{"id":1027,"date":"2009-02-22T03:01:12","date_gmt":"2009-02-22T01:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.ultimatefatburner.com\/?p=1027"},"modified":"2015-03-20T18:55:24","modified_gmt":"2015-03-20T22:55:24","slug":"simple-steps-to-fitness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultimatefatburner.com\/ufb-blog\/simple-steps-to-fitness\/","title":{"rendered":"Simple Steps To Fitness"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of summers ago, John attended a conference in Pittsburgh, so on a whim, the kids and I decided we’d tag along too, and make a short vacation out of it. Pittsburgh has some pretty cool, family-oriented things to do (the Zoo\/Aquarium<\/a> and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History are aweome), so it was a fun trip.<\/p>\n

Of course, when we travel, John and I like to get some semblance of a workout in, even if it’s nothing more than some pushups and calisthenics in the hotel room. But we\u00a0were lucky in our choice of hotel: it had 8 floors, so we were able to get some good cardio sessions in, just by racing up and down the stairwell (which no one but us ever seemed to use).<\/p>\n

In fact, since we were on the 7th floor, we made a point of taking the stairs going back and forth to our room, too…the kids\u00a0took the elevator,\u00a0so\u00a0 – just to annoy them –\u00a0we’d race up (or down) the stairs to make sure we got to the designated floor before they did.\u00a0 We also took the stairs everywhere else\u00a0we could…the kids were rolling their eyes by the end of the trip, and Number One Son\u00a0dubbed us “Stair Whores.” That made me laugh, so I made sure we got a commemorative pic of the stairwell, to keep with our other vacation photos.<\/p>\n

That’s why this article in the New York Times<\/a> caught my eye…<\/p>\n

EIGHTEEN years ago, Ronnie Guie considered buying a treadmill or a stair-climbing machine to stay in shape. Then one day on his lunch hour at Con Edison in Astoria, Queens, two co-workers invited Mr. Guie to take a walk to the top of the 10-floor building. He was breathing heavily by the time he got there, but was hooked: he had found his workout for free. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s a quick fix,\u201d he said. <\/em><\/p>\n

At 59, Mr. Guie says he still has the same waist size (30 inches) and weight range (150 to 155 pounds) that he did when he was 17, thanks to his five-day-a-week regimen. He climbs the concrete stairs usually 10 times or so in an hour, depending how much time he has. \u201cI get the results out of it \u2014 and it\u2019s not easy,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I always feel great.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

…\u201cStair climbing will give you a little more bang for your buck because of the vertical component,\u201d said Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise. Compared to jogging or cycling at a moderate pace without much of an incline, stair climbing, Dr. Bryant said, \u201cwill be a bit more challenging and therefore allow you to burn more calories for that same amount of time.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One of the most evil exercises ever devised for me by my ex-trainer, Jerry, involved the stairs just outside the Rec Center fitness room.\u00a0 Unlike the hotel, the stairwell at the Rec only spanned two floors, but it was enough.\u00a0 Jerry had me hop up and down the stairs, one leg at a time<\/strong>.\u00a0 One “set” was two complete up\/down trips (one for each leg), and I had to do 5 sets, without resting in between.\u00a0 Even worse, it was\u00a0a race against the clock –\u00a0I had to try to beat my previous time with each new session\u00a0(it took me about 20 minutes initially, but I eventually got it down to 12).\u00a0 By the time I finished each bout, I’d be clutching the handrail, legs on fire, flushed and dripping with sweat.\u00a0\u00a0On a couple of occasions,\u00a0people walking past even stopped to help me, because they thought\u00a0I was hurt (why else would I be hopping up the stairs on one leg, looking like I was in pain?). \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

So, while some caution has to be observed, you can get one hell of a workout on the stairs.\u00a0 If you’ve got a stairwell handy, it’s a neat, relatively low impact and completely cost-free alternative to more conventional forms of cardio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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