Other/Mixed Sandbags, weighted vests... and stairs?

[steve-in-kville]

I may have touched on this a few months ago. one of my favorite bad weather workouts is doing stair climbs weighted down. I understand the going up part is beneficial, but does the going down side have equal benefits? Or can I do more damage than good? I'm doing this on our staircase, BTW, not a machine.

 

[offwidth]

I may have touched on this a few months ago. one of my favorite bad weather workouts is doing stair climbs weighted down. I understand the going up part is beneficial, but does the going down side have equal benefits? Or can I do more damage than good? I'm doing this on our staircase, BTW, not a machine.

Good question….
If you have ever done any hiking on steep trails you will be aware that coming down is a lot different than going up. The steeper and rockier the terrain the more the quads take a beating. (Also how fast you descend i.e impact loading) So yeah… going down stairs weighted will be a ‘quad workout’, but it’s also very hard on the cartilage and connective tissues. Almost all old mountaineers I know have dodgy knees.

 

[Halfakneecap]

I may have touched on this a few months ago. one of my favorite bad weather workouts is doing stair climbs weighted down. I understand the going up part is beneficial, but does the going down side have equal benefits? Or can I do more damage than good? I'm doing this on our staircase, BTW, not a machine.

One of the first exercises for my knee rehab ( after forcing my leg to bend haha ) was standing a foot away from a wall and lowering into a one legged wall squat. The physiotherapist told me lowering was very good for knee strength. Coming up I used both legs. It worked pretty well

 

[bluejeff]

Have you tried walking backwards up the stairs?