Improve your leg power and your running form with stair workouts. The best part is that a stair workout can be combined with a run for a cardio and strength combo workout by hitting up a series of stair climbs midway through your run this week. Portland, Oregon has sets of stairs hidden throughout the city (see above), but other places to look for a good set of stairs include your local high school or hilly parks.
THE WORKOUT: Find a series of stairs that are regular height. After at least a 10-minute warm up, run hard up the stairs and jog slowly back down. You should be breathing hard at the top, but not keeling over. Next time up, skip a stair each stride. Alternate running up single steps and skipping a step for 10-20 minutes. If you want to get fancy, add in hopping up on one foot and then the other to your series.
*Concentrate on pumping your arms, keeping your head up, picking up your knees, landing lightly and pushing off with your calves as you run up the stairs. Use your core to stabliize your upper body as you bound upwards.
And remember . . . you OWN those stairs!