Every little bit of exercise helps!

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UpEarly
UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have the very 'deskiest' of desk jobs out there. I sit practically shackled to a computer workstation for 8-9 hours a day, every day, Monday through Friday. A few months ago, I decided that I was going to take several breaks a day to get up and move around. Usually at 9:00 10:30, 1:30 and 3:30 I get up and climb 12 flights of stairs and make a couple laps around the main perimeter hallway of my building. It's a large building, and each of these 'get up and move' cycles takes me about eight minutes. I move at a brisk pace, and I trot/run up the stairs instead of plodding up slowly.

Out of curiosity, I brought my HRM into work today. (geeky... I know!) I sneaked off to the bathroom before my first 'stair climb' of the day and put it on. I tested my heart rate and calorie burn during two cycles of stair climbing. The first run, I burned 57 calories, the second one 62 calories. If I do four climbs a day, that's about an extra 235 calories. Even though running up stairs is challenging, this is still WAY more than I expected to see.

While I'll never personally count these 'stair climbs' as exercise and I'll leave my activity level set to sedentary, I wanted to share my scientific findings (haha!) with people who are having a hard time finding time to exercise. :-)

Replies

  • cbirdso
    cbirdso Posts: 465 Member
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    I take a walk each day I am at work ( I work part-time) and get up and stretch, but I sometimes would like to do the same as you. Unfortunately, I have limited stairs in my building and they are all in the garage/basement with stale air and NOT fun. Also, it is impossible to walk around the building because of the surrounding geography and more importantly the proximity of windows to the offices of upper management. Oh well, at least I can exit the building and walk along the waterfront - it is beautiful.
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    I wish I had a waterfront to walk along! That sounds really nice.

    My building is four stories and has six different stairwells, so I have a variety of places to climb. And because I work for a university, students/faculty and others are always walking around. I don't think anyone notices me making my 'rounds'. :-)
  • rmoga99
    rmoga99 Posts: 37
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    Very interesting. Thank you. I've been trying to take the stairs every day, every time, but now that will make me do it! 3 flights up to where I work each morning!
  • rower75
    rower75 Posts: 90 Member
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    Very interesting. I've been thinking about doing such a thing as I never take breaks either. The only time I leave my desk is bathroom & to get something from the printer. I am amazed you burned that many calories. Wow!
  • dougii
    dougii Posts: 679 Member
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    Running up 12 flights of stairs is exercise! Your calerie burn is about the equivalent of 6 minutes of hard rowing at about 16 strokes per minute for me on my ERG. Run up those stairs one more time per day and you would be rowing about a 5K every day - over time that really adds up. Congrats on finding a unique way to exercise and get away from you desk!
  • LindsayLL30
    LindsayLL30 Posts: 154 Member
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    Love I!!! Great idea I also try to fit in short bursts of exercise!
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    Very interesting. Thank you. I've been trying to take the stairs every day, every time, but now that will make me do it! 3 flights up to where I work each morning!

    Three flights, several times a day will add up fast! I was doing a little more math - I climb 12 flights each 'round', do four rounds a day, and work five days a week. By the end of each week, that adds up to 240 flights of steps!

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