The Stairmaster At Rich Man’s Gym in Morro Bay

Stairmaster workout plans at Rich Man’s Gym. Rich Man’s Gym has acquired an old school Stairmaster. We installed it over on Morro Strand State Beach and I have decided to open it up to the general public at no charge. It’s all about giving here at Rich Man’s Gym. So, if you are in the Morro Bay area, you are welcome to come by and use our free Stairmaster any time. The stairs are open 24 hours a day. Additionally, I will include free Stairmaster workout plans for you to get the most benefit from them.

Stairs are a KILLER way to get into fantastic shape. Walking and running stairs are great for the legs, training your cardiovascular system and burning calories which means less fat.

For those of you not in the Morro Bay area, you can have your own old school Stairmaster simply by finding a flight of stairs you can run up. As you can see from the pictures, our Stairmaster is long, has a few corners to cut and what you don’t see is that the steps are uneven. I’ve counted about 90 steps in all. If you’re booking it, you’ll get to the top pretty winded.

Now, for those of you outside of the Central Coast, look for a flight of stairs in the 70-100 step range. Some good places to look would be local high schools, stadiums, and parks. Also, you can find them in the bigger cities that have hills. Santa Monica, CA has a few nice spots for example. What I do not recommend is a parking structure. With all the fumes and exhaust, you might as well run stairs while smoking a cigarette. Even hitting one at 5 AM when no one’s around. Too much dust, sediment, and crap.

So, let’s take a look at five Stairmaster workout plans for you to attack this old school Stairmaster and get in some monster training!

DISCLAIMER: Get the OK from the doc first if you have any type of heart/lung issues at all before starting any of these Stairmaster workout plans. Know your limits so you can push them, but also, be smart about it.

Level 1. Volume:

This is for anyone and any fitness level. How many times can you go up and down this particular flight of stairs? If you’re a beginner, set a goal of five times up and down. Once you’ve got 5, work up to 10, then 15 and at 20 rounds, I’d look at adding time to the program.

Level 2. Time:

How many times can you go up and down in a given period of time? Lately, this has been what I’m doing. I’ll set the Gymboss timer for 20 minutes and see how many times I can get up and down. Let time I got ten rounds. The key to crunching in more volume is in reducing the rest period and recovery time. What I’ve done to shave time is as soon as I get to the top, immediately start back down and use the time going down the stairs to recover. As your endurance builds, you’ll get good at controlling your breathing and I think the ultimate goal would be sprint up, jog down and do that 12-15 times in 20 minutes pending on speed and actual time to climb the flight. You’ll need to gauge your flight accordingly, looking at mine, I think 15 rounds is possible and will keep you posted. That’s 7-8 rounds in 10 minutes.

Level 3. Volume for time:

This is where you combine the two. Especially if this isn’t your only exercise routine. Some people will be lifting weights or doing calisthenics. Other’s might be involved in a martial art or sport and you’re using the stairs as a conditioning tool. Strength and conditioning is where it’s at at Rich Man’s Gym, so how you approach one will affect the other. In this case, my suggestion is to vary the times you hit these stairs. For example on Monday, it’s 20 minutes. Wednesday do 10 minutes and when you go Friday, that’s 15 minutes. Monday will be your penance. The most challenging. The one where you see what you’re made of. Wednesday will be more of an easy day where you show up, get the work done but it’s not a game day. Follow? Look, pro athletes train hard so they can go all it on game day. Which means they vary the level of intensity to allow for proper recovery, growth, and adaptation. You can’t be balls to the wall 100% of the time or you’ll get hurt. So Wednesday is a light day. Friday will be more progressive. A medium size day, if you will. Feel free to switch the days up too. Make Friday the heavy day or Saturday or Sunday. Point is to have different levels of intensity during the week.

Level 4. Ladders:

So now you’ve reached a level where you need more distance. Meaning going up and down in 20-30 minutes isn’t the challenge it used to be. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could add more stairs? But that’s impossible… or is it? How do you add more stairs? Simple. Break the flight into quarters. Start by running the first 1/4 and then go jog back down. Second, run 1/2 and jog down, then 3/4 and finally the whole flight. Consider that one round. Take a short breather, then repeat. Set a target for 3 rounds the first time out and based on how you respond, go from there.

This will also make nice for the beginner. If you’re just starting out and can’t make it up in one shot, start here:

Do 1/4, then 1/2. Rest and repeat 3 – 5 times. Do that until you’re ready for the next level
Next level. Do 1/4, then, 1/2, then 3/4. Repeat that 3- 5 times.
When ready the whole flight will seem easy…

Level 5. Whole body workout:

Stairs and Push Ups -or- Push Ups and Stairs. What????????? That’s right. You can incorporate this into your volume, time, or both. Run yourself up those stairs, then drop and give me 20! OR! Drop and give me 20 and then run yourself up those stairs. Either way, I say hate me now, thank me later! I’ve just started tinkering with this and will keep you in the loop on how it goes. I started with riding my bike to the Stairmaster, running to the top and hopping on top of a bench for a set of 20 push ups. Walked/Jogged back down and repeated 5 times. Felt good. I was sucking some serious wind and the ride home was pretty challenging considering I was already smoked. We live on a steep ass hill by the way… Also, I will be incorporating this into my current training routine for the next 6 weeks and will post the next six-week routine shortly so keep an eye out!

AND there you have folks, 5 Stairmaster workout plans to use at Rich Man’s Gym. How much will the toned body, ripped abs and well sculpted posterior chain cost you? That’s right people, NADA! These Stairmaster workout plans and your good shape is free. You know what else is free and more valuable than how good you look naked? The sense of accomplishment, pride and self-worth that comes from pushing past your perceived limits and owning these stairs.

Let me know how it goes for you and how I can help!