If you hate to exercise, you might be happy to hear that you can improve your health just by doing a few minutes of stairs.
Just 10 minutes of stairs
New research from McMaster University in Canada wanted to find out if short bursts of stair climbing with breaks in between to recover could improve cardiorespiratory fitness. We’re talking about just 10 minutes in total.
The study recruited 24 participants, all of whom had sedentary lifestyles. Half the group climbed three flights of stairs three times of day with plenty of rest between each set (one to four hours). The other half (the control group) didn’t exercise. This regimen happened three times a week for six weeks.
The results of the study
The research team found that cardiorespiratory fitness was higher for the stair climbers after the six weeks was over. They were also stronger and performed better on a cycling test compared to the sedentary group.
“We know that sprint interval training works, but we were a bit surprised to see that the stair snacking approach was also effective,” explains Jonathan Little, Ph.D., an assistant professor of kinesiology at the University of British Columbia and co-author of the study. “Vigorously climbing a few flights of stairs on your coffee or bathroom break during the day seems to be enough to boost fitness in people who are otherwise sedentary.”
The team refers to these short intervals as “exercise snacks” and points out that they may be especially beneficial to people who work in office towers with stairs or live in apartment buildings. Since the study participants were young adults, it can be assumed that these short bursts of exercise could also help college students who live in dorms with stairs.
The findings of the study were published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism.
