Take The Stairs

Take the Stairs – go up and down whenever you can!

Taking the stairs rather than riding the escalator or elevator is always a better option for your health. A 140-pound person will burn about 4 more calories per minute compared to standing and riding. Over the course of a year, you might lose over half a pound if your only lifestyle change was taking the stairs for a minute a day. But there are other benefits -- stair climbing challenges your muscles more than standing and level walking. It is a good activity to build into your day.

With an aging population, single-story homes and homes with the master bedroom on the main level are becoming more desirable. People want to eliminate stairs from their lives. Yet a task such as carrying groceries up a flight of stairs burns more than twice the calories as carrying them on level ground. Unless you have existing joint problems, it is good to challenge your muscles and joints each day.

I see living in a two-story house or a duplex apartment as a built-in fitness program. I happen to live on the 35th floor of a high-rise building and I always take the stairs when going down, at least 2 or 3 times a day. It takes me about 4 minutes to walk down and it’s a great exercise. I would be very happy to go up the stairs if I could, but for security reasons the building does not allow that. Next time you are in a shopping mall or a movie theatre, try taking the stairs and make it a habit of avoiding the elevators and you will also cut down on getting germs from others in a confined space.

Taking the stairs is just one small step. You need to add other small changes to be more active and eat a better diet in order to stay fit and healthy. The biggest step can be achieving the recommended exercise levels for healthy persons – 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, 5 days a week, plus strength exercise two days a week.