Stair-Well

Posted on January 12, 2011

Well-ness continued.

Ok, it happened…the “I worked late, blew out my schedule, have a meeting to go to later, don’t have time to go to the gym for an hour-plus and anything less than that is a waste of time” argument.  (still with me?) 

My gym bag sat limply under my desk.  I knew it held everything I needed to get motivated:  tunes, sneaks, cool tech fabric pants that make you fitter just by putting them on.  And then I remembered – it was in front of me the whole time – stair climbing!  For some reason I hadn’t given much thought to stair practice, (really, missy?  really?) despite those fantastic email reminders from the local American Lung Association stair climb coordinator.  After some hesitation and a little encouragement from co-workers,  I went to change my clothes attitude.

Apparently I’m that rare bird who enjoys the treadmill.  This goes to my cold weather avoidance training strategy.  But 30 minutes on a treadmill just doesn’t do it for me anymore.  30 minutes in a stairwell?  Very effective – but not exactly appealing.  The view is limited.  The gum is abundant.  I try not to think about what gifts are embedded on the handrails.

I entered the stairs at the 15th floor and went up to the boiler room – 26th floor.  Then back down to the first floor, and up to the top three more times.  That’s 93 floors!  183 flights!  1,830 stairs!  I was feeling pretty spry the first 15 up, and the entire first 26 down.  Round two was…ok.  Round three I was crying.  My enthusiasm and energy waned as the lactic acid in my quads waxed.  Seriously, I wanted to quit almost as much as I wanted to throw up a lot.

The thing about stair climbing is no matter how often I practice, I don’t ever feel like I’m improving.  So you really have to reach deep into your bag of mental toughness.  Listen, I know I’m never gonna be very fast, very slim or very skilled at walking past a glass of wine and a side of cheese.  I just want to get to the top of the stairs and look dignified doing it.  And maybe defy gravity in my 48th year.  And maybe earn some bragging rights.

Not sure if stair climbing is for you?  Well, if you don’t have much time, climb a few flights – the health benefit is terrific for the short amount of time you have to devote to it.  You don’t need special equipment – most any sensible shoe will do.  Drink a lot of water, bring a friend, play some tunes…give it a try. Stair climbing gives you a little more bang for your buck because of the vertical component.

“People who know these things” * say that walking up stairs at a moderate intensity should burn 5 calories a minute for a 120-pound person, 7 for a 150-pound person, and 9 for a 180-pound person. Running stairs multiplies the caloric burn and the cardiovascular benefit.

*people who know these things is shorthand for I can’t remember the site I copied that from, my apologies to the stair climbing scientist who probably spent years measuring stats from sweaty people on ugly staircases.

Categories: Goals and Motivation