did you know that there are three exercises that can help you climb stairs like you're 20 years younger in this video I'm going to show you what those exercises are and why it's crucial for everyone over this age of 60 to start doing them today at the end of the video I'll show you a simple trick that has helped many of my patients reduce their knee and hip pain when going up or down the stairs now before I show you the exercises let's talk about a key reason why climbing stairs can become harder and harder
as we get older it's something called sarcopenia which is just a fancy term for the natural loss of muscle mass that everyone over the age of 30 faces but here's the deal there is substantial muscle loss after age 50 and this loss affects the strength in our legs our thighs hips and knees all crucial for climbing stairs easily but not all hope is lost research shows that we can reverse sarcopenia with one simple approach and that is Progressive strength training or PST for short think of it like this imagine your body as an old bicycle
if it's been sitting unused the chain gets Rusty the pedals become stiff and the tires deflated to get the bike running smoothly again you need to pump up the tires oil the chain and adjust the pedals that's exactly what PST does for your muscles with regular strength training you're essentially giving your body a tuneup making making it easier to go up the stairs and Hills just like you're riding a wellmaintained bike in my clinic I've seen many people in their 60s start climbing stairs as if they were in their 40s so now that you understand
why strengthening your muscles is so important let's jump into the three essential exercises that will help you conquer those stairs with ease so here are the only three exercise that you will need to improve stair climbing plus I'll show you why everything else doesn't really matter for exercise number one we are going to Target the two biggest muscles needed to go up or down a step that is your quads and your glutes these two muscles are responsible for helping us push up onto a step and lower down from a step and we can Target both
with just one exercise so for exercise number one let's start by sitting on a stable chair feet roughly shoulder width apart from here scoot forward so you're at the edge of the chair now move your feet slightly backwards behind your knees now two options if you feel safe hold your arms in front of you or option two you can use the armrest or the seat to push off do this if balance is a challenge for you and if you need support from here you're going to push up into a standing position by Contracting your quad
and your glute muscles together once you're at the top making sure that the chair is behind you reach back for the armrest rests if needed and then slowly lower yourself this is called the slow sit stand and the key here is to go up a little bit faster which builds power and speed but when you are coming down do it slowly this slow contraction is what builds muscle mass and strength fast I suggest all my clients to do 10 repetitions of this exercise two to three times in the day one repetition equals a full sit
stand sit now the biggest mistake I see people making is that they use momentum to propel themselves forward or push themselves forward however this does not work in strengthening the muscles sort of like cheating rather do the repetition slowly and mindfully this is way more effective at targeting those important muscles in getting up and down the step now that we've covered the two main muscles at the front and the back of our legs we still need to Target a crucial muscle on the sides for exercise number two we're going to look at an important hip
stabilizer muscle called gluteus medius this muscle is essential in keeping us upright and ensures that our pelvis and hips are stable ultimately it prevents us from falling for this exercise you will need a small step or a stepper roughly 4 in in height you can also do it on your stairs at the bottom step remember that a typical step is usually around 8 in in height I always suggest starting with a small step and then as your muscles get stronger you can increase the height to make it a bit harder so for exercise number two
we are doing a lateral step up again using support if needed start with planting one foot up on the stool pushing up through that leg and your bottom leg comes up to meet it from here step down sideways and then step back up making sure that the leg that's on top of the step is planted firmly and stable and that it is near the middle and not too close to the outside where you're going to roll off again press up and then let that leg come back down the goal is about 10 to 20 of
these on each side without severe pain and with fairly minimal difficulty a common mistake I see is people leaning over one way or the other losing your balance so please use support if that's where you need to start and then as you get stronger this will get easier and then you can start to use less and less support to challenge your muscles and your balance system a bit more now once you're able to Master 10 to 20 repetitions on each side move up to a higher step which may even be just a regular step now
that we've strengthened the three key muscles needed to go up the stairs the quads the glutes and the side glutes I'll show you one exercise that improves your ability to go down the stairs without pain now exercise number three comes from a groundbreaking 2022 study that uncovered a highly effective method for boosting muscle mass and performance in people over age 65 what makes this exercise special is that it's very simple to do and remarkably effective at countering age related muscle loss the exercise is called Step Down with weight I'll demonstrate using a step tool but
you can use the bottom step in your home here's how it works start with both feet on on the step facing down your staircase or your step with or without the support of a handrail slowly step down lowering one foot to the floor then gradually reverse the movement by bringing your foot back up to the step let me show you that again Standing Tall shift your body weight forward step down with one foot and slowly step back up aim for 10 to 20 repetitions on each leg [Music] and now here's what the 2022 study found
adding weight like a 10 to 15 lb dumbbell or wearing a weighted vest takes this exercise to a whole new level because it utilizes a principle known as Ecentric strengthening this means that your muscles are lengthening while being contracted which in the world of exercise science is one of the most effective ways to build muscle mass quickly as you perform this exercise focus on engaging those key muscles of your glutes quads and side glutes making sure that when you step down you are not letting your knee drop inwards keep your knee aligned with your foot
or even with your pinky toe to avoid strain an injury in your knees again aim for 10 to 20 repetitions on each side now this is easily the most relevant exercise for stair climbing because it pretty much replicates it but it's a fantastic way to build the right muscles fast now that you've mastered these three essential exercises for building muscle I've got one final secret to share a trick that has helped hundreds of my patients conquer stairs painfree even after a leg surgery now many of my patients especially after leg or back surgery struggle with
stairs due to two common mistakes number one they pull themselves up with the railing and number two they push their body weight straight up but here's why these methods are problematic when you pull yourself up or push straight up your body weight is actually behind the step that you're trying to climb making it way harder to go up the step and this also increases your risk of falling Instead try this when you step up lean slightly forward through your hips or back this positions your weight over your toes and the step helping your body naturally
tip forward this makes climbing easier and much much safer this also uses gravity to assist your muscles making stair climbing efficient and painfree give it a try and you'll see the difference and once you've tried it tell your friends they're going to love you now that you know how to improve your stair climbing it's important to address other common Mobility challenges for those over 50 be sure to subscribe to this channel for upcoming videos where I'll show you different walking techniques balance exercises leg strength exercises and more tips to keep you moving with ease as
you age thanks for watching stay strong keep moving and as always stay healthy
