street Office of Huangpu District, which wants to create a healthy building, and the property department of the customs building jointly launched the "stair walking" campaign last year, which can not only solve the problem of elevator congestion, but also allow everyone to exercise more. The staircase entrance of the customs building is equipped with special IC card equipment. Every time employees take the stairs, they can swipe the card points, and according to the points, they will be awarded "stair walking stars". One stone has stirred up thousands of layers of waves, and many commercial office buildings have elevator peak congestion signs. Many office building employees said that they also want to participate in the "stair walking" exercise to exercise their bodies. Many white-collar girls are even secretly meeting: this is really a good opportunity to lose weight publicly and collectively!
How much exercise is involved in climbing stairs?
At the health (healthy food) nutrition exhibition held concurrently with the Shanghai "International Health and Nutrition Conference", after the staff entered the data indicators of a man weighing 75 kilograms into the computer, they used the fitness method of climbing the stairs every day, going up and down the stairs for 20 minutes each day. The computer immediately calculated that his energy (energy food) consumption was 202.25 kcal. Professor Chen Peijie, assistant dean of Shanghai Institute of Physical Education, said: "Climbing the stairs is equivalent to doing aerobic exercise, which can exercise the cardiopulmonary function, and at the same time can exercise the leg muscles, which can play a certain role in exercising the body. Usually, the energy consumption of daily fitness activities is about 200 kcal, which can produce better fitness results. If you don't go to the gym, just climbing the stairs can also be effective."
A male white-collar worker in his 30s said: "I work in the IT industry, I have to work overtime until more than 10 o'clock every day, and I apply for a fitness annual card every year, but I don't use it several times throughout the year." Now it's great, I commute to get off work and go up and down the stairs after lunch every day, and I can basically reach 20 minutes of exercise time!
However, Bai Yuehong, director of the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and deputy director of orthopedic surgery at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, warned everyone: "Walking stairs" is not suitable for all people and all environments, and everyone should not imitate it at will.
He took the "stair walking" activity organized by the customs building on the Bund in Shanghai as an example: there are 9 floors in the customs, and each floor of the stairwell has large windows, and the air at the stairs is very good. In places with good air like the customs building, it is suitable for climbing stairs, but if it is in some relatively closed office buildings, it is not suitable for stair climbing. Because in places with poor air circulation and relatively dirty air, "taking the stairs" can easily cause hypoxia in the heart and brain, and increase the burden on the heart, which is not good for the kidneys and liver. Strictly closed and narrow stairwells can also cause air treading or falling due to dim light. If you fail to exercise, you will hurt your body.
When going down stairs, the knee joint and ankle joint have to bear the weight of the whole body. Repeating this action will artificially increase the amount of activity of these joints, the intensity of pressure will increase sharply, and the possibility of joint wear will increase, which is not good for the body. Moreover, climbing stairs also requires your mileage may vary. For young people with normal cardiopulmonary function, it is no problem to walk eight or nine flights of stairs: for people who are too obese, usually have joint or ankle injuries, or people with osteoarthritis, it is necessary to beware of increasing the burden on the knee joint by going up and down stairs. Because when climbing stairs, the knee joint bears the most weight. If you exercise too much, it may make the condition worse and produce synovitis, or make the joint pain and swelling worse.
Wang Zuoliang, chairperson of Taiwan's Chiropractic Association, also said at a medical conference that although climbing stairs has health benefits such as enhancing cardiopulmonary function and muscular endurance, seemingly simple step movements can easily cause fatal injuries to the patella, commonly known as the "kneecap". Because when climbing stairs, the pressure on the patella is 4 to 6 times that of ordinary flat walking. If the force is not applied properly, it is easy to cause the displacement of the cartilage tissue behind the patella, increase the tolerance of the knee joint per unit area, and easily make the patella wear and inflammation, resulting in chondromalacia patella.
Girls climbing stairs are easy to climb out of the radish legs
In addition to easily causing knee joint diseases, improper force on stairs can also easily make girls climb out of thick "radish legs". Mendy, a salsa dance training teacher in Beijing, said that you can use stairs to shape your body, and at the same time avoid "radish legs". She recommends that female friends when climbing stairs, shrink their abdomen first, make their waist straight, and then move forward with their toes on the ground. Make sure that each foot is completely straight, and then climb up. In order to avoid "radish legs", after climbing stairs, you can put your hands on the wall, and stand in parallel with your feet in a lunge step to stretch for up to 15 seconds at a time, and repeat 15 times in the morning and evening to help relax the calf muscles. When sleeping, putting a pillow under your feet can also help prevent leg edema.
In addition, women often like to wear high heels when they go to work, as well as some young cuties' favorite flip-flops and muffin shoes. These types of soles are too thin or too thick, and the soles that are too thin cannot bear the weight of the body's downward pressure. The soles that are too thick cannot be firmly grasped and are easy to slip. We remind women who like to wear high heels to avoid stepping on shoes that exceed 5 cm to climb stairs to prevent ankle sprains or muscle strains. Experts remind white-collar friends who want to climb stairs too much before work or after lunch to exercise that it is best to wear shock-absorbing air cushion shoes when going up and down the stairs to reduce knee pressure; while white-collar women who already have joint bone injuries or are too obese should use the stair climbing method to exercise their bodies, and master the size and method. The speed and duration of climbing stairs should be mastered well. When you first start exercising, you should take a slow and gradually lengthening method. As the exercise level improves, you can gradually speed up or extend the duration. At the same time, exercise should always be carried out at a moderate intensity, so as not to feel stressed.
For those friends who have been diagnosed by the doctor and are not suitable for climbing stairs, experts suggest: arthritis patients in our country are increasing. In order to protect the health of the legs and joints, these patients should try not to climb stairs. Experiments have shown that before the age of 50, women are equally likely to suffer from joint diseases and men, but after the age of 50, it is 3 times that of men. Joint diseases may reach 50% over the age of 60, and 80% over the age of 75. We often see in newspapers that some old ladies cannot go down the mountain when climbing. This is because the joint load when climbing is four or five times that of normal. The same is true for climbing stairs. If you really want to exercise, you can consider 30 minutes of flat walking before work and after lunch every day, which is more effective and safer.
Scientific Analysis of Climbing Stairs to Lose Weight
Climbing stairs is a very common form of exercise, and it also has a very obvious effect on weight loss: according to the determination of sports medicine, people burn calories for every 1 meter of height, which is equivalent to walking 28 meters. The energy consumption is 1000 kcal/hour, which is 10 times that of sitting, 5 times that of walking, 1.8 times that of running, 2 times that of swimming, 1.3 times that of playing table tennis, and 1.4 times that of playing tennis. If you run up and down the stairs of 6 floors 2-3 times, it is equivalent to jogging 800-1500 meters on the ground.
Researchers at the University of Oster in Northern Ireland asked a group of office-bound women, who rarely exercised, to climb 200 stairs once a day and progress up to six times a day for two minutes. In other words, each woman only needed to be active for 12 minutes a day. Within two months, the women found themselves in much better shape.
When climbing stairs, the body must be slightly bent forward, including the swing and stride of the hands, which can enhance the strength of the muscles and ligaments of the lower limbs, maintain the flexibility of the lower foot joints, and enhance the function of internal organs. Whenever climbing stairs, the breathing rate and pulse rate will undoubtedly increase, which will enhance the body's breathing and strengthen the function of the heart and vascular system.
Climbing stairs to lose weight requires mastering the correct method
Concentrate your strength on your legs. Take two or three steps up each step, with smooth and powerful movements, maintain a well-proportioned breathing, and do not need to run quickly. Climb 4 or 5 floors of stairs in a row, and then relax your legs and descend the steps back to the starting point. Climb the stairs repeatedly for about 1 hour each time, and focus on training to lose weight on your thighs. For an hour a day or an hour every other day, your legs will feel sore at first, and if you stick to it for a few more days, the leg soreness will disappear. You will find that your thighs have become toned and slender, and your hips have become warped in a short period of time.
What should I pay attention to when climbing stairs?
Zhao Jisheng, an associate professor at the School of Physical Education and Exercise of Beijing Normal University, introduced that when climbing stairs for exercise, there is pressure and wear on the knee joint, but don't give up eating because of choking and worry too much.
Climbing stairs to exercise, first of all, you should combine your actual situation. People with different degrees of osteoporosis or overweight body must master the relationship between speed and duration when climbing stairs. At the beginning, you should take a slow speed, stick to it for a period of time, you can gradually speed up or extend the time, but not too intense, otherwise it will increase the burden on the heart and lungs. If you find discomfort in the process of climbing stairs, you should stop exercising immediately. At the same time, you must master the correct exercise method. When going downstairs, in order to prevent the knee joint from increasing pressure, you should land on the front sole first, and then transition to the full sole of the foot to cushion the pressure on the knee joint. After climbing stairs, you can massage the knee joint locally. It is best to do squatting, standing, and static half-squatting exercises regularly to ensure that the knee joint is fully exercised and to prevent it from becoming stiff and rigid.
At the beginning of exercise, the principle of slow exercise should be adopted. After exercising for a period of time (usually at least 2 to 3 months is appropriate), you can gradually speed up or extend the time, but not too intense, otherwise it will increase the burden on the heart and lungs. During exercise, if there is chest tightness, heart palpitations with sweating and joint soreness, or even symptoms of joint swelling and discomfort, you should stop exercising immediately.
Here is a reminder again: people with old injuries to joints such as lower limbs, hips, knees, and ankles (for example, fractures and major ligament ruptures within two years) should exercise cautiously when climbing stairs, and master the correct exercise method. Because at this time, the strength and coordination of the muscles of the lower limbs will be weakened to varying degrees. Once they fall, fall, or sprain, the consequences of re-injury are often more serious, which is not uncommon in orthopedic clinics.
When going downstairs, in order to prevent a fall, the front soles of the feet should touch the ground first, and then transition to the full soles of the feet to cushion the pressure on the knee joints. Before exercising, you should warm up the knee and ankle joints to avoid the occurrence of uncoordinated joint activities. It is best to do squats, stand up and other exercises regularly, so that the joints can be fully moved to prevent stiffness and stiffness at the beginning of the exercise, which is often said to be "running water is not rotten, and the household is not a beetle".
As long as you pay attention to these principles, climbing stairs is indeed a very good fitness method.
