Climbing stairs how many calories

One MET is defined either as 1kcal per kg of bodyweight per hour and is approximately equivalent to the energy you spend sitting at rest or in a form of oxygen uptake, where 1 MET equals 3. Here are some usual activities and their MET numbers for reference 3 :. How many calories are burned in walking up a flight of stairs? On average, MET for climbing stairs is 4. This is a moderate number, yet it is twice higher than those of walking or standing. That means climbing stairs does help you burn some more calories, melt extra pounds, and tone up.

Want to know the exact number? Calculate below. The formula to calculate calories burned per flight of stairs is very simple:. First, you need to convert your weight into kilograms: 1 lb equals 0. So, if your weight is lbs, you simply have to do the following:. Now, you need the time spent during the activity. It is much more practical to use this number than the flight of stairs as the number of stairs in different flights may vary greatly.

On average, climbing a flight of 13 stairs takes about 8 seconds. So, you spend between 0. Burning more calories running rather than walking up the stairs should not come as a surprise. How many calories are burned walking down a flight of stairs? You burn 4 calories per minute walking downstairs, which is about the same as walking on flat ground. You burn just 1. So, as you can clearly see, the number of calories burned running a flight of stairs is significantly higher than through walking.

Check out the BetterMe app and set this plan in motion! The calories you burn are just one of the benefits of stair climbing. Lower LDL cholesterol is associated with decreased risks of heart attack, stroke, and even wrinkles 2. Climbing stairs increases the strength of your body. When climbing stairs, you must use your leg muscles to haul yourself up. Finally, insofar as stair climbing challenges your aerobic and anaerobic systems. Regular stair climbing can improve endurance and sprint performance of competitive athletes like runners, swimmers, and cyclers 6.

As you already know, one of the options is running instead of walking up. Here are some other tips to reap the full benefits of stair climbing 4 :. A light hand on the railing does not weaken your performance. Weight lbs How fast?

Walking Jogging Running For how long? Going by the MET values listed above a simple approximation for the caloric burn of an activity , walking up stairs burns somewhere around 1. Walk for 10 minutes or so at a moderate clip on the treadmill and take note of the calorie count, then spend 10 minutes on the stair stepper machine and compare the numbers.

Though calorie counts on cardio machines are known to be pretty inaccurate, you can still get an idea. The key thing to remember about weight loss is that the primary driver is your net energy, or calories in versus calories out CICO. There many be other factors, but overall if you eat in a calorie deficit on a consistent basis, you will lose weight.

Climbing stairs, whether in long stretches at the gym on a machine, or just taking the stairs every once in a while vs the elevator, can help you increase your overall energy burned throughout the day. You have to eat properly for that to happen, but exercise will definitely help you along. On the contrary, climbing stairs can actually help build the muscles around the knee that help stabilize it, as well as strengthening some of the ligaments and cartilage in the area.

Stairs are on of the recommended rehab activities for bad knees. Though you should consult your doctor if you have specific joint or knee issues, because too much stair climbing could exacerbate certain problems.

A nice slow clip is going to be much lower impact and far better at protecting and rebuilding your knee area. Stairs in tall office building or underground subway platforms, for example, can be quite long. But in most standard residential buildings, a flight of stairs will usually have 12 or 13 steps.

Hey Evan! Found you while searching for information about calories burned per stair. It has stairs. I weigh pounds currently. At least 1. According to the formula you use in this post, I burned Hmm… Are you sure? I plugged your numbers into the formula… lbs, Walking up stairs, and I only made the calculator go up to 60 minutes , and it gave me calories. Doing it for minutes or around 3 hours should be around calories.

This formula is incorrect. Keep a good posture! Try to relax your neck and keep it straight throughout the exercise. The same applies to the shoulders;. Don't overdo it at the beginning. Start with a warm-up, and gradually increase the pace accordingly to your capability. Setting up an appropriate training pace is the key to success;. If you have any preexisting medical conditions, consult your doctor before starting your stair workouts! This is especially important if:. Even when you know you're healthy, if you've never really exercised before it's a good idea to get a general checkup and assess such things as your lung capacity.

Embed Share via. Table of contents: How to calculate calories burned climbing stairs? What is MET, and why does it matter? What's the stairs calorie formula? Is a stairs workout a good idea?

How to prepare for a safe stairs workout? How to calculate calories burned climbing stairs? To do so, the calculator has to know two things: The type of activity performed. You will learn more about MET and its place in the calorie formula further in the article; and Your body weight. It divides sports into three categories: light-intensity activities MET below 3 ; moderate-intensity activities - MET from 3 to 6 ; and vigorous-intensity activities - MET above 6.

Let's take look at some of them: It's easier on your joints than many other physical activities for example, running is known to be hard on your knees and is not advisable in certain instances. Please note that this is especially true when going upstairs; descending stairs is a little harder on the knees, so if you're worried about having to go back down, you can try exercising on a stair climber machine at your local gym; Climbing up stairs is great cardio workout!

To name but a few, it improves blood circulation, and thus stabilizes blood pressure , effectively decreasing the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases ; It supports bone health , thus lowering the risk of developing osteoporosis; It's a great way to build leg muscle. Interestingly, scientific research suggests that strong leg muscles correlate with a healthy nervous system - all the more reason to exercise; It's very effective at burning body fat , making it an excellent weight loss exercise; and It's convenient.

Make sure the sole is not slippery and wear good quality socks to avoid blisters; Keep a good posture! The same applies to the shoulders; Don't overdo it at the beginning. Setting up an appropriate training pace is the key to success; If you have any preexisting medical conditions, consult your doctor before starting your stair workouts! This is especially important if: you have joint problems, especially knee or ankle pain, stiffness or swelling; feel short of breath during physical effort; have any chronic disease especially cardiovascular or respiratory ; tend to get dizzy or even faint; and have a history of smoking , as it may hinder your general physical capacity.

Stair climbing slow.