How to Convert Flights of Stairs to Miles

Finding time for fitness can sometimes be a challenge, but with a little creativity, you can turn an ordinary activity like climbing stairs into a quick, heart-pumping, calorie-burning workout. If going up the stairs is a common occurrence in your day, then you might be wondering how many flights of stairs are in a mile.

If you're curious about how many steps you need to take in order to reach a mile, then you need to know how to convert steps to miles.

To do this, you first need to count the number of steps you climb and multiply that number by 17, which is the standard number of inches for most steps. This measurement accounts for tread and rise. The result of this equation is the number of inches you are climbing.

Next, you need to convert miles into inches. This will turn the number of stairs you climbed into miles. To do this, multiply the 5,280 feet in a mile by 12 inches, and you get 63,360. In other words, one mile is equal to 63,360 inches.

With that in mind, if you climb 1,000 stairs in a day, that would equal 17,000 inches, which falls short of the one-mile goal. So, if you want to aim for one mile of steps, you will need to climb 3,727 steps (63,360 divided by 17 inches). And to cover 3,727 steps, you'd need to walk between 232 and 310 flights of stairs. The average number of steps in a flight of stairs is between 12 and 16 steps.

The health benefits of regular exercise include more than just burning calories. Climbing stairs and other cardio workouts can reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most healthy adults should get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, plus two or more days of muscle-strengthening exercises that involve all major muscle groups, according to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

You can chip away at that goal with a few minutes of climbing stairs every day. In addition to boosting your cardio fitness, trekking up the stairs is also a fantastic leg workout.

Climbing steps requires you to recruit the muscles in your lower body, which means you can strengthen and tone your calves, quads, glutes and hamstrings while simultaneously improving your cardio endurance.

Plus, because climbing stairs is considered a weight-bearing exercise, according to the Mayo Clinic, it also strengthens your bones, which helps to prevent falls and fractures and may reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis.

While climbing all those stairs may seem like a lot of work just to get one mile of walking in, keep in mind that each step you take also burns calories. In fact, a small December 2012 study in ‌PLOS One‌ estimated that climbing a single step burns 0.09 calories. Multiply that number by 3,727, which is the number of steps in one mile, and you will burn 335 calories.

To meet your weight-loss goal, look for ways at work, home or even running errands to add a few flights of stairs to your daily activities. Start your morning with the staircase at work and head there for 10 minutes of climbing at lunch.

When running errands, skip the elevator and instead look for the nearest exit sign leading to a flight of stairs. Find a set of stairs close to your house and head there in the evening for 10 to 15 minutes of climbing.

You can also turn a set of stairs into a full workout by adding lunges, push-ups, squats and planks to the routine. For example, run the stairs for 10 minutes. Then do 20 squats, 20 walking lunges, 20 push-ups and 30 seconds of planks. Repeat this circuit until you reach your desired time.