High Intensity Interval Training on a Revolving Staircase

Here’s the revolving staircase ultimate fat burning HIIT routine to blast off fat all through your body.

If you really want to torment the stubborn fat in your body, punish it with a HIIT routine on the revolving staircase. HIIT stands for high intensity interval training.

Being that you came to this article, you likely know something about HIIT, namely, that it’s a wicked way to melt off excess fat and puts traditional cardio to shame.

And this includes the typical way that the vast majority of revolving staircase users use this equipment:

• Set machine at the same pace, give or take.

• Place hands on the rails.

• Lock arms straight and lean into them, subtracting a lot of body weight, i.e., cheating big-time. Even BENT arms is cheating!

• Or, lean over on arms, butt sticking out. This is no way simulates staircase walking.

How to Do a Fat Burning HIIT Routine on the Revolving Staircase

The first rule is to get your hands OFF the machine.

It amazes me how so many young, able bodied men and women feel they must support themselves by leaning so much on the equipment.

If you were to do training on a regular staircase, would you be groping at the railings?

I doubt it. If you were to do training on bleachers, where there are no railings…you’d get this job done.

So why do people think it’s so necessary to hold onto the revolving staircase? If you’re doing this, then right off the bat, it’s not HIIT.

I’ve seen people using the machine at fast speeds, and it’s obvious that at faster speeds, they hang on harder.

• Locking their arms out so straight that their arms are almost hyperextended. This causes the bones to absorb a lot of resistance, making the “stepping” a lot easier. This cheat move subtracts body weight.

• Or, they drape their upper body onto the console, rump sticking way out. No HIIT there, either, no matter how fast the steps are going.

So rule No. 1: Keep your hands off the machine!

I don’t advise this to people with balance problems, but come on, do we really think that all of those women and men who cling to the revolving staircase have some kind of neurological condition that makes balancing difficult?

Next, the work or “sprint” intervals last 30 seconds. You will be manually controlling the machine, as no automatic 30-second HIIT program exists.

The work interval speed is that which, after 30 seconds, feels pretty harsh on your quads and has you very out of breath.

Slow the speed to the recovery interval, the slowest or second-slowest speed (holding on ONLY to change the settings to slow is fine).

You should be heaving for air and feel very tempted to get off the machine and lean over, hands on knees, to catch your breath.

If you feel this way after a work interval, congratulations! You’re tapping into a true HIIT workout.

But do not get off. Stay on, gasp for breath, and keep trudging along at the slowest or second-slowest speed.

The recovery interval should last two to two and a half minutes. Then you’re back at the “sprint” speed.

The work interval speed will vary from person to person. It’s whatever makes you feel like I just described, where you’re very tempted to slide off and bend over to catch your breath and you can’t talk.

You don’t necessarily have to trot or jog the steps. A fast hard stepping speed can bring on serious fatigue.

Bolder people can try trotting, which can be done at the same speed as sprint-walking. However, if you set the speed to the very fastest, you’ll want to run it.

DO NOT HOLD ON!

You’ll just defeat the purpose of a fat burning, revolving staircase HIIT routine by cheating. Think about it: If you’re running those steps and holding on…with each foot placement, you’ll be driving downward on your gripping hands, subtracting a lot of workload from your legs.

Fear of Falling off the Revolving Staircase During HIIT

• Practice at slower speeds.

• Keep your eyes on your feet. Nobody says you have to constantly be looking straight ahead.

• Athletes should be able to train without holding on, without stumbling, without staring at their feet. However, watch your feet to avoid cheating if you’re not a natural athlete.

Before beginning the work intervals, do four or five warm-up intervals that escalate towards the tougher intervals.

Do eight sprint intervals total. If you find yourself holding on due to fatigue, you’re undoing the HIIT. High intensity interval training is supposed to be grueling, by definition.

This HIIT fat burning routine is not for people who are new to the revolving staircase.

It’s ideal for those who’ve already been using this equipment correctly, that is, without holding on, which forces good posture, an erect spinal column—the way the body was meant to move on steps.

if you’ve been holding on but are a veteran of this machine, upgrade your workouts by going hands-free!

Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health. 

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Top image: Freepik.com