Q: I want to participate in the 2011 Regina Stair Climb for Shelter, but I have never done anything like this before, can I still enter?
A: Great Question! Sure you can still enter! When you register, just select Tier 1. Tier 1 is all the participants who have never competed in a stair climb event before.
This way you will race with or climb with people who are at the same level as you are. When your in Tier 1 you do not have to "race" you can choose how you get up the stairs. You can walk to the top if you prefer. No athletic ability is necessary to compete in Tier 1. So do not be afraid to enter!
If you would like to start training for this great event, you can join our Regina Stair Climbers Meet-up group. We meet three times a week at the Delta Hotel starting January 9th. Hope to see you there!
Richard Burgunder
Athlete Support
1-877-51-CLIMB
www.stairclimbcanada.com
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
All Work and No Play!
David Writes in with a great question!
Q:) I work a desk job 4 days a week and cannot get into a good training program on those days. Would getting a seated stepper be benificial at all in helping me train if I used it most days while at work when I could not get to actual stairs?
Hi David!
Thanks for the great question. I would actually not recommend using a machine that supports your bodyweight to train for stair climbing. WHY?
First the fact you are seated actual will hinder you when you are racing up the stairs. Stair Climbing or Racing uses maximum muscle contractions through your hips, glutes (Butt muscle) core and upper body if you use the railings.
If you train four days a week seated all of these muscle will not get stimulated properly and when you go to race the muscles will not respond well.
In addition you cannot get the intensity up to where you want it to be.
There are a number of ways you can get the training in so that you will become a more explosive, faster stair climber.
If you say that you have four days that you are at a desk job, then that leaves three actually really good productive workout days.
Lets say your productive workout days are on Sunday, Thursday and Saturday just for example.
Sunday you should be at a set of stairs (even if they are not a lot of stair) You should be doing a combination of endurance, speed work and technical training on this day for about 1 hour. Make sure to stretch afterwards
Thursday is Gym work. At the gym focus on exercises that contract the most amount of muscle in your body. Full body exercises are the key. For additional exercises please become a member and check out the useful exercises for stairclimbers
Here is a freebie exercise to get you started!
On Saturday you have two options, depending on what your goals are: It is either a long duration cardiovascular workout on a stepper of some sort of exercise machine that works the whole body or its back to the stairs.
After the third session you would just rotate the workouts:
Sunday - Gym workout
Thursday - Stair Workout
Saturday - Gym workout
Sunday - Stair Workout
Thursday - Gym workout
Saturday - Cardio workout
etc...
I hope this has helped you understand a little bit more about training and becoming a faster stair climber!
Have a fit and healthy day!
Trevor Folgering
Founder
The Canada StairClimbing Association
1-877-51-CLIMB
Q:) I work a desk job 4 days a week and cannot get into a good training program on those days. Would getting a seated stepper be benificial at all in helping me train if I used it most days while at work when I could not get to actual stairs?
Hi David!
Thanks for the great question. I would actually not recommend using a machine that supports your bodyweight to train for stair climbing. WHY?
First the fact you are seated actual will hinder you when you are racing up the stairs. Stair Climbing or Racing uses maximum muscle contractions through your hips, glutes (Butt muscle) core and upper body if you use the railings.
If you train four days a week seated all of these muscle will not get stimulated properly and when you go to race the muscles will not respond well.
In addition you cannot get the intensity up to where you want it to be.
There are a number of ways you can get the training in so that you will become a more explosive, faster stair climber.
If you say that you have four days that you are at a desk job, then that leaves three actually really good productive workout days.
Lets say your productive workout days are on Sunday, Thursday and Saturday just for example.
Sunday you should be at a set of stairs (even if they are not a lot of stair) You should be doing a combination of endurance, speed work and technical training on this day for about 1 hour. Make sure to stretch afterwards
Thursday is Gym work. At the gym focus on exercises that contract the most amount of muscle in your body. Full body exercises are the key. For additional exercises please become a member and check out the useful exercises for stairclimbers
Here is a freebie exercise to get you started!
On Saturday you have two options, depending on what your goals are: It is either a long duration cardiovascular workout on a stepper of some sort of exercise machine that works the whole body or its back to the stairs.
After the third session you would just rotate the workouts:
Sunday - Gym workout
Thursday - Stair Workout
Saturday - Gym workout
Sunday - Stair Workout
Thursday - Gym workout
Saturday - Cardio workout
etc...
I hope this has helped you understand a little bit more about training and becoming a faster stair climber!
Have a fit and healthy day!
Trevor Folgering
Founder
The Canada StairClimbing Association
1-877-51-CLIMB
Thursday, December 2, 2010
I Quit Smoking..Now What?
I received this great message from Glen, who is now a non-smoker and wanting to get in great shape!
Q:) Hi! I am so excited! I just kicked a twenty six year smoking habit! I finally found the strength to get rid of this filthy habit and am now ready to embrace a healthy lifestyle. My question to athlete support is, now that I have quit smoking, where do I begin? I am interested in trying your event but am not sure If I will be ready in time. Can you give me some helpful information that will get me on my way?
Signed - Non-Smoking Glen
A:) Well a big congratulations to you Glen! Being smoke free is amazing and you should be very proud!
In terms of exercise the first thing you should do is just quickly get a physical from the doctor to make sure you are good to exercise. You should be fine, but this will tell you if there was any side effects from smoking. Again I am sure you are fine, but for precautionary reasons it is good to have this done.
Once the doctor has given you the green light it is best to start of slow. Try not to do too much at one time. The reason being is that your body is trying to detoxify from your smoking habit. This will cause stress on the body and trying to really exercise hard 5-6 times per week will only cause undue stress on the body.
My advice is to do a mild cleanse. I would buy a mild seven day cleanse from any health food store and do a mild cleanse for seven days. This will help clean out any toxins that the cigerettes have left behind. Think of it as a long overdue oil change on your car.
You can start to exercise lightly when you are cleansing so no more then 30 minutes of treadmill work never pushing to the point of fatigue.
Once you have done the cleanse you are ready for action!
Here is what I would recommend. Start off with a three day a week exercise routine.
Day 1 (Monday) - 30 mins of weights/30 minutes of cardio
Day 2 (Wednesday) - Stair Climbing workout
Day 3 (Friday) 30 minutes of weights/30 minutes of cardio
This should be followed for a month to six weeks. Then you should change the routine to a more progressive program either with more days added or more volume in the workouts themselves.
Nutrition is another key factor! For this I will ask you to read some of our fitness freebies found on our website.
Please also check our blog for nutritional tips an hints, here is one you might like it covers the Canada Food Guide and its good points and bad
I hope this has been helpful! By the way you should have plenty of time to get ready for our stair climb event! You will be placed in Tier 1 which is for beginners! I am sure you will do very well!
Here is the event information
Athlete Support
athletesupport@stairclimbcanada.com
1-877-51-CLIMB
Q:) Hi! I am so excited! I just kicked a twenty six year smoking habit! I finally found the strength to get rid of this filthy habit and am now ready to embrace a healthy lifestyle. My question to athlete support is, now that I have quit smoking, where do I begin? I am interested in trying your event but am not sure If I will be ready in time. Can you give me some helpful information that will get me on my way?
Signed - Non-Smoking Glen
A:) Well a big congratulations to you Glen! Being smoke free is amazing and you should be very proud!
In terms of exercise the first thing you should do is just quickly get a physical from the doctor to make sure you are good to exercise. You should be fine, but this will tell you if there was any side effects from smoking. Again I am sure you are fine, but for precautionary reasons it is good to have this done.
Once the doctor has given you the green light it is best to start of slow. Try not to do too much at one time. The reason being is that your body is trying to detoxify from your smoking habit. This will cause stress on the body and trying to really exercise hard 5-6 times per week will only cause undue stress on the body.
My advice is to do a mild cleanse. I would buy a mild seven day cleanse from any health food store and do a mild cleanse for seven days. This will help clean out any toxins that the cigerettes have left behind. Think of it as a long overdue oil change on your car.
You can start to exercise lightly when you are cleansing so no more then 30 minutes of treadmill work never pushing to the point of fatigue.
Once you have done the cleanse you are ready for action!
Here is what I would recommend. Start off with a three day a week exercise routine.
Day 1 (Monday) - 30 mins of weights/30 minutes of cardio
Day 2 (Wednesday) - Stair Climbing workout
Day 3 (Friday) 30 minutes of weights/30 minutes of cardio
This should be followed for a month to six weeks. Then you should change the routine to a more progressive program either with more days added or more volume in the workouts themselves.
Nutrition is another key factor! For this I will ask you to read some of our fitness freebies found on our website.
Please also check our blog for nutritional tips an hints, here is one you might like it covers the Canada Food Guide and its good points and bad
I hope this has been helpful! By the way you should have plenty of time to get ready for our stair climb event! You will be placed in Tier 1 which is for beginners! I am sure you will do very well!
Here is the event information
Athlete Support
athletesupport@stairclimbcanada.com
1-877-51-CLIMB
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