Climbing stairs for a healthy heart

40 stairs per week strengthen heart health

22/01/2013

At the beginning of the new year, many people are making a commitment to move more, because movement is very important, especially for a healthy heart. But to do something for your health, you do not need physical strength - instead you can „Even small, moderate movements can have very positive effects on the heart's health, "says Professor Ingo Froböse of the German Sport University Cologne.

Through physical activity, the heart is stimulated and must bring more power - which happens more and more self-evident, as soon as would be trained regularly. The result: "The heart rate decreases, the heart becomes stronger."

Regularity and moderate activity important
The regularity of the training was therefore particularly important to the sports scientist in order to optimally strengthen heart health. In addition to the most moderate activity with a combination of endurance and strength should be respected - here, according to Professor Froböse would be particularly suitable for Nordic walking, swimming or cycling.

Climbing stairs strengthens the heart and trains the muscles
But next to this healthy „classics“ According to the expert, after a very different form of exercise, this proved to be the ideal option for moderate endurance training: climbing stairs - because „This movement exceeds the daily burden of the cardiovascular system and promotes this. At the same time, it excellently trains the muscles“, so happy.

And not only climbing up the stairs is a useful training, but also the way down would not be without effect: „The burden on the body when going up or down stairs is not fundamentally different. While the ascent predominantly works the muscles, especially the thigh and buttock muscles, there is an additional stretch on the descent. The lower leg muscles are also intensively involved“, Froböse explains.

40 floors per week for effective training
To optimally strengthen the heart and circulation and keep it healthy, the sports scientist recommends climbing 40 floors of stairs a week, that is, about six floors per day, „a stint that is particularly suitable for older people, because it can be implemented well in everyday life. "Therefore, the tip of the professor:" Use basically stairs instead of lift, then the 40 floors are reached quickly. "(sb)

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Picture: birgitH