While gym sessions and following a diet chart regularly are advantageous in weight loss and keeping you fit and healthy but there are many everyday activities which can make you lose weight and help you stay in proper shape. Health experts say that climbing around 8 flights of stairs on everyday basis can burn a lot of extra calories in your body and can make you feel active and energetic. If you do not have time for not-so-easy yoga classes and tiring gym sessions, just climb up those stairs and witness the magical transformation of your body. Here are some other benefits of climbing stairs:

Climbing stairs burns calories, which can help you better manage your weight. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator helps you increase your overall activity, contributing to a higher daily calorie burn. For example, a 150-lb. person will burn about 544 calories just walking up stairs for an hour. The sport of stair climbing, which involves running up stairs, burns nearly twice as many calories as such sports as volleyball and baseball. The number of calories you burn will depend on your weight, the slope of the stairs, number of stairs and your pace.

Mental Health

Every time you climb a flight of stairs, your body releases chemical endorphins, a type of neurotransmitter, making you feel happy and calm. Over time, your ability to focus and concentrate will improve, and you will feel less stressed out. Your self-esteem and self-confidence will improve as you successfully meet your fitness goals, become more toned and muscular, and are less distracted by physical fatigue.

Reduced Amount Of Bad Cholesterol

Walking briskly up the stairs can help in lowering the amount of bad cholesterol from your body and therefore keep you away from deadly health hazards like diabetes and cardiovascular problems.

Less Risk Of Osteoarthritis

Stairs climbing can lower the risk of osteoarthritis, especially among women, who have sedentary lifestyle and have desk jobs. It improves the flexibility of muscles and reduces the risks of painful cramps and muscles pains.

It Fights Insomnia

It works amazingly well in fighting insomnia by making your muscles flexible, keeping up your stamina and accelerating good hormones in the body.

Convenience

Stair climbing requires significant energy and burns plenty of calories in a short period of time. Because of this, you can achieve the benefits of a longer, more moderate workout in a shorter amount of time. Stair climbing requires no special equipment and can be performed by most exercisers, regardless of their fitness level.

Full-body Workout

Unlike walking on a flat route, climbing stairs has the potential to offer a full-body workout. Walking up and down stairs targets your major muscle groups. Pumping your arms while climbing allows you to tone your upper body and burn more fat. Breathe deeply and contract your abdominal muscles and you gain stability while strengthening your core. The more muscle you build, the higher you raise your basal metabolic rate so that you burn more calories around the clock.

Cross Training

As stair climbing challenges your aerobic and anaerobic systems, it can help runners, swimmer, cyclists and other competitive athletes improve their endurance and sprint performance. Cross training with stair climbing helps combat boredom by varying your routine. If you are using stair climbing as a primary cardio and leg workout, cross train with strength training exercises for the upper body. Climbing stairs does not work the arm muscles such as biceps, triceps and deltoids. In between sets of stairs, do strength exercises such as push-ups and triceps dips. Add in additional abdominal exercises as needed.

This simple daily task can invite so many health benefits for you. Just be a little cautious while climbing the stairs.