When It Comes To Bone Health: Climb The Stairs To Stronger Bones

Stair climbing is considered a convenient and beneficial weight-bearing exercise. While walking is a great bone-building exercise, climbing the stairs can be considered ‘taking-it-up-a-notch’ in terms of putting increased stress on your muscles and joints (in a good way) to build strength and reduce your risk of falling.

When you are climbing the stairs, you must concentrate on your balance and work muscles and joints in a way they would not be working if you were to go for a walk instead. So the next time you see a flight of stairs next to an elevator, opt for those stairs because you are not only getting your daily physical activity in, but you are also increasing your bone strength too.

Source by Sunnybrook

Climb The Stairs To Better Health

• • Stair climbing can help you achieve and maintain a healthy body weight
  • Stair climbing requires about 8 – 11 calories of energy per minute, which is high compared to other moderate level physical activities.
  • Even two flights of stairs climbed per day can lead to 6 lbs of weight loss over one year
  • Climbing more than 55 flights per week significantly lowers your risk of mortality
  • There is a strong association between stair climbing and bone density in post-menopausal women
  • Climbing stairs can improve the amount of “good cholesterol” in the blood
  • Stair climbing can help you build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints.

SOURCE:

1. http://health.sunnybrook.ca/fitness/take-challenge-take-stairs/