This video is one of many you can find online outlining the benefits of a stair workout. Hitting the stairs is a great alternative for triathletes. Stair work targets the powerhouse muscles of your quads, hamstrings, calves, and glutes–all crucial for the bike and the run. While it is easier to go harder and incorporate more dynamic movements on stairs outdoors, you can modify these workouts to indoor stairs as well.  If you can get outside, hit the stairs at Casa Loma or in the ravines, in High Park, or Sunnybrook. There are actually many throughout the city and you don’t need to spend much time there. It’s an efficient workout as your heart rate will indicate!

Should you be housebound, however, try incorporating a few reps into a bike workout while practicing your speedy bike to run transitions. For example, if you’re riding for an hour, then insert 3-5 minutes of stair work (hard up/ easy down) every 15 minutes of your ride. Put your running shoes  next to your bike and even time the transitions and see if you can drive those down as you go. There’s no need to sprint up the stairs, an active engagement is sufficient and certainly more safe! Give it a try!

 

Indoor Favorites:

-Every other or every two stairs

-Bounding or squat jump every other step:

(start in a quarter squat/ arms behind your body)  and pause in the squat for 1-2 sec (continue the entire flight)

-Every two steps with 15 calf raises at the top