By now you know it’s possible to get in a great high-intensity lower body workout at home with minimal equipment, which explains why you’re standing at the bottom of a flight of stairs with a 25- or 45-pound plate in your hands.
When you’re looking for a quick fat-burning, leg-strengthening session, you can’t go wrong with the combination of weights and stairs. And now, we’re about to show you exactly what to do with both.
In our daily lives, we typically view stairs as an inconvenience. Walking up a flight of them is something we simply put our heads down and do, because unless there’s an elevator handy, we don’t have much choice in the matter. Stairs are everywhere, but there’s a catch, and it’s a beneficial one for you: when used correctly, stairs are one of the most effective workout tools in existence. Best of all, you don’t have to join a gym to find a set.
The workout below is designed for use by the home trainee who wants a grueling, circuit-style session that won’t take long to complete. The idea here is to perform as many rounds of both exercises as possible – set seven rounds as an initial long-term goal – with minimal rest, breaking your previous record each week. Each exercise can be made either easier or harder by increasing or decreasing the number of steps in play.
To perform thrusters, hold a 25- or 45-pound plate at chest level and sit back, leading with your butt and keeping your knees behind your toes, onto the second or third stair. Once you’ve landed, stand up quickly and, in one motion using momentum generated by your lower body, press the plate overhead. For step-ups, hold the plate in a comfortable position and simply step to the second or third stair, step back down again, then repeat with your opposite leg.
At-Home Plate + Stairs Workout
Exercise Sets Reps Rest
Weight Plate Thruster 1 10 60 seconds
Weight Plate Step-Up 1 10 (per leg) 60 seconds
Perform as many rounds as possible of both exercises, stopping when you can no longer reach 10 reps of either move.
