Much has been said about the routine of 10,000 steps daily to prevent cardiovascular diseases. Almost everyone already has a watch or an application on their mobile phone that counts them. There are even those that give us rewards for walking. But what if 50 steps were enough to greatly improve heart health? It’s the conclusion of a new study, but don’t console yourself by thinking that the journey from the kitchen to the couch is enough. Those 50 steps must be climbing, since the new research is about the benefits of climbing stairs.
Obviously that does not mean that walking 10,000 steps on the flat is bad or that it is useless. Is another option. But it is true that there are people who do not have time to walk as much or spend the necessary hours in the gym. Given this, there is something very important that we must take into account and that is that any time is better than none. But, in case we have to resort to short workouts, it doesn’t hurt to adjust the routine with methods like the one pointed out by these scientists from the Peking University.
In their study, they conclude that climbing the stairs equivalent to 5 sections (about 50 steps), reduces the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in 20%. But how did they come to that conclusion?
Climbing stairs, the quick alternative to 10,000 steps
To carry out this studyits authors analyzed the data of 458,860 UK Biobank adult participants.
Tracked 12 and a half years of all these people, taking into account their lifestyle, their sociodemographic factors and also if they used to climb stairs. Furthermore, if yes for the latter, it was also verified how many sections they used to climb.
Interestingly, heart health results began to show up above five flights of stairs, regardless of susceptibility to the disease. This is good news, since anyone could experience the benefits of climbing stairs.
Logically, the results were better for those who were not prone to cardiovascular diseases, but the rest also benefited.
Why is it so beneficial?
According to statements to Medical Daily from one of the authors of the study, Dr. Lu Qiclimbing stairs is a routine composed of short bursts of high intensity exercise. As a consequence, cardiorespiratory attitude is improved. Furthermore, it has been seen that it improves lipidic profileboth being essential factors to prevent cardiovascular diseases.
This short burst has already proven to be beneficial for the heart in other sports. But in the case of climbing stairs it is double positive, because it does not require any type of material or technique. If we live in a block of flats, we just have to leave the elevator aside. And, if not, surely it is not difficult for anyone to find stairs to practice on. Of course, if we have never exercised, it might be necessary to start little by little, before doing the full 5 flights of stairs.
All this, together with the fact that hardly any time is needed, entails lots of benefits to take care of our heart, without having to count the steps. Everyone can adapt to their circumstances, the key is not to stop. Or, at least, not always standing still.