People tell me all the time they don't ever have the time to workout. Granted finding the time in our busy day to go to the gym or head out for a run can be tough. I've been there. Work, kids, family, friends are all vying for our attention. Too often it is much easier to skip the workout and handle the other pressing items of the day. But if we think outside the box for a minute, we can find innovative ways to boost our fitness with a minimal expenditure of time and we can do it in our own home. In this post, I will show you a simple routine that will increase your strength and stimulate muscle gain. All in under a minute.
Enter The Stairway Workout
A workout in under a minute? Really? I know you must be thinking this is crazy but stay with me. This routine is one of the best kept secrets in strength training today. So let's get started.
The routine works like this: You set up a rule and follow that rule throughout the day. For example we are going to use our stairway to facilitate our rule. The rule is that every time you go up or down the stairs in your house you will complete a certain number of reps of an exercise. So for our example we are going to use squats and pushups. Every time you go up the steps in your house you will stop at the bottom, perform 10 reps of squats or 10 reps of pushups and then proceed up the steps. You can decide to perform the exercises either when you go up the steps or come down the steps. Or if you are feeling froggy, do the exercises before going up and after going down. Completing 10 reps should take no more than a minute. That's all it takes! 10 reps is not much but when you think about how many times a day you go up and down the steps, you will start to get the picture. I use the stairs on average four to five times a day. That's 40-50 reps. Not bad for getting some work in. The key is to stick to the rule each and every time. Usually I will rotate between squats and pushups. The first time I use the stairs I will do squats and then the next time will be pushups etc.
Key Points
There are a few key things we need to consider when doing this workout. Number one keep in mind that this is strength training. Strength is a skill and as such must be practiced as perfectly as possible in order to get good at it. When doing your reps make sure you are keeping your body nice and tight, especially the core, and perform your reps very slowly. We are not working on endurance here, we are training our body to be strong. Doing the reps fast will negate any increase in strength or muscle mass. If it helps you can use a count. Count to four when going down in the pushup or squat, pause at the bottom, and then count to four when coming back up. Again, 10 reps is not much so we want every rep to count. This is why we are performing slowly with our whole body into the movement. Even when performing your reps nice and slow with control, you should be able to knock out each set in under a minute.Scaling
This workout is perfect for beginners to fitness because it enables us to perfect our form while increasing our strength at a pace that works. Using the stairs to aid us we can scale the movement to a point where we can perform the movement and get the most benefit.The squat
Performing a full squat may be difficult for those new to fitness. We will use the stairs to our advantage. To perform a squat on the stairs:- Stand up straight with your calves just in front of the steps.
- Squat down onto the lowest step possible without breaking your form.
- Pause at the bottom and ensure your form is correct.
- Stand back up out of the squat keeping your core tight.
The pushup
Performing a regular pushup can be difficult for beginners. Let's use the stairs to our advantage. By doing the pushup on the stairs we are now only pushing up a portion of our bodyweight. This enables us to perfect our form while increasing our strength.- Place your feet on the landing and your hands on the step nearest to chest level.
- Slowly lower yourself down until your chest touches the steps.
- Pause at the bottom ensuring your body is nice and tight and your form is correct.
- Push up your body in a slow and controlled manner until your elbows lock out at the top.
Advanced
For the advanced athletes we can still use the Stairway Workout to increase our strength. By increasing the difficulty of the movements we can continually test our strength and break new boundaries. I use the stair workout to practice one armed pushups and one legged squats. I can only do a few of each per set so I use the stairs to scale the movement in order to perfect my form and strength. I will typically do 3-5 one legged squats or one armed pushups per set at the stairs. By using the stairs to scale the movement down I am able to work on my form and strength easier than only one or two reps of standard one legged squats or one armed pushups.See illustration:
Again I am only performing a low number of reps but when you factor in the number of sets throughout the day you can see that I can rack up a large number of reps in total. Even though I suggested pushups and squats for this workout you can substitute any bodyweight exercise into the routine. Even handstand pushups can be practiced using this routine.
See illustration:
Conclusion
The Stairway Workout is an insanely easy way to improve your fitness. Just stick to the rule and perform your reps with the utmost precision and in no time you will notice the gains in strength and muscle mass. This workout provides you with the template to increase strength, improve muscle mass and jumpstart your fitness with very little time investment. Good luck and let me know how it works for you by posting your results in the comments section.Stay tuned for my ebook! Loads more information with detailed workouts and illustrations for getting fit all in the comfort of your own home!
Disclaimer: Make sure to get your doctor's ok before performing this or any other fitness routine. Remember, if you get injured you can't work out. So let's be smart and check with your doctor to make sure you are able to perform this routine. Not responsible for any bad things that happen to you while performing this routine.
