How to climb stairs

I got the following information from Esther Gokhale’s newsletter. I call her the posture lady. Here’s how she says you should climb stairs:

Angle your body forward. This puts your glutes (your butt muscles) in an optimal position. The glutes, she says, are an important part of the posterior chain—the muscles in the back of the body that should play a prominent role in powering you forward. Most people, she says, rely on pulling up their body weight using the anterior chain, which overuses the hip flexor and thigh muscles as well as the knee joint.

As you stand on one leg preparing to step up, adopt your forward stance and contract the glutes of that standing leg. Two glute muscles are involved: The gluteus medius, which is close to the hip joint on the side, will help maintain balance and add momentum. The gluteus maximus, the big muscle in the rear, will propel you forward and up.

Your calves and feet also provide propulsion. Contracting your calf lifts your heel and drives your forefoot against the ground and your body up—good ways to give your feet and ankle joints a healthy workout.

I think this is excellent advice, especially because it exercises the muscles (glutes, especially) that keep us from falling. I go up and down stairs often in our two-story house. I now follow Gokhale’s advice—to a point. I make sure to angle forward. This seems to do do the trick.

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