by JeffN » Tue Mar 20, 2018 11:30 am My discussion on Intermittent Walking was to show a simple easy way to include regular activity into our daily lives, even if we have a sedentary/desk job. Just getting 5-10 minutes of walking each hour a few times a day can have a significant impact. If done after meals, it can also help lower post prandial blood sugar levels.
Here is another simple easy method.
Stair climbing.
Just simply going up & down a flight (or two) of stairs for 6 minutes (even if it is done in two sets of three minutes each) can have a significant impact, even more that straight walking or cycling. If done after meals, it can also help lower post prandial blood sugar levels, which was the main reason this was investigated. If done in the evening after the last meal, post-prandial and morning blood-sugars will be lower.
While not identical in all studies, the procedure is simple, at a comfortable pace, walk up a flight (or two) of stairs, and then back down. Aim for 10-16 flights of stairs, which is about 6-8 minutes. Don't be fooled by how easy the first 1-3 flights are, as it gets a little harder as you keep going.
So, If you have a flight of stairs in your home, or office instead of just going for a walk, "take the stairs!"
And think about this, if you do the 10 minutes of walking each hour a few times a day, add in the stair exercise about 60-90 minutes after lunch and/or dinner, and engage in NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis), you can easily and simply cover almost all your activity needs.
You can read more about Intermittent Walking and NEAT here
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=43482&p=451251&#p451251
In Health
Jeff
1) Stair ascending-descending exercise accelerates the decrease in postprandial hyperglycemia more efficiently than bicycle exercise.
BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2017 Oct 10;5(1):e000428.
doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2017-000428. eCollection 2017.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
Stair climbing-descending exercise (ST-EX) is a convenient method to increase exercise intensity. We compared the acute effect of ST-EX on lowering postprandial hyperglycemia with that of constant bicycle exercise (BI-EX) performed at the same heart rate (HR).
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS:
Seven people with type 2 diabetes and seven with impaired glucose tolerance volunteered for this study. The step rate for ST-EX and work rate for BI-EX were individually determined to correspond to high-moderate to low-vigorous intensity (HR ~130 beats per minute). For the ST-EX trial, the subjects performed 16 repetitions of walking down one flight of stairs followed by climbing up to the starting point (~8 min in duration) 90 min after consuming a test meal. For the BI-EX trial, the subjects performed a constant pedaling exercise for the same duration at the same time after the meal.
RESULTS:
The reduction in blood glucose (BG) level between 90 and 105 min after a meal was significantly greater for ST-EX (-4.0±0.7mmol/L) than for BI-EX (-2.7±0.9mmol/L). The net reduction in BG between 90 and 105 min was also significantly greater for ST-EX (-3.2±0.7mmol/L) than for BI-EX (-2.0±0.6mmol/L). Serum insulin levels did not differ between the groups. Oxygen consumption for ST-EX was higher than that for BI-EX, but the blood lactate level and respiratory exchange ratio (RER) for ST-EX were lower than those for BI-EX.
CONCLUSIONS:
Compared with BI-EX performed at the same HR, ST-EX more rapidly decreased postprandial BG level with lower blood lactate and RER responses. A short bout of ST-EX may be clinically useful to acutely ameliorate BG levels after meals.
In this study, "For the ST-EX trial, the subjects had lunch between 12:00 and 12:15, rested on a chair for 90 min and then performed 16 repetitions of ST-EX (walking down one flight of stairs followed by climbing up to the starting point) without rest or, if they requested it, a short rest (<30 s) in standing position at the top of the stairs."
2) Stair climbing/descending exercise for a short time decreases blood glucose levels after a meal in people with type 2 diabetes.
BMJ Open Diabetes Res Care. 2016 Jul 25;4(1):e000232.
doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2016-000232. eCollection 2016.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
We examined whether stair climbing-descending exercise (ST-EX), a convenient method to increase physical activity in daily life, for a short period would acutely improve the postprandial blood glucose (BG) response in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
METHODS:
16 people with T2D (age 65.4±1.1 years) participated in 2 separate sessions. After an overnight fast, each participant consumed a test meal and then kept resting for 180 min, except when performing each 3 min bout of ST-EX at 60 and 120 min after the meal (ST-EX session), or kept resting for 180 min (REST session). ST-EX comprised 6 continuous repetitions of climbing to the second floor (21 steps) at a rate of 80-110 steps/min followed by walking down slowly to the first floor at a free step rate.
RESULTS:
The BG at 60 min after the meal during the ST-EX session (immediately before the first ST-EX) did not differ from that during the REST session, but analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction between time and treatment (p<0.01). The BG at 150 min after the meal (30 min after the second ST-EX) was significantly lower than that during the REST session (p<0.01). The area under the curve was also 18% lower during the ST-EX session than during the REST session (p<0.05). The heart rate and blood lactate levels indicated that the actual intensity of ST-EX was 'hard'. In contrast, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) indicated that the overall intensity of ST-EX was 'moderate' because of decreased RPE scores during descent.
CONCLUSIONS:
The present findings suggest that performing 3 min ST-EX 60 and 120 min after a meal may be a useful strategy to accelerate the decrease in postprandial BG levels in people with T2D.
In this study, "Each bout of ST-EX comprised six repetitions of climbing and descend- ing stairs. The participants climbed to the second floor of the clinic (21 steps, each 17 cm in height) at a rate of 80– 110 steps/min, made a turn at the top of the flight, and then slowly walked back down the stairs to the first floor at a free step rate. The participants made a turn at the bottom of the flight, and repeated stair climbing and des-cending for a total of six times without rest."
A short bout of stair climbing-descending exercise attenuates postprandial hyperglycemia in middle-aged males with impaired glucose tolerance.
Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 37: 193–196 (2012)
doi: 10.1139/h11-140
Abstract
Exercise is a useful modality to ameliorate postprandial hyperglycemia. Here we show that a short bout (∼6 min) of stair climbing-descending exercise (STAIR) starting at 90 min after meal accelerates the decrease in blood glucose concentrations in middle-aged sedentary men with impaired glucose tolerance, although STAIR is easy to perform and keeps the exercise intensity at a moderate level.
In this study, "a straight flight of stairs with 21 steps of a height of 18 cm (7 inches) per step was used. The subjects performed 10–12 continuous sets of stair climbing–descending exercises. They climbed the stairs at an individually prescribed step rate of 80–110 steps·min–1 (one subject climbed at 80 steps·min–1, two at 90 steps·min–1, four at 100 steps·min–1, and one at 110 steps·min–1) and descended at a free step rate. At the top and bottom of the stairs, they made a U- turn and continued STAIR without rest. It took 2–3 s for each U-turn"
