Looking for the latest great fitness gadget? Take a look at your feet. The addition of a staircase to your workout routine could help you strengthen your muscles and lower the chance of injury as per Chris Lee, a strength coach and director of Kinesis Integrated in Boulder, Colorado. When compared to on-ground bodyweight exercises the stairs increase the effort (thanks gravity and gravity) and mimic better the terrain that you will encounter outside. This makes you stronger, more agile athlete.
Lee created the workout below specifically designed for outside. Complete each exercise according to the instruction and then take a break for 30-45 seconds prior to proceeding for the next. Once you’ve completed five exercise, take a break for two minutes and then repeat the entire circuit. Repeat this three or four times a week for visible outcomes.
1. Copenhagen Plank
What to do:Get into an incline side plank, placing one leg on top of the second or first step, with your forearm in the floor beneath you, and shoulders vertically aligned. (Bend the other leg to the length of the stairway.) Close your abdominal muscles and squeeze your legs until your body is in an erect line from your feet to torso. Keep the position for a set amount of time and then lower your hips until they touch the ground. It’s a single repetition. Perform between 10 and 15 repetitions. Switch sides and then repeat.
Why?Strengthens the adductors and the under-trained muscles that regulate the knee’s alignment and aid the hip’s extension.
2. Squat Jump
What to do:Stand high on your first step or the second step, with your back to the stairs and with your feet wide apart. Flex your knees 45 degrees, and then push your hips back to an squat that is quarter-length, and then you can jump up and down and down, landing lightly on the ground, in the quarter squat. Without stopping, jump straight upwards as high as you can, and then land gently again with knees slightly bent. This is one repetition. Five reps.
Why?Improves elasticity of the tendon and muscle.
3. Lateral Hop
How to:Facing the steps Stand on the floor towards the right side from the initial step. Stand with your feet about hip width apart. Take your left foot up and then turn your left knee. Then, jump towards the right side of the initial step and land on your left footwith your knee bent slightly. Keep your right leg raised and hold it for two counts before jumping up on the opposite side of your next step, landing on your right foot, keeping that knee bent slightly. Stop for two seconds. This is one rep. Do ten repetitions.
Why?Trains control, strength and accuracy in side-to-side motions.
4. Deficit Reverse Lunge
How to do it:Stand in the beginning step and face the staircase. The left leg should be lifted until your quad is level with the ground, with your knee bent. This is the beginning position. Take a step back and lower your left leg, putting your feet on the floor. Flex both knees and sink into a lunge while keeping 70% of the weight on your right leg. For one second, stop before pressing into your foot and get back to the starting position. It’s a single repetition. Perform between 10 and 15 repetitions. Switch side and do it again.
What is it:Strengthens the soleus muscle, an calf muscle that can help to power various movements.
5. Mountain Climber Push-Up
Howto:Start in an elevated plank with your hands placed on your first leg, slightly larger than shoulder width apart, your fingers pointed out towards the ground, with your hips separated. Invigorate your glutes, core and quads, then bend your elbows, lowering them to an push-up. Then, push your palms through before returning to your starting position. When you reach the top, push your right knee upwards towards your chest. Repeat the exercise with the left knee. One rep is enough. Perform 10 to 15 repetitions.
Why?Strengthens muscles in the upper part and improves the core for stability.
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