Running Stairs for Conditioning (was Rocky wrong?)

[Progressive Overlord]

T-Nation has an article in which the author claims that running stairs for conditioning ruins your knees and lower back.

http://www.t-nation.com/training/3-w...f-conditioning

I dont think running stairs should cause more stress for joints etc. than the prowler or hill sprints. I dont recover very well from flat running/sprinting (chin splints, soreness, knee pain etc.) and thought hill sprints or running stairs might be a good alternative (because they limit concentric muscle contractions). Anybody else thinks the part about running stairs in the above article is bs?

[kessg]

Anecdotal evidence only, but I tend to agree based on personal experience, especially when done to excess. About 3 years ago I did a lot of stairs for sprints and just walking up and down (4-5 times a week). After a few months I noticed that my knees were hurting, especially walking down. My schedule soon changed and I started doing strength training, and the knee pain went away.

My knees are generally a bit wonky, so that flareup may or may not have been due to the stairs. But pounding up and down cement stairs gotta be bad at least to some extent.

[Greg Esres]

Anybody else thinks the part about running stairs in the above article is bs?

BS is a little extreme, but the author makes some extravagant claims without citing any evidence or reasoning.

[ecj]

BS is a little extreme, but the author makes some extravagant claims without citing any evidence or reasoning.

I don't think T-Nation will publish you if you don't.

I can see stairs being rougher, just from having to walk back down them after the sprints.

[Progressive Overlord]

I dont recover very well from flat running/sprinting (chin splints, soreness, knee pain etc.) and thought hill sprints or running stairs might be a good alternative (because they limit concentric muscle contractions).

I have to correct my self. Hill sprints, Prowler and running stairs limit the eccentric (negative) phase and not the concentric phase of the movement. Here is what Matt and Stef wrote about it in the "Death by prowler" Article:

"We know that the eccentric portion of an exercise causes significantly more muscular damage than the concentric portion. Actually, concentric only work can be an excellent method of active recovery and restoration, because of the increased blood flow to the area, without the microtrauma to the muscle fibers that is associated with eccentric work."

I don't think T-Nation will publish you if you don't.

I can see stairs being rougher, just from having to walk back down them after the sprints.

The quality of the articles on T-Nation vary. I have found some good Information on T-Nation and sometimes I think they must belief that bodybuilders are really dumb.
Anyway I can see that the walking down part could be a problem because you get the eccentric phase of the movement back and anybody with knee problems will tell you that going up is seldom a problem its going down that hurts. But all the author on T-Nation tells us is:

"After a while, your articular cartilage will resemble ground beef...". He could elaborate a little more on the topic. Here is my solution regarding the walking down part:

http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/water-slide-ex-2.jpg

[sbhikes]

As someone who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail I can tell you that I never got injured from the downhills, but man, the downhills never get easier, they always suck and I always described them in my journal with words like "bone crunching" and "knee crunching." The uphills were always always much better. You can tell the difference between someone who hikes a lot vs someone who doesn't by whether or not they prefer to go uphill or downhill. I think stadium step sprints are great.

[OBoile]

BS is a little extreme, but the author makes some extravagant claims without citing any evidence or reasoning.

That's been his MO in every t-nation article he's published.

[sbhikes]

No, experienced hikers usually prefer to go uphill since it hurts less to go uphill and since being in good shape, the exertion is no big deal. It never stops hurting to do long downhills. Hurting isn't the same as being injured.

[ecj]

No, experienced hikers usually prefer to go uphill since it hurts less to go uphill and since being in good shape, the exertion is no big deal. It never stops hurting to do long downhills. Hurting isn't the same as being injured.

I'll second this. Some of the worst foot and knee pain I've ever experienced came at the end of hikes in the Grand Canyon and on the Inca Trail. Both locations had paths that were essentially just bare stone steps going downhill for miles at a time - no dirt or anything to pad your steps.

Recovered pretty quickly, and I don't know how to describe it. It wasn't like I had twisted or injured anything. Just dull ache.

This is why good boots are so clutch, I think, despite what the weirdos-hiking-in-Vibrams crowd would have you believe.

[sbhikes]

This is why good boots are so clutch, I think, despite what the weirdos-hiking-in-Vibrams crowd would have you believe.

Minimalist shoes are not that great for hiking, in my opinion. I like my shoes to be flat without a heel and super wide, but I need the cushioning for all those rocks. And the last thing I need is to worry about catching my pinky toes on roots and rocks. But I hate boots. I like my shoes to breathe and dry in an hour after walking in a stream. The longer I've hiked, the looser my shoes have gotten and the thinner my socks. I wear trail running shoes that are at least a couple sizes too big these days. I squat in my hiking boots.

For running stairs or stadiums, I worry about tripping on the way down. A faceplant on stadium steps would hurt.