Skip to content

Top Navigation

Real Simple Logo Real Simple Logo
  • Food
  • Home
  • Life
  • Health
  • Money
  • Style and Beauty
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • News
  • Shop

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • My Account
  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Free Organizing App this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Real Simple

Real Simple Logo Real Simple Logo
  • Explore

    Explore

    • 7 Best Places to Buy Vegetable Seeds Online

      Because there's never been a better time to start a vegetable garden. Read More Next
    • 7 Must-Read Books by Black Authors

      Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and prepare to dive into a new title. Read More Next
    • A Guide for How to Measure Your Ring Size at Home

      There are three common ways you can measure your ring size right at home so you can finally get your ring measurement right, for good. Read More Next
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food

    9 Cheeses You Can Eat Even If You're Lactose Intolerant

    Not all dairy is created equal. 
    • Recipes
    • Real Simple Cooking School
    • Cooking Tips & Techniques
    • Shopping and Storing
    • Kitchen Tools and Products
  • Home

    Home

    See All Home

    Easy Homemade Carpet Cleaners to Tackle Every Stain

    Made with products you probably have on hand
    • Organizing
    • Cleaning
    • Decorating
    • Gardening
    • Home Improvement
    • Quick Fix
    • Real Simple Home
  • Life

    Life

    See All Life

    10 Captivating Podcasts for the True Crime-Obsessed

    If you’re hungry for stories of true crime, download any of these podcasts to get your mystery fix on the move.
    • Family
    • Entertainment
    • Technology
    • Wedding Planning
    • Travel Ideas
    • Adulting
    • Get It Done
    • Waste Less, Live Better
  • Health

    Health

    See All Health

    30 Healthiest Foods to Eat Every Day

    • Preventive Health
    • Mental Health
    • Health Coach
    • Crisis Coping
    • Fitness & Exercise
    • Sleep
    • Healthy Eating
  • Money

    Money

    See All Money

    11 Small Ways You Can Help Stimulate the Economy

    Your dollars may be worth more than you realize.
    • Money Confidential Podcast
    • Saving Money
    • Money Made Simple
    • Spending
    • Money Etiquette
  • Style and Beauty

    Style and Beauty

    See All Style and Beauty
    • Clothing
    • Skincare
    • Shoes
    • Hair
    • Clothing Care
    • Makeup
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining

    PowerPoint Parties Are the Socially Distant Party Trend You Have to Try: Here’s How to Host One

    Presenting a new way to party together—virtually.
    • All Holidays
    • Easter
    • Gifts
    • Mother’s Day
    • Passover
    • Entertaining
    • Father’s Day
    • Home for the Holidays
    • Come Together
    • Hanukkah
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • Valentine’s Day
  • News
  • Shop

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • My Account
  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Free Organizing App this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

  1. Real Simple
  2. Health
  3. Fitness & Exercise
  4. You Can Do This Stairs Workout in 15 Minutes—at Home

You Can Do This Stairs Workout in 15 Minutes—at Home

By Real Simple Editors
Updated March 27, 2020
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Credit: Fuse/Getty Images
When it comes to easy at-home workouts, some exercises aren’t as easy as you’d think—or as simple. Plenty of at-home workouts actually require equipment you may not have at home, which means you may not be able to do all the exercises you were hoping to do while stuck inside social distancing or under quarantine. (Of course, some people prefer working out at home even when gyms and workout studios are open.)

Fortunately, there are plenty of easy alternatives to equipment-heavy at-home workouts. You could always try a plank workout or master the squat—both exercises will help keep you fit, get your heart pumping, and aid stress management. But if you have a set of stairs in your home (or building, or nearby) you can also try a stairs workout. Stair exercises include cardio and strengthening moves, giving your whole body a workout, and (maybe best of all) they can be done in just a few minutes.

If you’re looking for a way to exercise at home, try a stairs workout: This one takes just 15 minutes and will exercise your whole body. Read on for five stair exercises, diagrams, how-tos, and more for your quick, tough at-home stairs workout.
Start Slideshow

1 of 6

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Step by Step

Credit: JGI/Jamie Grill/Getty Images

Want to take your fitness level to new heights? Scale a flight of stairs. You’ll crank up your heart rate, burn fat, and engage your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and core more intensely than you would treading on flat ground. Michelle Lovitt, a Los Angeles–based exercise physiologist and personal trainer, routinely sends her clients huffing and puffing up and down all 189 steps of the infamously steep Santa Monica stairs. But here, she has created a plan that’s ideal for those just learning how to start working out. All you need is a staircase with about 15 steps, indoors or out. (Rocky sound track optional.) For best results, pair with stretching exercises after to keep your muscles loose and ready for the next workout.

1 of 6

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 6

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Varied Pacing

Credit: Jason Lee

To get blood flowing in your legs, climb the stairs slowly, keeping your shoulders back and looking straight ahead, then walk down. Repeat three more times. Next, run up the stairs, then walk down. On the descent, put most of your weight on your heels so that your glutes (rather than your knees) absorb the impact. Repeat three more times.

2 of 6

3 of 6

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Step-Up to Reverse Lunge

Credit: Jason Lee

Face the stairs with your left foot on the second step and your right leg behind you on the floor.

(A) Lift your right knee to your chest, then quickly step back to the starting position.

(B) Step down to the floor with your left leg, positioning it behind your right, then do a lunge (with your right knee directly over your ankle). Quickly step back up, left knee to chest, and return to the starting position. Do 12 reps, then do 12 more on the other side.

3 of 6

Advertisement

4 of 6

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Triceps Stair Dip

Credit: Jason Lee

(A) Sit on the edge of the second or third step with your arms at your sides. Pressing down on your palms, lift your buttocks a bit off the step. Extend your legs, resting your heels on the floor. (If you have back issues, keep your feet flat on the floor and bend your legs at 90 degrees.)

(B) Slowly lower your rear by bending your arms at 90 degrees. Press back up to the starting position. This is one rep; do 10. Now run up the stairs, then walk down. Do 10 more dips.

4 of 6

5 of 6

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Skater Steps

Credit: Jason Lee

Stand on the floor facing the stairs.

(A) Place your left foot on the far-left end of the second step.

(B) Follow with your right leg, bringing it to the far-right end of the fourth step. Continue climbing, taking the stairs two at a time with wide steps while keeping your head up. To boost the calorie burn, swing your arms and engage your abdominals as you go. After reaching the top, walk back down. That’s one rep. Do one more.

5 of 6

6 of 6

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Mountain Climber

Credit: Jason Lee

(A) Facing the stairs, place your hands on the second step with your arms pressed into your sides, legs extended behind you, and core engaged (essentially in a push-up position).

(B) Bring your left knee to your left shoulder, then return your foot to the floor. Alternate legs, bringing your right knee to your right shoulder, then returning your foot to the floor. That’s one rep. Do 12 without pausing. (You’ll feel as if you’re running in place.)

6 of 6

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

By Real Simple Editors

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook
Trending Videos
Advertisement
Skip slide summaries

Everything in This Slideshow

Advertisement

View All

1 of 6 Step by Step
2 of 6 Varied Pacing
3 of 6 Step-Up to Reverse Lunge
4 of 6 Triceps Stair Dip
5 of 6 Skater Steps
6 of 6 Mountain Climber

Share options

Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Login

Shop | Real Simple Logo

  • Activity Trackers
  • Sports Bras
  • Workout Leggings
  • Home Gym Equipment
  • Athletic Shoes
  • Gym Bags
  • Foam Rollers
  • Resistance Bands
  • Ellipticals
  • Exercise Bikes
  • Shop More Next

Real Simple may receive compensation when you click through and purchase from links contained on this website.

Real Simple Logo

Magazines & More

Learn More

  • About Us
  • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
  • Help
  • Media Kit
  • Content Licensing
  • Sitemap

Connect

Follow Us
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Other Meredith Sites

Other Meredith Sites

  • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
  • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
  • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
  • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
  • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
  • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
  • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
  • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
  • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
  • Health this link opens in a new tab
  • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
  • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
  • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
  • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
  • More this link opens in a new tab
  • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
  • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
  • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
  • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
  • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
  • Parents this link opens in a new tab
  • People this link opens in a new tab
  • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
  • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
  • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
  • Shape this link opens in a new tab
  • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living this link opens in a new tab
  • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
  • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
All products and services featured are selected by our editors. Real Simple may receive compensation for some links to products and services in this email on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Real Simple is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.realsimple.com

View image

You Can Do This Stairs Workout in 15 Minutes—at Home
this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.