Warmup: 30 second Grok Squat, lateral, forward, and backward leg swings (10 each leg), 2 light stair runs at around 70% intensity.
I was listening to Led Zeppelin the other day while nursing my legs after a set of hill sprints, and the name came to me – “Stairway to Sore Thighs.” I thought it was a fun name and sprinting against gravity is always a good time. Plus, even the hill-deficient can find a few flights of stairs to sprint. Still, is it worthy of mangling a Zeppelin song title? Other than perhaps Crossfitting thruster fetishists with a penchant for anterior chain pain, no one would confuse a set of sore thighs with “heaven.”
This one is pretty simple. Find a set of stairs, minimum three flights. Shoot for five or more flights, though, or about fifty steps. Sprint up as fast as you can. Do fifteen bodyweight rows, using whatever is available. Walk down the stairs. Do fifteen pushups with your feet elevated. Rest for half a minute to a minute. Repeat five times.
Pretty simple, right? “Stairway to Heaven” hits me in the heart. “Stairway to Sore Thighs” will take care of the rest.
A few things to remember:
Do a few test runs on the stairs before going all out. Get a feel for the steps and figure out if you’re going to skip steps or hit each one while sprinting.
If you can’t find anywhere to do bodyweight rows, do pullups instead and drop the reps down to ten.
Try exploding upward during the pushups so that your torso becomes perfectly parallel with the ground. Throw a clap in there if you like.
Variations:
Remember, three flights at a minimum. Those who can handle it are free to double or even triple that.
What Are WOWs?
Workouts of the Week (WOWs) are an optional component of Primal Blueprint Fitness that add a fractal and often fun and playful quality to the basic PBF protocol.
In most cases WOWs should only be completed by those that have mastered Level 4 of each Lift Heavy Things Essential Movement. Also, it’s recommended that WOWs replace one or both Lift Heavy Things workouts or the Sprint workout (depending on the WOW) each week instead of being done in addition to the Lift Heavy Things and Sprint workouts.
Learn more about WOWs and Primal Blueprint Fitness by getting the free eBook. And access all Workouts of the Week in the WOW Archive.
Mark Sisson is the founder of Mark’s Daily Apple, godfather to the Primal food and lifestyle movement, and the New York Times bestselling author of The Keto Reset Diet. His latest book is Keto for Life, where he discusses how he combines the keto diet with a Primal lifestyle for optimal health and longevity. Mark is the author of numerous other books as well, including The Primal Blueprint, which was credited with turbocharging the growth of the primal/paleo movement back in 2009. After spending three decades researching and educating folks on why food is the key component to achieving and maintaining optimal wellness, Mark launched Primal Kitchen, a real-food company that creates Primal/paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly kitchen staples.
