Stair training is an excellent exercise if you need to prepare for the UTMB® on flat terrain, far from hilly or mountainous regions. It will deliver real quadriceps strengthening and a highly effective cardiovascular workout.
The benefits of stair training
This is clearly one of the exercises that effectively strengthens the muscles of the lower limbs (particularly the calves and quadriceps). It also enables intense cardiovascular effort over relatively short periods. Moreover, this type of work trains your foot and its contact points, engaging all the stabilising muscles. This kind of training should be done no more than once a week and complemented by a light jog finishing on a dynamic note.
What exercises work for stair training?
There are 4 main types of exercise you can do on stairs as part of your UTMB® preparation:
- Frequency work with a single contact per step, keeping ground contact time as short as possible on the forefoot.
- Wide-range movement work with a push-off every two steps, using the arms in a pendulum motion.
- Single-leg hopping work, climbing the steps on the right foot then doing another set on the left foot. This exercise strengthens the calves and improves balance.
- Feet-together ascent work step by step, developing the foot's rebound qualities. This exercise can also be done in intervals of 2 steps to build power and work the quadriceps.
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