Stair-climbing: A Sure Way to Burn Calories

If you are trying to lose weight, climbing stairs as a regular exercise might be for you.

如果您想减肥，爬楼梯作为常规运动可能适合您。

Stairs are available in many places. And research shows stair-climbing is more effective than walking on level ground.

很多地方都有楼梯。 研究表明，爬楼梯比在平地上行走更有效。

“Overall, it is a fact that stair-climbing gets you fit faster and consumes more calories,” said Lauri van Houten, vice president of the International Skyrunning Federation. The organization oversees a number of activities that involve climbing.

“总的来说，爬楼梯确实可以让你更快地适应并消耗更多的卡路里，”国际竞速联盟副主席劳里·范·霍滕 (Lauri van Houten) 说。 该组织负责监督许多涉及攀登的活动。

“How many calories will I burn is the question everyone wants to know,” van Houten said. “Here’s the good news: The overall energy expenditure of the exercise depends on your weight. Therefore, the more you weigh, the more you burn,” she said.

“我会燃烧多少卡路里是每个人都想知道的问题，”范豪顿说。 “好消息是：锻炼的总体能量消耗取决于您的体重。 因此，你的体重越重，燃烧的就越多，”她说。

Research shows you burn about 20 times more calories going up stairs than walking on flat ground. Even going down stairs, you burn around five times more because your muscles have to work to slow the body.

研究表明，爬楼梯燃烧的卡路里比在平地上行走多燃烧约 20 倍。 即使下楼梯，你的燃烧也会增加五倍左右，因为你的肌肉必须努力减缓身体的速度。

That might be all you need to know if you are trying to lose weight.

如果您想减肥，这可能就是您需要知道的全部内容。

Dr. Alberto Minetti of Italy’s University of Milan has done a large amount of research on human movement — including stair-climbing. It is an exercise everyone can do and does not cost money, he said.

意大利米兰大学的阿尔贝托·米内蒂博士对人体运动（包括爬楼梯）进行了大量研究。 他说，这是一项每个人都可以做的练习，而且不需要花钱。

Minetti did the math to explain why going up stairs is so effective for burning calories in a short amount of time.

米内蒂做了数学计算，解释了为什么爬楼梯对于在短时间内燃烧卡路里如此有效。

“To move 1 kilogram of body mass over one horizontal meter, you expend 0.5 calories,” he said.

“要将 1 公斤体重移动一米，你会消耗 0.5 卡路里，”他说。

But, he added, “If you move 1 kilogram of body mass vertically on stairs it’s 10 calories. So it’s 20 times the calories moving vertically rather than horizontally.”

但是，他补充道，“如果你在楼梯上垂直移动 1 公斤体重，就会产生 10 卡路里热量。 所以垂直移动的卡路里是水平移动的 20 倍。”

Trained as a doctor, Minetti has spent his career as a researcher. He suggested that older people and beginner stair climbers watch their speed.

米内蒂接受过医生培训，他的职业生涯是作为研究员。 他建议老年人和初学者爬楼梯时注意速度。

Minetti does his own stair-climbing at his home in Milan. He said he often takes a few deep breaths before going up the many stairs.

米内蒂在米兰的家中自己爬楼梯。 他说，在爬上许多楼梯之前，他经常会深呼吸几次。

In a scientific study, Minetti makes the point that using your arms in stair-climbing adds extra power. Handrails offer safety, too.

在一项科学研究中，米内蒂指出，使用手臂爬楼梯可以增加额外的力量。 扶手也能保证安全。

The study notes that handrails are available along most stairs in very tall buildings. Using them increases “the muscle mass involved..." by getting the arms involved, the study shows.

研究指出，在非常高的建筑物中，大多数楼梯都设有扶手。 研究表明，使用它们可以通过手臂的参与来增加“肌肉质量……”。

“They are relatively small muscles in the arms, but better than nothing,” Minetti said.

“它们是手臂上相对较小的肌肉，但总比没有好，”米内蒂说。

If stair-climbing were an Olympic sport, Australian Suzy Walsham would own gold medals.

如果爬楼梯是一项奥林匹克运动，澳大利亚选手苏西·沃尔沙姆将获得金牌。

She has won 10 races up New York City’s Empire State Building — officially 1,576 stairs — and five climbs up the Eiffel Tower. Overall, Walsham has won more than 100 international stair races, and was once considered the top woman in the sport.

她赢得了 10 次攀登纽约市帝国大厦（正式为 1,576 级楼梯）的比赛，并赢得了 5 次攀登埃菲尔铁塔的比赛。 总体而言，沃尔沙姆赢得了超过 100 场国际楼梯比赛，并一度被认为是这项运动中的顶尖女性。

When she was living in Singapore, Walsham climbed up her 29-story building — 37 times straight. It took over four hours with short breaks for coffee or water. She covered a vertical distance of 3,200 meters.

当 Walsham 住在新加坡时，她曾连续 37 次爬上她那座 29 层的大楼。 整个过程花了四个多小时，中间有短暂的休息，喝咖啡或喝水。 她的垂直距离为 3,200 米。

Walsham told the Associated Press that stair-climbing is a good form of exercise for many kinds of people.

沃尔沙姆告诉美联社，爬楼梯对很多人来说都是一种很好的锻炼方式。

“Many people struggle to run as they age,” she said, noting the exercise is “harder on the joints.”

“随着年龄的增长，许多人都在努力跑步，”她说，并指出这项运动“对关节来说更加困难”。

She said stair training is a great substitute for running.

她说楼梯训练是跑步的一个很好的替代品。

Stairs are everywhere — one flight, two flights at home, inside very large buildings, in stadiums, at work, in shopping malls, in the subway.

楼梯无处不在——在家里、在非常大的建筑物内、在体育场、在工作场所、在购物中心、在地铁中的一层、两层。

Stair-climbing does not take much time. It is easy to build up, adding a few flights of stairs every day or week. Stair-climbing can also help improve balance.

爬楼梯并不需要太多时间。 建造起来很容易，每天或每周增加几段楼梯即可。 爬楼梯也有助于提高平衡能力。

And it can easily become part of an exercise plan.

它很容易成为锻炼计划的一部分。

Yuri Yoshizumi won last year’s women’s division of the Stairclimbing World Championships in her native Osaka, Japan. She completed the 285-meter climb — 1,610 stairs — in 10 minutes, 20.06 seconds.

Yuri Yoshizumi 去年在她的祖国日本大阪举行的爬楼梯世界锦标赛女子组比赛中获胜。 她在 10 分 20.06 秒内完成了 285 米的攀爬，即 1,610 级楼梯。

“Stair-climbing is an easy sport for beginners and the general public to get into,” Yoshizumi told the Associated Press in an email. She said the exercise helps to “strengthen your muscles and your cardiovascular system in a short amount of time.”

“爬楼梯对于初学者和普通大众来说是一项容易上手的运动，”吉住在一封电子邮件中告诉美联社。 她说这项运动有助于“在短时间内增强你的肌肉和心血管系统”。

Yoshizumi noted that cities usually have many public stairways for people to climb.

吉住指出，城市通常有很多公共楼梯供人们攀爬。

“Just using the stairs instead of the escalators at (subway) stations and department stores is a good way to get some exercise,” she said.

“在（地铁）车站和百货商店使用楼梯而不是自动扶梯是锻炼身体的好方法，”她说。