I was out of breath after walking a few steps,
If you climb two floors, you have to stop and rest......
Those who have these manifestations,
may feel like they are less able to walk,
It's not that strong anymore.
However, a new study shows that people with weaker stair climbing skills are biologically older than they are, suggesting that the body is aging.
Combining new research and expert perspectives, explain the relationship between stair climbing speed and aging, and teach you the scientific posture of stair climbing.
Not being able to climb the stairs for 15 minutes indicates that "aging fast"
A new study published in the international journal Senescent Cell shows that the degree of aging can be judged by the speed of climbing stairs.
Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in the United States analyzed the stair climbing pace of 196 healthy older adults.
- One group of respondents was over 75 years old and could climb stairs or walk for 15 minutes without a break.
- The other group, although they are between 65~75 years old, are unable to complete 15 consecutive minutes of climbing or walking, and need to take a break.
The analysis showed that the former group of older adults was younger than their chronological age, which the researchers referred to as the "healthy old" group;
The latter group had weaker ability to climb stairs, had a larger biological age than their actual age, and had elevated multiple aging-related inflammatory factors, which the researchers called the "aging fast" group.
Kang Lin, director of the Department of Geriatrics at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said that walking is one of the easiest exercises in daily life, and walking ability can also be used as a comprehensive indicator of muscle strength and cardiovascular health.
Stair climbing, as a more demanding activity than walking, requires more physical functions, which is why doctors ask ordinary patients if they can climb three floors in one breath before surgery.
Climbing the stairs can measure four functions
In 2023, researchers from Peking University published a study in the journal Atherosclerosis that people who climbed more than 5 floors (10 steps per floor) of stairs per day had a reduced risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by about 20% compared to those who did not climb stairs.
Stair climbing is not only good for cardiovascular health, but also for other aspects of the body, and in general, there are four ways to measure the degree of physical aging.
1. Muscle function
Stair climbing forces the leg muscles to constantly defy gravity to lift the body, working well on multiple muscle groups, including quadriceps, glutes, and calf muscles.
If a person can climb three floors, it often means that the muscles are explosive and endurance.
2. Skeletal function
If you have knee degeneration or lumbar spine disease, it will affect your ability to walk, not to mention climbing stairs with more activity.
3 cardiopulmonary reserve
If the lung function is not good or the heart function reserve is poor, you may not be able to breathe when you climb the stairs, and even have myocardial ischemia, angina pectoris, etc.
4. Balance and coordination
Climbing stairs requires coordination of all parts of the body, especially the legs and hips. By climbing stairs, you can improve the flexibility and coordination of your joints.
Proper posture for climbing stairs
Climbing stairs requires no equipment or special training, can be done at any time of the day, regardless of the weather, and can be exercised both indoors and outdoors. Mastering the correct posture for climbing stairs can make your workout more effective with less effort.
Warm up before climbing
Before climbing the stairs each time, warm up for 5~10 minutes, and you can do high leg raises, brisk walking, jogging, burpee jumping, etc. Then go up and down the stairs 5~6 steps to familiarize your legs with the movements and prepare them physically and psychologically.
Maintain a good posture
- Do not use your knees above your toes when going up the steps to avoid excessive weight bearing on your knees;
- Do not buckle the knee inward, so that the knee joint can exert force in a normal state;
- Straighten up the steps to prevent excessive weight on the front leg;
- Place your whole foot flat on the steps and don't climb with your toes, as this will put a strain on your knee and calf muscles.
The elderly or those with poor physical fitness can climb the stair railing with one hand.
Take it step by step and make sure you have time to rest
When you first start climbing stairs, start with 10 minutes three times a week, and gradually reach 30 minutes at a time as your stamina increases, but don't exceed 1 hour.
Be sure to take breaks between each workout session to give your cardiorespiratory system and muscles time to recover.
Gradually increase the intensity of training
When you start stair climbing, take one step at a time, then slowly transition to two steps at a time to get more intensity in your leg and hip muscles and burn more fat.
It is also possible to mix single and double steps, but people with poor balance and knee problems may pose a risk of injury with a larger stride, so do what you can.
Don't forget to stretch
Remember to do tidying up activities after training, especially static stretching of the muscles of the legs and buttocks, such as lunge squats.
While stair climbing is a great exercise, it's not for everyone, so it's up to your ability.
- For people with poor knee joints or obesity, climbing stairs, especially downstairs, will increase knee wear, and it is not suitable to climb stairs as a daily exercise.
- People who walk unsteadily on flat ground, have a slow gait (less than 1 meter per second), and have poor cardiorespiratory reserve should start with walking on a flat road.
- Even if you have a good function in all aspects, you should do what you can when you climb the stairs, and pay attention to safety, it is best to hold on to the handle, and once you have chest tightness, shortness of breath, knee pain and other discomfort, you should stop immediately to avoid serious consequences.
Source: Life Times (ID: LT0385) Author: Kang Lin, Director of the Department of Geriatrics, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, and Zhu Weimo, Academician of the American Academy of Sports Sciences and tenured professor at the University of Illinois