GETTING STRONG NOW! You remember it…the theme song from the hit movie ROCKY. We all remember Rocky as he was running up those stairs in Philly and the way we felt when he got to the top as he jumped up and down, raising his hands above his head. Yep, Rocky was pretty proud, and if you have ever hit the stairs in your workout, you'll know why…Running stairs kicks your butt! Adding stair running to your workouts will tax your lungs, your legs, and shred the fat off your body better than just about any stair climber in the gym.

Before you get started with this intense workout, you'll want to work out FIRST. That's right, I said you want to work out BEFORE you workout. The fact is, running stairs is tough…really tough. If you are a beginner, you can not only hurt yourself, but you can pass out if you are not in good enough shape. It is best to have a good background of cardio under your belt before adding stair running into your regimen. If you can run a few miles at 10-12 minutes per mile, you should be in good enough cardiovascular shape to begin your super cardio routine on stairs.

Running stairs is simple, and the equipment is available all over the place. One common practice is to run up the bleacher stairs at your local high school, park or my personal choice… at the beach. Other folks choose stair running as their exercise of choice because of the amount they travel. Any multi story hotel will have a great set of stairs for you to use for your workout. To begin with, just run up the stairs, somewhat slowly at first, and then walk back down. Continue this back and forth for 3-5 sets as you get used to climbing the stairs. You can add intensity and speed with each set but it won't take long before your lungs are burning and your legs are on fire. Be careful for the first few sets as running stairs is EXTREMELY taxing.

Because of the added work that your lower body will be doing, running stairs will build fantastic muscle in your calves, thighs, and yes, your gluteus ( butt muscle). You will get a great butt sculpting workout with every step you take. The added muscle you build with these serious stair running workouts will help to speed up the fat you lose as well. More muscle=more fat loss!

If you are REALLY looking to up the fat burning ante, you can make your stair running even more intense. Simply work to add speed to your workout and decrease the amount of rest between each set. You can also work to run DOWN the stairs as well as run up, but be careful; running down the stairs can be really dangerous and cause you to lose your footing. Finally, for those fitness freaks out there that are in seriously good shape and are looking to get SHREDDED, adding a weight vest to your stair running workout will provide the ultimate in fat burning and cardio intensity.