Adopt stair climbing as your daily habit.
Welcome to Week 27 of 50 Ways to Reduce Your Waste Line. Last week, we asked you to get creative and repurpose office supplies before recycling them. This week, we encourage you to use the stairs instead of taking the elevator.
One Thing You Can Do:
Skip the elevators and take the stairs! Incorporate stair climbing into your daily routine whenever possible.
More than 90% of our time is spent indoors, so incorporating stair climbing when going between floors is a great way to fit some exercise into your day. Stair climbing is a more powerful form of walking, as it requires you to pull your body weight against gravity. Health benefits include burning calories, increasing muscle strength, reducing stress, increasing immune system function, and lowering risk for high cholesterol, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease. According to StepJockey, climbing eight flights of stairs per day reduces early mortality rate by 33%!
If you’re unable to take the stairs due to health reasons (e.g. having a bad knee), try to take a walk when you can. For example, you can create the opportunity to walk more by simply parking your car further away from the building, or getting off the bus one stop before your usual stop.
Additional Information:
Would you like to challenge yourself by taking up stair climbing as your daily routine? Free smartphone apps such as StepJockey count your steps so you can keep track of the steps climbed and calories burned. More benefits of stair climbing can be found here.
