If you\u2019re winded for a minute or so but can easily catch your breath, it\u2019s no cause for concern, said Karl Erickson<\/a>, a performance specialist at Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s quite normal … you\u2019re essentially lifting your body. You\u2019re doing a squat or a lunge when you go up the stairs,\u201d said Erickson, \u201cso, definitely more effortful than just walking.\u201d<\/p>\n Just how winded you are will vary; you\u2019ll be more out of breath if you run up the stairs or walk up with a heavy suitcase than if you leisurely walked up the stairs. Some folks may not even notice the breathlessness as much as others.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019ve got an elite athlete \u2015 like, I doubt Caitlin Clark gets winded going up a flight of stairs \u2015 but for the average middle-aged person, and, unfortunately, especially here in the United States, we tend to live a little bit more sedentary lifestyle, so it can be very normal to get winded just going up one flight of stairs,\u201d Pohlgeers said.<\/p>\n If it\u2019s a new change or you\u2019re noticing prolonged breathlessness, you should let your doctor know.<\/p>\n While it can be perfectly normal to feel winded after climbing the stairs, there are a few red flags that may signal a concern. <\/p>\n Is your breathlessness a new issue that\u2019s never happened before? Or is it getting worse? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, you should talk to a doctor about potential underlying issues, according to Pohlgeers. \u201cThe biggest thing is for people not to necessarily think, \u2018Oh, my gosh, I\u2019m dying,\u2019 but also, don\u2019t always just simply dismiss it as, \u2018Well, I\u2019m out of shape.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThose are things that we really take seriously,\u201d Pohlgeers added. \u201cIf there is a change in the exercise capacity, just making sure that we as doctors are able to do our due diligence and rule out any underlying conditions, so that we can maximize people\u2019s lifestyles and help them be as healthy as they possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n Underlying conditions such as heart failure, obesity, chronic lung disease, being a smoker, COPD and even being anemic<\/a> can all make the breathlessness you feel after walking<\/a> up stairs worse.<\/p>\n \u201cHow long it takes you to recover is always a good indicator, too,\u201d Erickson said.<\/p>\n It\u2019s normal for your breathing to be faster for a minute or two after walking up a bunch of stairs, Erickson explained. \u201cBut if it\u2019s staying elevated past three minutes or a prolonged period of time, that\u2019s when it becomes more concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n If you notice chest pain, headache or vision changes along with the breathlessness, that\u2019s worrisome and worth chatting with your doctor about too, Pohlgeers added.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how you can build your stair-climbing endurance:<\/p>\n If you want to be less winded after climbing the stairs, start doing it more often (as long as you don\u2019t have any underlying conditions that can put your health at risk). If you have issues such as heart failure or COPD that make climbing stairs a challenge, get those treated first, Pohlgeers stressed.<\/p>\n \u201cYour body adapts to imposed demands on it. So, if you\u2019re practicing going up the stairs, you become more efficient,\u201d Erickson said. The muscles needed to climb the stairs will strengthen the more you use them, he added.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll ask patients, actually, that are getting ready to go into surgery, it\u2019s like a pre-op clearance: \u2018Could you carry groceries up three to four flights of stairs?\u2019\u201d Pohlgeers explained.<\/p>\n It\u2019s OK if you\u2019re out of breath by the top of the three or four flights of stairs. The concern is can you physically do it without having symptoms like chest pain, vision changes or a headache, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you get up three or four flights of stairs as an average person carrying groceries, you\u2019re good. That\u2019s a very good sign,\u201d Pohlgeers noted.<\/p>\n \u201cDeveloping your base strength levels \u2014 doing lunges<\/a>, doing squats<\/a>, that\u2019s going to give you more power, more strength to go up [stairs],\u201d Erickson added. Improving your cardiovascular fitness can also help decrease the fatigue you feel at the top of the stairs. <\/p>\n When working on building up your endurance, do so gradually, Pohlgeers suggested. You don\u2019t need to go up and down the stairs five times in a row. Instead, slowly build up your fitness ability in a sustainable and even enjoyable way, whether that\u2019s by doing more yard work, going on walks with your neighbor or taking up gardening.<\/p>\n As you work on your strength and cardiovascular fitness, your stair-climbing endurance should also improve, according to Erickson. You\u2019ll be easily climbing back-to-back flights of stairs in no time.<\/p>\n The original version of this story was published on HuffPost at an earlier date.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If you\u2019ve ascended a flight or two of stairs, you likely know the feeling of being out of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[49,48,407,84,4465],"class_list":{"0":"post-403123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-fitness","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-walking"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""If](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768158664_449_695be9692b00004e196834e9.jpeg\")
“If you get up three or four flights of stairs as an average person carrying groceries, you’re good. That’s a very good sign.”<\/p>\n