Mt. Toomanystairs
One of my new ideas came from a story I heard on NPR last week that said climbing stairs for just two minutes a day can prevent the American average of one pound of weight gain per year. (click here to hear/read that story)
The building I work in has five floors. So today I decided that I should climb those stairs and see what two minutes of stair climbing is like. Here are some notes on my experience:
- It took me just about the recommended two minutes to reach the summit of Mt. Toomanystairs.
- It took me a little over twenty-seven minutes to recover (i.e. stop wheezing and seeing stars) following my expedition.
- The air is thinner at higher altitudes.
- My descent to the bottom was made more challenging by the sweat and tears that blurred my vision.
- Two minutes sounds like a very small amount of time but when you’re climbing a mountain, is just short of eternity.
I think I’ll try to do this a couple of times a day. Two minutes of stair climbing isn’t enough exercise by itself but it certainly can’t hurt.
Wait a minute. What am I saying? It’s going to hurt a great deal. I think “every little bit helps” is the annoying cliché I’m looking for here.
The Incredible Shrinking Shrinks 