Climbing stairs can improve leg strength in older adults, reveals study

If you suppose bone strength shall be your holy grail to motion in the older ages, then a latest study is about to open your eyes for good. Evelien Van Roie, an assistant professor at Hasselt University, performed a study in which they randomly assigned 46 adults between the ages of 65 and 80 to both do a leg-press machine exercise or climb two units of stairs a couple of occasions twice every week for 12 weeks.
As we age, we begin to lose not solely muscle strength but in addition energy. And muscle energy — somebody’s capability to rapidly make use of their strength — is essential for older adults to catch themselves after they journey, mentioned Roie, the lead study writer.
“If you’re not able to move fast, even if you’re strong, you will still fall down,” she mentioned. “This is something we really need to train. And the results show stair climbing could be an accessible, at-home way for older adults to build muscle power,” she added.

The climbing stairs workout

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As a part of the study, twice a week the participants exercised at the university lab for 35 minutes. They began with a 10-minute warmup on a stationary bike followed by two upper-body exercises- chest press and low row, on weightlifting machines.
Then, the participants were divided into two random groups. One would do a leg-press machine workout and the other half a stair-climbing exercise. The stair-climbing group began with four sets of step-ups on a box 30 or 40 cm high, alternating two sets per leg to induce muscle fatigue and build strength. Here, participants moved at a slow pace taking two seconds to step up and another two to step down.
During week five, they climbed up two flights of six stairs each with a landing in between and rested for 45 seconds, which included the time it took to walk down the stairs. They performed the sequence four times and were not allowed to skip steps or use handrail. By the end of the study, the stair-climbing participants were donning weighted vests as they climbed the steps.
As for the leg-press workouts, the participants did four sets of 12-15 repetitions, alternating two sets per leg on a pneumatic leg-press machine which relies on pressurized air to create resistance. At four weeks the researchers asked the participants to push as fast as possible.

The shocking results

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Both groups experienced a gain in muscle power, improvements in walking speed and time required to stand up from a chair. As per Roie, the results show “you don’t need a fancy gym” to construct strength. Simple, constant and progressively difficult workout routines will result in outcomes, she added.

Do do that at house

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Roie advises climbing the stairs at a gradual and regular tempo earlier than progressively rising the pace. Immediate quick actions can result in accidents and thus have to be prevented. Also, use the handrail for assist and never strength to tug your self upwards. If that is the case then step-up or sit-to-stand workout routines is perhaps higher.