{
  "slug": "calories-stairs",
  "title": "Calorie Burn — Stair Climbing",
  "category": "Energy Expenditure",
  "category_slug": "energy-expenditure",
  "tier": 2,
  "summary": "Estimate calories burned climbing stairs or using a stair machine from body weight, time, and pace.",
  "description": "This calculator estimates the energy cost of stair climbing using MET values from the Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. It combines body weight, duration, and one of four published entries: slow-pace stair climbing at 4.5 METs (code 17133), general stair climbing at 6.8 METs (code 17131), fast climbing taking one step at a time at 9.3 METs (code 17134), and the stair-treadmill ergometer at 9.3 METs (code 02065). Secondary rows report the MET applied, the net-of-resting figure, and the per-minute rate.",
  "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/energy-expenditure/calories-stairs/",
  "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/calories-stairs.json",
  "formula": {
    "id": "calories_stairs",
    "expression": "\\text{Calories} = \\text{MET}(\\text{pace}) \\times w \\times \\frac{t}{60}",
    "variables": [
      {
        "symbol": "w",
        "description": "Weight in kg"
      },
      {
        "symbol": "t",
        "description": "Duration in minutes"
      },
      {
        "symbol": "\\text{MET}",
        "description": "4.5, 6.8, or 9.3 by pace/mode (Compendium codes 17133, 17131, 17134, 02065)"
      }
    ]
  },
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "weight_kg",
      "label": "Weight",
      "type": "number",
      "unit": "kg",
      "default": 75,
      "min": 20,
      "max": 300,
      "step": 0.1
    },
    {
      "id": "minutes",
      "label": "Duration",
      "type": "number",
      "unit": "min",
      "default": 20,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 300,
      "step": 1
    },
    {
      "id": "pace",
      "label": "Pace / mode",
      "type": "select",
      "unit": null,
      "default": 1,
      "options": [
        {
          "label": "Stairs, slow pace (4.5 MET)",
          "value": 0
        },
        {
          "label": "Stairs, general (6.8 MET)",
          "value": 1
        },
        {
          "label": "Stairs, fast pace (9.3 MET)",
          "value": 2
        },
        {
          "label": "Stair-climbing machine (9.3 MET)",
          "value": 3
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": {
      "weight_kg": 75,
      "minutes": 20,
      "pace": 1
    },
    "expected_output": "170 kcal"
  },
  "result_summary_template": "A person weighing {weight_kg} kg who climbs stairs for {minutes} minutes at the selected pace burns approximately {result}.",
  "methodology": "Calories = MET × body mass (kg) × duration (hours). MET values from the Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (2024): stair climbing, slow pace = 4.5 METs (code 17133); stair climbing, general = 6.8 METs (code 17131); stair climbing, fast pace, one step at a time = 9.3 METs (code 17134); stair-treadmill ergometer, general = 9.3 METs (code 02065). The Compendium also lists two-steps-at-a-time climbing at 7.5 METs (code 17136), referenced in the write-up. Net figure = (MET − 1) × mass × hours.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "label": "Herrmann SD, et al. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: a third update of the energy costs of human activities. J Sport Health Sci. 2024;13(1):6–12.",
      "url": "https://pacompendium.com/walking/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Ainsworth BE, et al. 2011 Compendium of Physical Activities: a second update of codes and MET values. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(8):1575–1581.",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21681120/"
    },
    {
      "label": "Jetté M, Sidney K, Blümchen G. Metabolic equivalents (METS) in exercise testing, exercise prescription, and evaluation of functional capacity. Clin Cardiol. 1990;13(8):555–565.",
      "url": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2204507/"
    }
  ],
  "faqs": [
    {
      "question": "Why do stairs cost so much more than level walking?",
      "answer": "Climbing performs continuous work against gravity. Each 17 cm step raises the entire body mass, and at a general pace that vertical work roughly doubles the energy cost of brisk level walking — 6.8 METs against about 3.8. Fast climbing at 9.3 METs approaches the cost of running, which is why stairwell intervals feature in training programmes that need high intensity in little space."
    },
    {
      "question": "Does going down the stairs count?",
      "answer": "It counts, but at a much lower rate. Descending is eccentric work — muscles absorb energy to control the drop — and measured costs sit around 3.5 METs or less. The published climbing entries assume ascent, so an up-and-down stairwell circuit averages somewhere between the climbing value and the descent value. Timing only the ascending portions and pricing it with the climbing entry is the cleaner accounting."
    },
    {
      "question": "Why do the stair machine and fast stairs share 9.3 METs?",
      "answer": "The stair-treadmill removes descents and rest pauses: the belt keeps presenting new steps, so the body performs uninterrupted ascent. Sustained continuous climbing at a moderate machine rate ends up costing about what brisk real-stair climbing costs when someone pushes the pace. The equivalence breaks if the user leans on the handrails, which supports part of the body weight and lowers the true cost below the table value."
    },
    {
      "question": "Is taking two steps at a time better for calorie burn?",
      "answer": "Per minute, generally not. The Compendium lists two-at-a-time climbing at 7.5 METs versus 9.3 for fast single stepping. Double-stepping raises the cost of each stride but lowers stride rate, and studies clocking both styles over the same staircase have found single stepping burns slightly more per minute while double stepping burns slightly more per flight. The difference either way is small compared with total time spent climbing."
    },
    {
      "question": "How many flights does a given calorie figure represent?",
      "answer": "A typical residential storey is around 3 m of vertical gain, roughly 16–18 steps. At a general pace a 75 kg person burns about 8.5 kcal per minute and climbs perhaps 5–6 storeys in that minute, so a single flight costs on the order of 1.5–2 kcal gross. Large round numbers — say 170 kcal — therefore correspond to something near 100 flights, which puts stair-count challenge targets in context."
    }
  ],
  "related_tools": [
    {
      "slug": "calories-elliptical",
      "title": "Calorie Burn — Elliptical",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/calories-elliptical.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/energy-expenditure/calories-elliptical/"
    },
    {
      "slug": "calories-walking",
      "title": "Calorie Burn — Walking",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/calories-walking.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/energy-expenditure/calories-walking/"
    },
    {
      "slug": "calories-hiit",
      "title": "Calorie Burn — HIIT & Circuit Training",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/calories-hiit.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/energy-expenditure/calories-hiit/"
    },
    {
      "slug": "custom-met-calculator",
      "title": "Custom Activity MET Calculator",
      "api_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/api/tools/custom-met-calculator.json",
      "page_url": "https://fitmetriclab.com/en/tools/energy-expenditure/custom-met-calculator/"
    }
  ],
  "last_updated": "2026-08-08",
  "price": {
    "value": 0,
    "currency": "USD"
  },
  "runs_in_browser": true,
  "disclaimer": "Educational estimate produced from a published formula. Not medical, nutritional, or training advice. Calculations are deterministic — apply the formula to the inputs to reproduce the result."
}