Skipping the elevator and taking the stairs can also be a difficult and physically challenging decision. It can happen to all of us that we get out of breath, even if we exercise a lot.
Fortunately, this does not necessarily mean that we should exercise more or that we have health problems. We sometimes feel that we’re really out of shape when we run out of breath after climbing the stairs.
But it’s probably nothing to worry about! Consider contacting a doctor if you experience any of the symptoms mentioned in the first point.
5. You Might Have Health Issues
There are a few things to keep in mind if you are out of breath after climbing a flight of stairs. It may not be anything to worry about.
But if you also experience pain in your chest, swollen feet or ankles, or start coughing, you should call your doctor, as these can be signs that you have health problems.
4. You Aren’t Warmed Up
Before starting our training, we usually warm up. This is important because it helps warm up the muscles, gradually increases blood flow and oxygen, and decreases the risk of injury.
And when you start climbing the stairs, you quickly stop resting and become much more physically active, without warming up first.
This is why your body will need to work harder so that more oxygen is delivered to your muscles in a very short period of time and your heart rate increases.
Therefore, it is natural for you to feel out of breath afterward.
3. It’s Not Like Regular Cardio
Climbing stairs uses a different energy system than the cardiovascular exercises we usually do. It’s called the phosphagen energy system.
It is used when the muscles need a lot of energy during short but intense activities. There are certain molecules that are necessary for this system to work, but there are not many.
Therefore, it is normal to run out of breath faster after a very short session of vigorous activity than after a longer, more stable cardio session.
2. Your Muscles Get Fatigued Faster
You have 2 types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch and fast-twitch. If you’re an experienced runner, you can handle long-distance runs, thanks to the slow-twitch fibers, which tire less easily but don’t have much power and strength.
When you go upstairs, you need fast-twitch muscles for these quick explosive movements, but they tire faster.
1. Someone Who Doesn’t Work Out A Lot Might Not Be Out Of Breath As Fast As Someone Who Does
If you trained your endurance by running, you are using slow-twitch fibers more and they depend on aerobic metabolism. However, when you go upstairs, these little bursts of activity require anaerobic metabolism.
This produces carbon dioxide and hydrogen, to which endurance athletes are more sensitive than other people.
This is why it may be easier for someone who doesn’t exercise much to climb stairs than for someone who does resistance training.
How You Can Make Stair Climbing Easier
Just try using the stairs more often. Since we don’t do that much, it is understandable that our body is not used to doing this type of physical activity, and it can be more difficult than we expect.
So if we do this more often, we will train ourselves to be able to do just that.
You can also try exercises like sprints, jumps, or other explosive movements that require sudden bursts of energy, such as when you’re climbing stairs.
Another thing you can do is train your glutes and legs by doing squats and lunges.
Do you use the stairs instead of the elevator? Are you out of breath? What kinds of exercises do you do and how often do you do them?
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