Bobaphat

I just volunteered to do a stair climb in my office building to raise money for cyctic fibrosis. Now I have one month to prepare to race up 56 flights of stairs. Anyone have any advice on how I can get ready for this race? I really am looking to improve my time significantly.

__________________
--size matters not-- yoda

Plan9Senior

Do you have access to a gym? If so, those stairmasters would be ideal.

Stare At The Sun

My .02, remember to breath, and take the stairs 2 at a time!

Sleepyjack

Couldn't you just practice in the stairwell of your office building?

before or after work and maybe on your lunch break?

Although a stairmaster would probably be quite apt, wherever you hvae access to saome stairs should suffice.

Also good on you for volunteering

empu

One month is not enough time to do much, but you can probably improve your aerobic capacity enough to make a difference. I've found the best tool for this is a heart rate monitor. Lacking that listen to the rhythm of your breathing and keep it just on the happy side of uncomfortable. Spend 30 minutes a day doing some form of dedicated aerobic exercise (steps, running, biking, etc., mix it up from day to day) if you can. Take it easy at first and work your way into it. Injury or illness from overtraining is your biggest enemy, so listen to your body and rest when you need to rest.

I second Sleepyjack's idea of doing at least some training on the building's steps themselves. This will not only give your body the real physical test but also help you mentally prepare for the event.

Come back and tell us how it went!

yellowgowild

Don't forget the caffiene when you go up those stairs.

Lunchbox7

Do high intensity workouts. near my old house there is knapsack gully steps. 300+ down one side and 300+ up the other and then you have to turn around and come back. At my fittest I couldnt do all of them in one go because the intensity is so high the lactate acid build up just makes my legs turn to lead. Good on you for doing it. It is one killer workout.

almostaugust

The stairclimb that Lunchbox7 is talking about is a bitch. I do it a couple of times a month. The stairs go virtually straight up the side of a mountain. The only reason i can nail them sometimes is because of the crazy guy i occasionally run it with... he pushes me hard. I ran it just as the sun had sunk about a week ago. It was insane. I coulndt see shit, I almost ran smack bang into a kangaroo. One of my best times yet though.

__________________
'And it's been a long December and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember all the times I tried to tell my myself
To hold on to these moments as they pass'

cementor

I work on the 9th floor, with a couple of trips up and down each day you can build some stamina. A 56 floor trip I can feel the burn for you! Good luck!! Kudos for volunteering!

__________________
Cementor
If I was any better I'd have to be twins!

Bobaphat

I have been doing the stairs in my building pretty much everyday, around 25 flights each time. I have tried actually running them and going 2 at a time, but after about 15 floors I am flat out burnt out and have to practically crawl the rest... I think it really just comes down to doing it. Thanks for all the advice

__________________
--size matters not-- yoda

Rodney

Good luck; it's the best exercise there is, if you don't fall and break something.

empu

Next time try running up 5 floors, then walk back down to recover. Repeat. Do this as many times as you can. If this feels too easy then bump up to 8 floors, etc.