Climbing stairs is sometimes quite a job. But if you exercise a lot, you might expect that you wouldn’t get out of breath from taking a few steps, right? Well, getting out of breath from climbing stairs is actually quite normal, even if you are very fit. This is how it works.
You’re not warmed up
Before you start exercising, you should actually warm up. This will loosen your muscles and allow you to get the most out of your workout. If you just have to go up the stairs, you obviously won’t warm up extensively first. So your body is actually not really prepared for the hard work it has to do. When you exercise intensively, your body needs more oxygen. Warming up makes this change more gradual. If you don’t do this, it will be very sudden and you will get out of breath more quickly. No problem, your body just needs to switch gears
Climbing stairs uses a lot of different muscles
Climbing stairs may not be an intensive sport, but you still use a lot of muscles. Your glutes, thighs and calves are put to work, just like your abdominal muscles. The steeper the stairs are, the harder your body will have to work. As we just said: your body needs extra oxygen for more intensive exercise. Climbing a steep staircase is quite a workout.
Gravity has a bigger effect than you think
Gravity always has an effect on us, but when climbing stairs it has a greater effect than you might expect. In your mind, climbing stairs is not much harder than walking, but gravity makes it a lot more intensive. After all, you have to work your way up. And while gravity actually pulls you down.
You don’t train for climbing stairs
You can train a lot of things at the gym, and you can also train for a lot of reasons. But getting better at climbing stairs isn’t exactly a common reason to exercise. If you want to get good at running, you have to do it often. The same applies to climbing stairs. So if you want to be less out of breath after climbing stairs, it is not a bad idea to use the stairmaster more often.
This is when something could be wrong
Getting out of breath after climbing stairs does not have to be a problem. But there are cases where it might be alarming. In these cases, it is still wise to visit a medical professional. This is, for example, when it takes you several minutes to catch your breath, when you get an uncomfortable feeling in your chest while climbing stairs, or when climbing stairs suddenly becomes a lot more difficult than normal.
