Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Taking the stairs instead of the elevator
- Thread starter Doctor Q
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
SharksFan22 said:
Wanna hear something eff'ed up?
Sometimes I walk 25 minutes to get to Uni.....where part of the walk is uphill, and then walk to my building through campus, and once I get inside the building, I take the elevator 1 storey up.
Doctor Q said:Yes, Verne Troyer. Age 37, born in Michigan. Starred in a great PowerBook ad with a 17" PowerBook.
I've been looking for a copy of the ad. Here is the ASCII version, but I haven't found the original.
Yeah, he could have used a stick to poke the buttons, but he has a small mind.
Still unresolved: What's different on weekdays? Edit: Sorry, I see jsw explained it above. Other people would be in the elevator on weekdays.
By the way, my final total for the day was 836 stairs.
Gah! Mini me was my initial thought, but I couldn't place the PB connection. Man... I was so close and didn't know it....
I went out of town this weekend. A lot of sitting in cars and eating in restaurants. Tomorrow I'd better get back to those stairs and make up for my 2 day lack of activity.
I've decided that I'm going to do a lot more walking lately, I often walk to the Mission on weekends because its not that far and hilly enough to where it gives me more exercise than I usually get but this weekend I've decided to take it one step further. I don't live right next to a bus stop but within a few minutes of walking to it. I usually would have to drive to the BART station nearest my place in order to get to work and that involves getting racing to find a spot since the parking lot is limited and it fills up not too long after 9:00am but if you try to get there before then they'll give you a ticket. I've gotton one at 8:57am which really pissed me off, even though I wasn't the oly car parked just a few minutes early.
So yesterday I picked up a bus pass (which also works on BART, yay) and now I half to walk up a relatively steep hill to get to the stop which takes me directly to the station and if I'm not in a rush to get home, I can walk from the BART station to my place.
I don't plan to drive my car again this week until I have to move it to the other side of the street for street cleaning.
So yesterday I picked up a bus pass (which also works on BART, yay) and now I half to walk up a relatively steep hill to get to the stop which takes me directly to the station and if I'm not in a rush to get home, I can walk from the BART station to my place.
I don't plan to drive my car again this week until I have to move it to the other side of the street for street cleaning.
I'm still doing my staircliming each day. I've settled into a normal routine with a particular stairwell, so I'm no longer exploring the building looking for new paths up and down. Oddly, one stairwell door that is normally open is locked once in a while. When that happens, I have to add a short extra segment across one level of the parking lot. But variety makes for less boredom, so I don't mind.
Going up is certainly aerobic, but going down isn't. I wondered if it's worth the bother, or the risk of twisting an ankle, to take stairs down regularly. So I asked a physician I know and she confirmed that running or even walking up stairs is great but going down probably isn't worth it compared to other ways to get the same bit of exercise.
Going up is certainly aerobic, but going down isn't. I wondered if it's worth the bother, or the risk of twisting an ankle, to take stairs down regularly. So I asked a physician I know and she confirmed that running or even walking up stairs is great but going down probably isn't worth it compared to other ways to get the same bit of exercise.
Some times I take the stairs, but most of the time I take the elevator.. The reson: Once I almost got locked in the staircase becuase it was a fire exit, and the doors woudn't open. I had to walk down 12 flights of steps, exit at the ground floor, and then take the elevator back up
Mandatory exercise!macEfan said:Once I almost got locked in the staircase becuase it was a fire exit, and the doors woudn't open. I had to walk down 12 flights of steps, exit at the ground floor, and then take the elevator back up
I had to go down the stairs once because of a fire alarm in a hotel. I was on the 13th floor and had to go down 12 flights to the lobby, only to learn that it was a false alarm. It's ususual enough to have to hike down 12 flights, but having a floor labeled "13" in a hotel (yes, it was in the USA) is unusual too!
I'm still following my daily stairclimbing routine. I haven't missed a workday since I started, although I only do this Monday through Friday. I get weekends off for good behavior.
Those two-day breaks do seem to make a difference. I've noticed that on Mondays I'm a bit more out of breath when I reach the top of my climb than I am by Friday.
So I must build up my aerobic capacity day by day all week and then lose it all by sleeping late and watching TV on the weekend!
Those two-day breaks do seem to make a difference. I've noticed that on Mondays I'm a bit more out of breath when I reach the top of my climb than I am by Friday.
So I must build up my aerobic capacity day by day all week and then lose it all by sleeping late and watching TV on the weekend!
taytho said:
yeah, taken with Microsoft's new line of Digital Cameras!
I'm a big advocate of taking the stairs. I lost a lot of weight when I moved to New York and avoided elevators. I had to go to the 11th floor of my school 2 times a day, that may have had something to do with it
. I also went dancing 3 or 4 times a week, which makes the pounds drop. But the stairs definitely helped.e
I know a guy who got very little exercise, other than moving his thumb on the game controller, until he got the DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) game and pad. He played it so much that his muscles and lung power really improved. If you are going to be a slave to video games, you might as well work out that way!
I haven't done as much stair-climbing or aerobic activity lately and I feel rather blobby because of it. I was doing a 30-min mini-bike routine with the occasional 5 lb weight exercises until about two days ago when the bike gears started grinding and slipping. I've had the bike for less than a month, and for $100 you'd think it would work/last better than that. It's getting returned tomorrow. I may just have to opt for the cheap-o Walmart mini-bike or something since at least if that breaks down I'm only out $10 or so.
Other than that the hubby and I have gone walking to the library a couple of times this week. Although, I have to say the humidity makes that walk blechy. Eh, what it really comes down to is I just feel like complaining about the heat so I feel better about the walks seeming to be harder than normal. I used to always outpace the hubby in our walks. Now I'm straining for energy just to keep up. Go figure.
Edit: Doctor Q, here here! I've heard of a few others doing the DDR route to lose weight and it did them wonders. Maybe I'll have the kid do that to keep fit.
Other than that the hubby and I have gone walking to the library a couple of times this week. Although, I have to say the humidity makes that walk blechy. Eh, what it really comes down to is I just feel like complaining about the heat so I feel better about the walks seeming to be harder than normal. I used to always outpace the hubby in our walks. Now I'm straining for energy just to keep up. Go figure.
Edit: Doctor Q, here here! I've heard of a few others doing the DDR route to lose weight and it did them wonders. Maybe I'll have the kid do that to keep fit.
Get a gym membership and continue your walking routines on the weekend. You can use an elliptical trainer to simulate your stair-climbing.
That's the good thing about living in Shanghai. There are no neighbourhoods, but everyone lives in compounds or complexes and developments that have their own services like security, laundry, and of course, recreation. Most compounds have their own gym, tennis and basketball courts, squash courts, swimming pools, etc. Some are covered in rent fees, so you can just walk down the road to your compound's gym whenever you feel like working out.
Before I came to Shanghai I never really exercised. I played sports but only occassionally, and I felt kinda crappy after moving here. I wasn't fat or chubby at all, but on the contrary quite skinny and I didn't have much endurance. But now I do a ten-minute run every day and do a simple workout for an hour afterwards. I rarely use gym equipment except for the incline benches and treadmills. Dumbbells, push-ups, bicycle maneuvers, longarm crunches and lunges will do you wonders. My abs have improved dramatically but I still have to lose the fat on my stomach before they're visible all the time
Keep up the good work everyone. It's about time someone skewed the overweight ratio in America.
That's the good thing about living in Shanghai. There are no neighbourhoods, but everyone lives in compounds or complexes and developments that have their own services like security, laundry, and of course, recreation. Most compounds have their own gym, tennis and basketball courts, squash courts, swimming pools, etc. Some are covered in rent fees, so you can just walk down the road to your compound's gym whenever you feel like working out.
Before I came to Shanghai I never really exercised. I played sports but only occassionally, and I felt kinda crappy after moving here. I wasn't fat or chubby at all, but on the contrary quite skinny and I didn't have much endurance. But now I do a ten-minute run every day and do a simple workout for an hour afterwards. I rarely use gym equipment except for the incline benches and treadmills. Dumbbells, push-ups, bicycle maneuvers, longarm crunches and lunges will do you wonders.
My abs have improved dramatically but I still have to lose the fat on my stomach before they're visible all the time Keep up the good work everyone. It's about time someone skewed the overweight ratio in America.
I always use the stairs and I bike a mile to work everyday. I scoff at people riding in their SUVs while I pedal around
Big news!
For some reason, there has been a lone tan shoelace, or a similarly thick piece of string, sitting on the 51st step that I pass every day on my way up the stairs. I wondered how long it would stay there. Do they ever clean staircases in office buildings?
Well, I'm pleased to report that after 3 weeks it finally disappeared this week. Either they do in fact clean the stairs now and then, or a discarded-shoelace thief (of which I'm sure we all know many) made off with it.
I tried something new the other day: trying to climb the stairs without mentally counting them. I was unable to do it!
I guess I'm like Count von Count from Sesame Street - I naturally count everything I see. To make it more interesting, I've counted backwards, counted by tens, counted backwards by tens, etc., but I don't seem to be able to do no counting at all! :laughs at self:
Tomorrow I will try humming a song in time to my steps just to see if that suppresses the counting habit.
For some reason, there has been a lone tan shoelace, or a similarly thick piece of string, sitting on the 51st step that I pass every day on my way up the stairs. I wondered how long it would stay there. Do they ever clean staircases in office buildings?
Well, I'm pleased to report that after 3 weeks it finally disappeared this week. Either they do in fact clean the stairs now and then, or a discarded-shoelace thief (of which I'm sure we all know many) made off with it.
I tried something new the other day: trying to climb the stairs without mentally counting them. I was unable to do it!
I guess I'm like Count von Count from Sesame Street - I naturally count everything I see. To make it more interesting, I've counted backwards, counted by tens, counted backwards by tens, etc., but I don't seem to be able to do no counting at all! :laughs at self:
Tomorrow I will try humming a song in time to my steps just to see if that suppresses the counting habit.
I take the stairs everywhere never use the elevator. At uni most classes are on the 4th floor but I huff and puff my way up Good excersise
Good excersise
Doctor Q said:
Just wanted to say - I really like your avatar. A lot!
Anyway, the Nike+iPod kit has been huge for me - it makes running a lot more enjoyable (and I don't have to run on the track anymore to know how far I've gone). I'm bringing my bike up to college, and since I have my own kitchen, I'm hoping to avoid the ever-dreaded Freshmen 15
.
Thanks. I'm just sure it's a letter Q!AvSRoCkCO1067 said:
That will depend on your new rate of caloric consumption, not just whether you continue your same exercise routine!Anyway, the Nike+iPod kit has been huge for me - it makes running a lot more enjoyable (and I don't have to run on the track anymore to know how far I've gone). I'm bringing my bike up to college, and since I have my own kitchen, I'm hoping to avoid the ever-dreaded Freshmen 15