(TOKYO) — If you’re trying to lose weight and want a new way to do it, stair-climbing as a regular exercise — or just adding a few flights a day — might be for you.

It’s accessible, and research shows it’s more effective than walking on level ground.

“Overall, it is a fact that stair-climbing gets you fit faster and consumes more calories,” said Lauri van Houten, vice president of the International Skyrunning Federation, which oversees a wide range of disciplines that involve vertical climbing.

This includes disciplines like mountain running above 2,000 meters (about 6,500 feet) or events like the Stairclimbing World Championships.

These competitions are for the very fit, but we’re talking here about adding a few minutes of stair-climbing as a daily routine and raising awareness about its effectiveness for all ages.

“How many calories will I burn is the question everyone wants to know,” van Houten said. “Here’s the good news: The overall energy expenditure of the exercise depends on your weight. Therefore, the more you weigh, the more you burn.”

Stair-climbing burns calories — fast

Research shows you burn about 20 times more calories going up stairs than walking on flat ground. Even going down stairs you burn roughly five times more, the muscles being worked to slow the body’s descent.

That might be all you need to know if you are trying to lose weight.

Dr. Alberto Minetti, a physiologist and biomechanist at the University of Milan, has done extensive research of human locomotion — including stair-climbing.

“It is an exercise everybody can do,” Minetti told The Associated Press. “You always have stairs nearby you — free of charge compared to a gym.”

Minetti did the math to explain why going up stairs is so effective for burning calories in a short amount of time.

Read More: What’s the Least Amount of Exercise I Can Get Away With?

“To move 1 kilogram of body mass over 1 horizontal meter, you expend 0.5 calories,” he said. “If you move 1 kilogram of body mass vertically on stairs it’s 10 calories. So it’s 20 times the calories moving vertically rather than horizontally.”

Trained as a physician, Minetti has spent his career in research rather than treating patients. He suggested “watching your speed” for the not-so-young and beginners. He does his own stair-climbing at his third-floor residence in Milan. He said he often takes a few deep breaths before ascending, which makes him feel fresher at the top.

In a scientific study, Minetti makes the point that using the arms in stair-climbing adds extra power. Handrails offer safety, too.

The journal notes that handrails are available in most stairwells in skyscrapers, which maximizes “the muscle mass involved and, consequently, the mechanical/metabolic power of the ascent” by getting the arms involved.

“They are relatively small muscles in the arms, but better than nothing,” Minetti said.

Stairs are everywhere

If stair-climbing was an Olympic sport, Suzy Walsham would own a handful of gold medals.

She’s won 10 races up New York’s Empire State Building — officially 1,576 stairs. She’s claimed titles in more than 100 international stair races, and was once regarded as the No. 1 woman in the discipline.

Five times, the Australian has won climbs up the Eiffel Tower.

This was all too easy, apparently.

When she was living in Singapore, Walsham climbed up her 29-story building — 37 consecutive times. It took over four hours, riding the elevator down each time after reaching the top with short breaks for coffee or water. She covered a vertical distance of 3,200 meters (10,500 feet).

But let’s get grounded. What are the advantages of stair-climbing as a regular exercise routine for the rest of us?

Read More: TIME Guide to Exercise

“You get a lot of bang for your buck,” Walsham told the AP. “Many people struggle to run as they age. The impact of running gets harder on the joints. But stair training is a great alternative.”

Stairs are everywhere — one flight, two flights at home, inside skyscrapers, in stadiums and arenas, at work, in shopping malls, in the subway.

One giant advantage of stair-climbing is it doesn’t take much time. It’s easy to build up, adding a few flights of stairs every day or week, and it improves balance.

On the down side, it’s not very scenic, particularly in the stairways of towering skyscrapers.

Stair-climbing can be worked into your daily routine

Yuri Yoshizumi won last year’s women’s division of the Stairclimbing World Championships in her native Osaka, Japan, a 285-meter (935 feet) climb — 1,610 stairs — that she finished in 10 minutes, 20.06 seconds.

Read More: 9 Ways to Squeeze in More Steps Every Day

“Stair-climbing is an easy sport for beginners and the general public to get into,” Yoshizumi told the AP in an email. “Elite athletes push themselves pretty hard, so it’s pretty tough. But it’s good for you to strengthen your muscles and your cardiovascular system in a short amount of time.”

She added another advantage, particularly living in a large metropolis like Osaka.

“It’s possible to do it in the city,” she said. “Just using the stairs instead of the escalators at (subway) stations and department stores is a good way to get some exercise.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled his new government almost three months after a snap general election delivered a hung parliament.

The long-awaited new line up, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, marks a decisive shift to the right, even though a left-wing alliance won most parliamentary seats.

Despite the partnership between Macron’s centrist party and those on the right, parliament remains fractured and will rely on the support of other parties to pass legislation.

It comes as the European Union puts France on notice over its spiralling debt, which now far exceeds EU rules.

Among those gaining a position in the new cabinet is Bruno Retailleau, a key member of the conservative Republicans Party founded by former president Nicolas Sarkozy.

He has been appointed interior minister, a portfolio that includes immigration.

A total of 10 politicians from the Republicans have been given cabinet jobs, though Macron has kept a number of outgoing ministers in key posts.

Close Macron ally Sebastien Lecornu has been kept on as defence minister, and Jean-Noel Barrot, the outgoing Europe minister, has been promoted to foreign minister.

Just one left-wing politician was given a post in the cabinet, independent Didier Migaud, who was appointed as justice minister.

The post of finance minister went to Antoine Armand, a member of Macron’s own Renaissance party who, until now, was of little political renown.

Armand has the task of drafting the government’s budget bill before the new year to address France’s dire deficit.

Prior to the snap election, the European Union’s executive arm warned France that it would be disciplined for contravening the bloc’s financial rules.

France’s public-sector deficit is projected to reach around 5.6% of GDP this year and go over 6% in 2025. The EU has a 3% limit on deficits.

Michel Barnier, a veteran conservative, was named as Macron’s prime minister earlier this month.

Barnier had been the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, and it was he who tackled the task of forming a new government capable of surviving the fractured National Assembly.

Members of the left-wing alliance, the New Popular Front (NFP) have threatened a no-confidence motion in the new government.

In the July election, the NFP won the most parliamentary seats of any political bloc, but not enough for an overall majority.

Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon called for the new government to “be got rid of” as soon as possible.

On Saturday, before the cabinet announcement, thousands of left-wing supporters demonstrated in Paris against the incoming government, arguing that the left’s performance in the election was not taken into consideration.

The alliance between centrist and conservative parties in the cabinet is not enough to pass legislation on its own.

It will depend on others, such as Marine Le Pen’s far right National Rally to stay in power and get bills into law.

Eighty years after hundreds of Allied soldiers parachuted from military aircraft into Nazi-occupied Netherlands as part of a daring World War Two offensive, their modern equivalents repeated the jump in commemoration.

In an airborne spectacular, 700 paratroopers from eight Nato nations – including the Netherlands, Germany, the UK and the US – parachuted from 12 aircraft.

The jump was done in two waves, and those involved landed at the same location at Ginkel Heath, near the Dutch town of Ede.

Among them were members of the parachute display team, the British Red Devils.

The airdrop is one of several events organised to mark the anniversary of Operation Market Garden, an ambitious military offensive designed to speed up the invasion of Nazi Germany and shorten the war in Europe.

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Elon Musk has backed down and complied with a Brazilian judge’s orders that he appoint a legal representative for X, according to court documents, paving the way for the restoration of the social media site in the country following a weeks-long ban.

X was banned in Brazil late last month amid an escalating feud between the billionaire and Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes, who had demanded the site remove accounts linked to far-right individuals and groups.

Musk refused to do so and shuttered X’s office in the Latin American country. He then ignored a court deadline to appoint a legal representative to the company — a requirement under the country’s civil code — which led Moraes to ban the platform.

Moraes — a controversial figure who has led a years-long crackdown on misinformation and extremist content online — also froze the bank accounts of both X and Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink, claiming that the companies were part of the same “economic unit”.

Starlink is a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX, in which Musk owns about 40 per cent of the stock but commands 79 per cent of voting rights.

On Saturday the stand-off between the billionaire and the judge appeared to be reaching a conclusion after lawyers for X announced the company had appointed an official legal representative. Rachel de Oliveira Villa Nova Conceição previously served in the role before Musk shuttered the company’s São Paulo office.

Multiple media outlets also reported that X had agreed to remove the controversial accounts that were at the centre of the feud between the two men.

X and Musk did not respond to requests for comment.

The developments represent a climbdown for Musk, who has been idolised by sections of the Brazilian right for publicly taking on Moraes.

The billionaire repeatedly mocked the judge on social media, accusing him of being a dictator and posting mocked-up photos of him in prison.

“One day this picture of you in prison will be real. Mark my words,” Musk posted at one point. 

Moraes, however, won the backing of powerful political figures, including the rest of the Supreme Court bench and leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“The Brazilian justice system may have given an important signal that the world is not obliged to put up with Musk’s far-right anything-goes attitude just because he is rich,” Lula said after the ban was announced.

Prior to the ban, X had some 20mn users in Brazil and was the ninth most popular social media platform, far behind Instagram and Facebook. In the wake of Moraes’s order, millions of Brazilians began using Bluesky, a similar microblogging site.

On Saturday X remained blocked in Brazil pending information requests from Moraes and the calculation of outstanding fines.

Additional reporting by Beatriz Langella and Hannah Murphy

Daniel Dubois sensationally dismantled fellow Briton Anthony Joshua in five rounds to catapult himself into global sporting stardom in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

The 27-year-old dropped Joshua multiple times to retain the IBF heavyweight title and leave his domestic rival’s career in ruins.

Londoner Dubois stopped Joshua, 34, with a incredible counter right hook to secure the biggest win of his 24-fight career.

“Are you not entertained?” Dubois said post-fight to huge cheers at Wembley.

“I’m a gladiator. I am a warrior to the bitter end. I want to get to the top level of this sport and reach my potential.”

Joshua’s bid to become a three-time champion and return to the division’s top table ended in the most dramatic and unexpected fashion.

AJ – who won his first world title more than eight years ago – suffered a fourth loss in his 32nd bout.

The 2012 Olympic gold medallist worked himself back into mandatory challenger status, but the dominant nature of Dubois’ win left a huge question mark on Joshua’s next move.

An ecstatic Dubois, meanwhile, enjoyed the crowning moment which had eluded him after he was elevated to world champion when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt.

A MAN has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the death of a man in Bristol, police have said.

Avon and Somerset Police arrested a 32-year-old man in the Eastville area of the city at about 5.45pm on Saturday following a manhunt.

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He remains in custody.

The arrest follows the death of a 25-year-old man who was stabbed on Stapleton Road at about 5.40pm on Friday.

Police in the area began administering first aid and called for backup.

The man received emergency care from paramedics at the scene before being taken to Southmead Hospital, but was pronounced dead later that evening.

A murder investigation was launched, with extensive searches of the Bristol on Friday night, with assistance from the National Police Air Service.

Police have also arrested two women, aged 36 and 47, on suspicion of assisting an offender. They both remain in custody.

A man who was arrested on suspicion of the same offence on Friday has been released with no further action.

Detective Inspector Mark Newbury, senior investigating officer, said: “The arrest of a man this afternoon on suspicion of murder marks a significant development in our investigation.

“He is in custody and will be interviewed by detectives from our major crime investigation team in due course.

“We are in contact with close friends of the man who died and have updated them this evening of this news and continue to offer them support.

“Stapleton Road was reopened this afternoon following the conclusion of our inquiries at the scene and we are grateful for the public’s understanding while that necessary work was undertaken.

“The community can continue to expect to see an increased high-visibility police presence over the next few days as we look to help anyone who has concerns following this tragic incident.”

Bristol Commander, Superintendent Mark Runacres, said earlier on Saturday: “There is no place for violence on Bristol’s streets and we are committed to working with partners around this issue.

“We want the community to understand that we are here to help them.

“We understand such tragic news is hugely distressing and therefore there will be an increased police presence in the area over the coming days with more patrols carried out, not because we’re aware of any increased risk, but because we want to make sure you can approach us to raise any concerns.

“Stapleton Road is a busy place at the best of times, especially early on a Friday evening.

“We are grateful to those people who have already spoken to police and told us what they saw and we’d urge anyone else with information to please contact us as soon as possible.”

Mr Runacres said he was aware that people were filming in the area, and they would like to hear from anyone with footage relevant to their investigation.

However, he asked that out of respect for the man’s friends and family no insensitive footage is published on social media.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101 and quote reference number 5224248976.