Climbing Stairs to top of High-rise Building

deniseg31
deniseg31 Posts: 667 Member
edited November 9 in Fitness and Exercise
Have any of you ever climbed the stairwell of a high-rise before?

My employer is participating in a 7th Annual Stair climbing event to collect funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. That means that people will be climbing the stairs all the way up to the 58th floor.

Have any of you ever completed such a feat? If so, how was it for you during the climb and in the days following the climb. I really want to do it but I am by no means a fit/athletic person (just started MFP) and I have terrible knees so I am having second thoughts because I wouldn't want to "QUIT" 1/4th or 1/2 of the way up.

Please let me know if you've experienced this before.

Thanks!

Replies

  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
    I went to the top of the ESB. that's 86th floors. my legs were burning and felt like they werent getting enough oxygen. My hip flexors were dragging. I was 15.

    for some reason though, the covent garden spiral staircase in the London tube almost killed me, and that's only 192 stairs. found it to be way harder.

    had to take breaks on both.
  • CarrieCans
    CarrieCans Posts: 381 Member
    Where i live, a High-Rise is only about 12 floors. I can't think of any apartments here that have more than 4 floors. Sorry, i am no help but i giggled until i remembered that our "High Rises" aren't really high lol
  • lishie_rebooted
    lishie_rebooted Posts: 2,973 Member
    I've run stairs as my cardio warm up. A flight of stairs in my apartment, 10min, I think my max climbed in that time was 55?

    Just practice if you're concerned.
    I do the Avon Walks and that's 39.3mi of walking over 2 days (26.2 day 1 and 13.1 day 2).
    A lot of it is more mental than physical.
    Your body can take a lot
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    I will say that going up is a lot easier on the knees than going down is...that said, I would find someplace with just a few floors and try it out and see how you feel. Are there other people in similar shape as you participating? Maybe you could get together a group of "not sure we'll make it" folks and support each other?
  • dalejackson
    dalejackson Posts: 22
    I've done a few "Stair Climb" races... the ones I did were 54 stories I think. I trained for both of them by running and walking up and down stairs for a few weeks before hand (I found the tallest parking decks in town that I could and used their stairs)... so I think if you give yourself some time to practice and see what it's about you'll probably have a better idea of what you're in for. For me, I was actually kind of surprised at how it didn't totally kill me, and it really didn't take all that long (15 minutes the first year, and 12 I think the second year.)

    Also, the one I did had bail out stations at points, rest stops and water stations. It was pretty accommodating.

    I hope you do it! Good luck!
  • skylark94
    skylark94 Posts: 2,036 Member
    edited January 2015
    You're going to be sore the next day, but it's doable. I have bad knees, but I am fine going up stairs and up hill. Going back down is the problem, but you'll have an elevator for that ;) . Pacing yourself is going to be key. Take your time and don't rush in the beginning or you will pay for it later.

    I do a trail near my house called the Incline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manitou_Incline . It's an old cog rail line that gains 2,000 feet (about 200 stories) of elevation in about a mile. It sucks, but I can complete it in about an hour and I'm not in the best shape these days.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
    I also live where there are very few tall buildings. I do take the stairs when I can rather than the elevator, but that is often no more than 4 floors. I did go to the top of Perry's Victory once, but that is only a couple flights of stairs and then an elevator (which is mandatory), so even though it is taller than the Statue of Liberty, you don't get as much of a workout.

    Then I had "Monument" tickets (pedestal) at the Statue of Liberty (not Crown tickets, which are even harder to come by), and the information they give you talks about how difficult the stairs are and blah blah blah... They really make it sound like a big deal, so I was a bit nervous. It turned out it was really nothing to think twice about.

    So while it wouldn't hurt to make sure you have good shoes, unless you have a medical condition, I am sure you can do it handily. If you must, you can stop and take a breather every once in awhile. Just don't run up the stairs... walk like you normally would walk up stairs.
  • CharleneMarie723
    CharleneMarie723 Posts: 98 Member
    My building is 21 floors. I run the interior fire escape if I get home too late to run in the park. Great exercise, but I take the elevator down to save my knees. Try it out, you'll see how it goes.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    I've done 500-600 stairs in various monuments with landings (like St. Paul's Cathedral- 528 stairs). It's a hike, I'll give you that. I can feel my pulse in my legs after. I always make sure I have water along the way up and pace myself. I have good knees and have only ever done such climbs at a "Normal" weight. I've never felt pain the the days following since it's always part of a trip with lots of walking.
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