Stair workouts are a great way to cross train whether you’re a runner, cyclist, or any other sport that requires explosive movements for better times or to be more competitive. College parking garages or stadiums are a great place to find stairs for a solid interval workout. I generally prefer a parking garage because of its versatility and open space compared to a more cramped stadium. That being said a stadium would work just as well. My typical stair workout consists of stair running, ramps (inside the parking garage) and plyometric and or strength training exercises in-between sets to mix things up and increase the intensity of the entire workout. After each stair well you can run/jog and/or add running drills such as low skips, karaoke’s, side shuffles until you get to the next stair well. This not only breaks up the monotony of running stairs, but challenges your body further by doing various movements instead of just running back and forth. Most likely you’re parking garage will have ramps; these are to your advantage. I like to do a whole set of stairs (which includes the 4 stair wells at each corner of the parking garage) and then run or do various drills up the ramps for some good hill training. At the top I add in explosive exercises like rocket jumps or burpee's to finish off the entire set with some strength training. Personally I try to shoot for about 4 sets total so that my total workout time is around 40-45 minutes in length. This allows for me to work on my overall endurance as well as the interval training aspect of the workout.
Things to remember:
~ Make sure you touch every step instead of skipping stairs since you have to work extra to touch all the stairs.
~ Do running drills in between stair wells to add a unique challenge to your workout that is more interesting and intense.
~If you have ramps available you can incorporate back pedaling, sprints, side shuffles or other drills up the ramps. Essentially, these ramps act as mini hill training sessions.
~At the end of each set or anywhere else during the workout add in some strength training or plyometric exercises like rocket jumps, burpees, push-ups, squats, lunges etc to break up the routine.
~Make sure you maintain good form during the running as well as strength training segments especially once you start to fatigue after a couple sets.
Hope you enjoy these workouts as much as I do.
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