Experimentation will help you decide what works best for you. In my own anaerobic workouts I usually climb 6 to 12 flights at full speed and then rest for 2 to 3 minutes. During my rest period I usually continue to walk up a few flights. I find this allows me to recover faster. Experiment to find what works best for you. I usually perform anywhere from 4 to 10 sets.
As your conditioning improves you have many options to challenge you further.
-You can climb more flights
-Reduce your rest intervals
-Increase your sets (rounds)
-Use a weighted vest
An anaerobic workout can look something like this:Note: in this workout I had access to 20 flights
Round 1:
warm-up:
walk up 20 flights at slow pace (4 to 5 minutes) Take elevator or walk down
Round 2:
warm-up: Run up 10 flights
(every other step and go half speed), (1 minute)
Rest 2 minutes
Round 3:
Run up 10 flights
(full speed and every other step), (30 to 45 seconds)
Rest 2 to 3 minutes
Round 4:
Repeat Round 3
Round 5:
Repeat Round 4
To start this may be enough for most people. As one's conditioning improves you can add rounds, add flights or reduce intervals to continue improving or use a weighted vest.
Another great anaerobic conditioning tool is an all out sprint to the 20th floor (that's if you have 20 flights of course). By the 18th floor your legs can barely move. You'll be forced to walk but your body will still be in an anaerobic zone. When I'm pressed for time I use this as a workout. Just do 1 or 2 warm-up rounds of 20 flights and then use the third round as the sprint to the 20th floor.
Another fun way to do anaerobic training with groups (especially athletes) is to race up flights of stairs. One person uses one stairwell and the other the opposite. An all out race to the top will challenge even the best conditioned athletes. With the high school student/athletes I've worked with we had access to 12 flights and racing up those stairs proved to be one of the best ways to condition them. They didn't see it as a workout but just a race. So just calling it a race really motivated them. Remember to try and pair people of equal ability.
There are many ways to do Anaerobic conditioning in stair cases. Just remember to be safe and what you're trying to address. Anaerobic work should have you breathless. To get an idea of how you should feel, run a ¼ mile track at full speed and you'll see what I mean.
I think the main reason I like anaerobic conditioning so much is because it gives you more bang for your buck. I find that conditioning is a limiting factor in many athletes. Many complain that they just don't have the strength late in games. I think they have the strength it's just their lack of conditioning doesn't allow them to use it. I find myself outlasting many high school students in basketball games and I think one big reason is my conditioning. The only thing I usually have over the student/athletes is strength. They are usually quicker, more powerful, and more skilled. But my teams usually prevail in games because I don't tire easily. It also helps that I've been playing for over 20 years but I certainly notice the difference of how I feel (great) and how they look late in games (gasping for air and bent over)
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This is an excerpt from the 16 page stair climbing program by Virgil which features lower body strength, power, and flexibility programs and ideas.
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