What To Do When There Are No Stairs

Just received this question from Heather, who just got hooked on this great sport!

Q)I am an "older adult" who recently on a trip back to my hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, decided I would try to climb those steps in the River Valley next to the Royal Glenora Club. I managed 5 1/2 reps of 185 steps and was HOOKED.
UNFORTUNATELY, I live in a small city in Ontario, which is not only flat but is lacking in any sort of public outdoor stairs and public buildings of significant height that give access to stair climbing.
At least, that is my impression! Do you have ANY contacts or resource information about stair climbing in my city?

A:) Such a great question! Thanks Heather! The sport of stairclimbing is such a fantastic activity that it is hard NOT to get hooked! Congratulations!

Having no access to outdoor stairs or tall building could be a problem. However there are solutions. First and foremost you do not have to climb stairs to be great at stair climbing. You can train in a gym to become an excellent stair climber. Check out this blog to get a sense of what it takes...

http://stairclimbcanada.blogspot.com/2010/10/training-for-stair-climbing-racewithout.html

The other option is to find a building that has a shorter staircase and work on the different aspects of stairclimbing

For example:

1)You can do squats in between landings to better develop your overall endurance
2)You can work on stairclimbing techniques (See blog for additional information)
3)You can do multiple climbs up and down and perform squats at the bottom and the top.

The best thing about stairclimbing is that you can be creative in how you approach your workouts. You are only limited by your own imagination, so go crazy!

I hope this helped! Good luck on your stairclimbing adventures! Drop us an email to let us know how you are doing!

Athlete Support
athletesupport@stairclimbcanada.com
1-877-51-CLIMB

Question From Anthony

Here is a great question from one of our members, Anthony Sebrowski,

He writes:

Q) I am wondering how the Tier system works. I am a little confused to how I go about registering myself in a Tier. How do I know which Tier I am in? I have done a half marathon and finished the race in one hour and 45 minutes, my fastest 5 km is 19:50, and I have done one stair race, which I finished in 13 minutes. Can you point me in the right direction??

A) Great question Anthony! You are very fit indeed. Our Tier system is divided into four "levels" if you will. Each level has different requirements that you must fulfill. Here is a breakdown of our Tier system:

Tier 1 - Beginner stair climber. Someone who has NEVER competed in a stair climb event or any type of endurance sport. This is of course not you Anthony.

Tier 2 - Intermediate Stair climber. This is someone who has finished any type of endurance event or placed Top three in Tier #1. This is not you Anthony.

Tier 3 - Advanced Stair Climber - Any participant that has completed any stair race in the world and has finished top 10 in their respective age category. Or anyone from Tier 2 that finishes TOP 3. This would be where you fit in Anthony, Tier #3

Tier 4 - The Elite Athletes - Our Pros! The best of the best race at this level. Come out and see some amazing stair climbers push their bodies to the limits and burn some rubber on the stairs! - To qualify to enter the Elite category you must finish TOP THREE in the advanced category.

Of course you if you compete with us and finish in the top three of your category you are automatically qualified to represent Canada on "Team Canada" Very exciting stuff!

I hope that clarifies what Tier you should register in! I look forward to seeing you at our events soon!!! Thanks for the great question!

Athlete Support
1-877-51-CLIMB
athletesupport@stairclimbcanada.com

Welcome to Athlete Support!

Hi!

I want to welcome you to this blog! Please bookmark and follow this blog. It has pertinent information that will aid you in competing in our stair climb events as well as information on how to train for stair climbing.

If you have any questions regarding the sport of stairclimbing, races or THE CANADA STAIRCLIMBING ASSOCIATION you can email us at

athletesupport@stairclimbcanada.com

We look forward to hearing from you!

Athlete Support Rep
1-877-51-CLIMB