News flash: Your ability to climb stairs may be the ultimate health test. This everyday activity demands leg strength, cardiovascular fitness, balance, and coordination, especially when climbing flight after flight without stopping. It’s simple, accessible, and brutally honest about where your fitness stands. Health professionals and performance coaches often use stair climbing to gauge heart health and endurance. In fact, a 2023 study published in Atherosclerosis found that climbing more than five flights of stairs (approx 50 steps) daily was associated with a lower risk of ASCVD types independent of disease susceptibility..