Moving your entire body from one floor to another requires a lot of muscle. All of the muscles of the leg are used. Some move across only one joint, and others, like the hamstring, move across two. Whether you're just going from the first floor to the second or doing cardio on a step mill, climbing stairs really gets your body working.
Calves and Ankles
The first movement in a stair-step is to lift the body onto the toes and propel the body forward. This is done with the flexing of the calves to move the ankle joint. The calves are composed of three heads. The upper two that create the classic bulge of calf muscle are the gastrocnemius medial head and the gastrocnemius lateral head. There is also a long muscle that runs down towards the heel called the soleus. The former two heads of the calf are most active in climbing stairs, as the soleus is primarily used when the hips are bent, as when you are seated.
Anterior Hip Flexors and Hips
As the rear leg lifts the body, the front leg is lifted up to place the forward foot on the next step. The bending of the knee is done by gravity, but the bending of the hip is performed by the anterior hip flexors and the one quadriceps head that crosses two joints: the rectus femoris. The rectus femoris both bends the hip and straightens the knee.
Quadriceps and Knees
After the front foot is raised and planted, it is pressed down to lift the body again. One of the two joints this utilizes is the knee, which is straightened by the large quadriceps muscles. The three lower heads are primarily used, those being the vastus lateralis, the vastus medialis and the vastus intermedius.
Glutes and Hips
The other joint that is moved to press the foot down and lift the body up is the hip. The primary mover of the hips are the glutes. The gluteus maximus primarily moves the femur back into a straight line with the body -- the movement used in climbing stairs -- while the gluteus medius lifts the legs sideways.
Hamstrings and Hips
Like the rectus femoris of the quadriceps, the hamstrings cross two joints: the knees and the hips, but on the opposite side of the leg. So while the rectus femoris straightens the knee and bends the hip, the hamstrings bend the knee and straighten the hip. In stair climbing, the bending of the knee is a matter of gravity, but the hamstrings aid the gluteus maximus in straightening the forward leg to lift the body. The hamstrings are known as the biceps of the leg, and their scientific names indicate this: the biceps femoris, long head, and the biceps femoris, short head.
References
- "Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding"; Robert Kennedy; 2008
- "Strength Training Anatomy 3rd Ed."; Frederic Delavier; 2010
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