# Stair climbing?



## respro (Jun 21, 2012)

Is stair climbing a good workout for cycling to improve leg strength? I'm not talking about taking the stairs instead of the elevator, start at floor one and go full bore all the way up. I can't ride as much as I want to right now so looking for some ways to improve my strength and endurance. 
Thanks


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

If you can't ride, then its pretty good x-training. It won't be nearly as effective at making you a good bike rider as riding your bike would.


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## Kristatos (Jan 10, 2008)

I used to run stairs and I think it's a great workout if you combine it with a run, or if you find a tall bldg and 'lap it' a bunch of times. Running up 10+ floors of stairs and then taking the lift down can be a great workout if you do several sets. Running back down stairs can be tough on the joints.


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## The Human G-Nome (Aug 26, 2002)

I used to run the stairs at my office building 2 or 3 times a day, 10 floors per. I always imagined this as good cross-training, but it's pretty hard to measure whether this actually improves your performance on the bike or simply diminishes your next workout some.

That said, I have found that running has been a big help to my cycling, and vice-versa. As a roadie, I always scoffed a little bit at the tri crowd, but 10 years later, now I think there's something to it.


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## Duane Gran (Feb 3, 2004)

The principal of specificity says that if you want to improve something there is no better way than to do that particular something. I wouldn't do stair climbs, running or weight room workouts if I could ride and my primary goal was to ride better. On the other hand, if you are travelling out of town for days it makes for a pretty good alternative workout when away from the bike.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

I'm not sure about leg _strength_, at least, not that will specifically apply to cycling. 

But the stairmaster is a great way to work cardio and hit your max heart rate.


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## The Human G-Nome (Aug 26, 2002)

Duane Gran said:


> The principal of specificity says that if you want to improve something there is no better way than to do that particular something. I wouldn't do stair climbs, running or weight room workouts if I could ride and my primary goal was to ride better. On the other hand, if you are travelling out of town for days it makes for a pretty good alternative workout when away from the bike.


Although there is no question that that's true, there's also something to the idea that cross training can negate some of the effects of overuse injury, and no doubt, may also provide a mental break from cycling burnout as well. One need only to look at the start lists from 1 year and then compare them to the start lists from 4 years later to see the tremendous rider turnover at work and the transient nature of our sport. 

Bike racing tends to cater to the obsessive among us, and entertaining ways to counterbalance that obsessiveness a little bit helps some people. This doesn't speak to stairs, specifically, but running, swimming, yoga, cross, etc. is a great way to negate some of the effects of that burnout.


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## PowerGoat (Jul 2, 2012)

I think it's a great alternative and, for triathletes, is a great once per week training tool. It's waaaaay better than not getting in a ride, and in some cases, I think it can be better, like when you plateau or are tired of riding or on an easy day.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

GF got me a Precor stair climber and it is the best cross training for cycling. I love it.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

Pedaling is mainly smooth and continuous and for that reason many trainers recommend supplementing with some plyometric exercises. Forcefully running stairs is one such exercise.


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## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/general-cycling-discussion/tower-running-284466.html

You can google Tower Running to learn more.


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## Whale_520 (Aug 16, 2012)

respro said:


> Is stair climbing a good workout for cycling to improve leg strength? I'm not talking about taking the stairs instead of the elevator, start at floor one and go full bore all the way up. I can't ride as much as I want to right now so looking for some ways to improve my strength and endurance.
> Thanks


I think it's a great tool. Use it as a way to build supportive muscle structure. Don't just run stairs. As looigi said run them forcefully. Concentrate on making sure your feet land about pedal distance apart and on the ball of your foot where your pedal is. Keep your back straight, drive your knee in line with your leg, finally don't fully extend (or hyper-extend) your knee. Transition to the next stair about where fully extended in your pedal stroke is. 

If you just run stairs for speed then you're increasing your TSS and taking time away from the bike. If you do them right you're building supportive muscle that will allow you to increase power and stability in really hard efforts increasing your effectiveness on the bike. 

Hope that gives you some ideas. :thumbsup:


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## radiocraig (Jan 26, 2011)

i tried riding by bike up the stairs at work but everyone keeps yelling at me


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