Tip of the Month:  Step Up to Better Endurance!

By Paul McKillop, Ski School Clinic Instructor

This is the time of the year when billboards, commercials, magazines and the weather start hinting at the season to come. Warren Miller movies and snow sports expos distract us from work and feed our fantasies of sunny days with 18 inches of dry powder with the highway closing just after you passed the last slide.

One of my favorite activities to prepare my legs and back for a healthy season of sliding down local hills is climbing steps.

All of us have experienced that burning in our thighs after a run where we went farther than we normally do without stopping. The top of our thighs are called “quadriceps” and they can become much stronger and efficient by climbing steps.

Climbing steps might sound boring, but I like to vary the routine:

• One at a time up and down.

• Two at a time forward, one at a time down.

• Deep, slow steps up and down, as if you are trying to drag your knuckles on the ground (especially applicable to middle age snowboarders).

• Go up forward and down backward (slow and careful).

• Turn the stairs into “switchbacks” or short radius turns by zigzagging from side to side along the width of the steps.

• Vary your pattern from one left, two right, two left, one right, etc.

Okay, now you are realizing that I am not just talking about steps in your home. NO-NO-NO!  Get outside!  Go find some steps at a park, or a parking garage.

Here are some of my favorite spots around the Seattle Metropolitan Area:

• Howe Street steps on capital hill just between 10^th Ave and I-5 extending down from Howe Street.

• Eastgate Park & Ride (stairs in parking structure).

• Galer Street and Queen Ann Ave. top of Queen Ann Hill.

• Frink Park at the East end of Jackson Street above Leschi Park (great steep trails also).

Next time you’re driving around, keep your eyes peeled for a nice long set of stairs that you too can call your own! Don’t forget to stretch a bit during your workout and especially at the end!

Take a step to improve your winter fitness now and you can enjoy more runs once the snow falls. If I don’t see you on the steps, I hope to see you on the slopes!

Click here for last month's tip!