The Stairs, Your Quads, and That Bag of Flaming Fitness Advice

Clients send me things. Articles, hot takes, spicy little blurbs that sound confident, polished, and just barely researched enough to avoid tripping over their own shoelaces. I usually let them pass without too much scrutiny after all, we’ve all shared things that weren’t Pulitzer-bound.

But every so often, someone sends me a piece of writing that walks you to the door of actual insight, rings the bell, and then bolts leaving nothing but a flaming sack of nonsense for you to stomp out with your already-overworked feet.

Today’s offering? A piece on stair climbing a topic that is, ironically, the first thing to go in most people’s fitness programs. Especially as we age over 40. Why? Because stairs are hard. Unforgiving. Relentless. Because we have knee pain or are looking to save time. But they are a vertical insult to your cardiovascular pride. And yes, I live in a six-floor walk-up and yes, I avoid those stairs like an ex at a dinner party. F*** those stairs.

But if you’re serious about integrating stairs into your personal training not as punishment, but as strategy then allow me to offer four biomechanically-sound, guidelines. Three are essential. The fourth? That’s just for those of you feeling particularly spicy. These will save you some time and head space.

1. Own the Step. All of It.

Put your entire foot on the step heel to toe. No half-assing it, no sideways flares, no artistic interpretations of foot placement. This isn’t jazz. It’s physics. The more surface area you control, the less chance you’ll eat concrete when fatigue hits.

2. Lead with the Front, Not the Rear.

Stairs are about pulling yourself upward, not launching yourself forward like a drunken gazelle. Drive through the heel of your front foot. Your rear leg? That’s just there to catch up, not to bail you out.

3. Ascend, Don’t Lunge.

Imagine a cable pulling you up from the top of your head. You’re going up, not into the next step like you're trying to tenderize it with your face. Stay tall. Stay clean. No forward collapse.

4. (Spicy Mode) Watch the Knees.

If your knee caves inward or swings out like a drunk compass needle, you’re leaking power and flirting with injury. Keep your knee tracking over your second toe. Simple. Not negotiable.

Stairs deserve your attention and your respect. They’re not a side quest. They’re exercise in its most primal, vertical form. If you’ve ever missed a step and felt that stomach-drop “oh shit” moment, you already know how fast control can disappear when fatigue kicks in.

Maybe I’ll take the stairs more often now. Or maybe I’ll keep dodging them with my guilty conscience. Either way, if you’re going to climb them, do it with intent. Or don’t bother at all.

And for the love of glutes, don’t just post articles about what's wrong. Fix something.