I work on the 5th floor of a 7 story building, and prefer the stairs over the elevator. I'm in moderately good shape, walking 1.5 miles each way to/from work every day, and usually working in a 1-3 mile run/walk at lunchtime.
But the walk up the 5 flights of stairs leaves me frustratingly winded, so I've decided to start training stair climbing endurance specifically.
I can think of a couple of routines that might be the right thing for me to do, but I'm not sure which one to choose:
- climb the 7-story building slowly, climb back down, climb up again slowly, be completely worn out, or
- climb up 2-3 stories at a normal pace, cross the building to another staircase, climb down 2-3 stories, cross the building, climb up 2-3 stories at a normal pace.
I can sustain #2 for quite a while because of the built-in cool-down times. #1, on the other hand, is more like what I'm trying to get good at, but I've got totally rubbery legs by the end of 2 reps of it.
Which is the right approach to get good at a 5 floor climb without being so winded that it's hard to talk?