Get Fitter, Faster

Want to lower lousy LDL cholesterol and raise heart-lung health faster than Oscar-gown knockoffs hit the stores? Just say, "I'll take the stairs." And do it.

We're not talking about climbing the Empire State Building. If you do just 2 minutes of stair climbing -- that's a couple of flights -- five or six times a day, in 8 short weeks you can:

• Increase your heart-lung fitness by almost 20%, upping your odds of a longer, better life
• Reduce bad LDL cholesterol by 8% and raise good HDL by about that much, shrinking your risk of a heart attack, stroke, erectile dysfunction, and wrinkles (all are increased by LDL)

And do it all without spending a dime on a gym membership or a shred of spandex.

Stair climbing is so effective because it forces your body to work against gravity, which, among other things, firms your glutes -- those jelly-butt muscles. Exactly how effective is it? The fitness gains from doing 11 minutes of daily stair work for 8 weeks rival those of walking 36 minutes a day for 6 months. Wow. That said, we YOU Docs hope you walk and do stairs. Of course, if you're fantasizing about joining the Olympic track team, you'll need to do a bit more than that. But if you simply want to medal in living a healthier life, 11 minutes of stairs makes your training world class.

Just don't count the stairs that lead to Ned's Ice Cream Flav-o-Rama. And if you're totally out of shape, start slowly: Do one flight up and two flights down once today; walk for 30 minutes -- if it's in 5-minute sections, fine. Once you can mix 10+ minutes of climbing with 20+ of walking, you'll find it does powerful things for your heart, lungs, energy, and sex life. Going up?