"Stair Guru" Virgil Aponte Working Hard!

By Virgil Aponte

Discover how stair exercises can be used to reach your fitness goals!

The first questions people will ask when you talk about stair climbing is: can someone really get in shape by simply using stairs. The answer to that question is absolutely yes.

If you have ever walked up more than 10 flights of stairs you can understand what I mean. In fact my discovery of stair climbing came when I had to walk up 19 flights of stairs to visit a friend of mine. At the time I hadn't been able to exercise due to an injury and walking up those stairs just wiped me out.

But as a trainer I thought to myself what an excellent tool for getting in shape. Ever since then I have used stair climbing for myself, my high school students, college athletes, elite professional athletes, and most of my private training clientele.

Basically anyone interested in improving aerobic fitness, anaerobic conditioning, muscular strength, power and flexibility. In fact stair climbing proved to be such an incredible conditioning tool for me that I call it real stair climbing. I do this to distinguish it from modifications like the Stair-master and the Step-mill. These pieces of equipment are very valuable but can not compare to what real stair climbing has to offer.

So how can one lose weight, get in fabulous shape and look amazing using real stair climbing. The answer is quite simple: Follow the same principles and guidelines of an exercise program. Usually that calls for aerobic work 2 to 3 times a week combined with strength training 2 to 3 times a week. I myself stick with 2 aerobic/anaerobic sessions combined with 2 strength training sessions a week. In this article I'll discuss ways you can use Real Stair climbing to improve aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.

Here are some ideas to help you set up a stair exercises program for aerobic and anaerobic conditioning.


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