Stairclimbing season again. Real stairs are different.
Its too cold and yucky to ride a bike to work, but there are days when I'm not going to have time to get a workout in. So back to those darn stairs. As I wrote when I first started this thing, real stairs vs. a stairclimber is a major difference. But I've gotten in better shape, even since I wrote this and I'm actually climbing the building stairs, not the parking garage stairs. My building has 41 floors, plus three or four service floors. And I'm not sure if that means a total of 44 floors, because they don't start labeling them until 3, but there's double floors between what would be 2 and 3, and the ground floors all have names of streets and ... and ... and... its just too confusing. Suffice to say its about 46 flights of stairs.
Baseline time for going up once, measured today: 14:30. Last year I was averaging 16 minutes or so, so already I'm better than that. But the fact that I don't have to just go up and down three flights in the parking stairwell is major too.
Wanna do this with me? Then we can kvetch together! You will need:
OK, gather all these up and go climb stairs. Start little -- like I did with the parking garage-- go up four flights and then down, to give yourselve a break. Lather rinse repeat. Then, if your building is larger, go for it. Don't hit the 40 floors instantly like I did three weeks ago and then had difficulty even getting out of bed because my calves were so sore. I don't care if you've been climbing the stairmaster since October. Like I referenced in the first paragraph, real stairs are different, repeat real stairs are totally different.
Oh, and don't eat beforehand.
I sooooo can not wait until spring. Did I mention how I hate stairclimbing? But its all I can do on days like this when I have no other time to do anything else.
Baseline time for going up once, measured today: 14:30. Last year I was averaging 16 minutes or so, so already I'm better than that. But the fact that I don't have to just go up and down three flights in the parking stairwell is major too.
Wanna do this with me? Then we can kvetch together! You will need:
- A spare T-Shirt. An extra sports bra helps too.
- Gym shoes in your desk. Don't count on remembering to bring your regulars every day.
- One bottle of Jonathan Redo Freshen-up Mist for Hair & Skin. I rarely make product endorsements, but this stuff really works. Its worth the $18 for five stinking ounces. Spritz this on afterwards, brush through your hair, and you're good, at least for the rest of the workday. Believe me, if you remember Psssssst! The Instant Spray Shampoo from the 60s, this is way better. (And yes, I had to sing the little theme song in my head to get the number of s's right.) Pssssss! was gross. It left these little grains in your hair. No, this just freshens you up so you don't smell like a football player in your cube. OK, now back to our regularly scheduled blog.
- Facial cleanser and moisurizer. You will want to wash afterwards.
- Some absorbent head thingy to hold your hair back and soak up sweat.
- An iPod or other personal stereo.
OK, gather all these up and go climb stairs. Start little -- like I did with the parking garage-- go up four flights and then down, to give yourselve a break. Lather rinse repeat. Then, if your building is larger, go for it. Don't hit the 40 floors instantly like I did three weeks ago and then had difficulty even getting out of bed because my calves were so sore. I don't care if you've been climbing the stairmaster since October. Like I referenced in the first paragraph, real stairs are different, repeat real stairs are totally different.
Oh, and don't eat beforehand.
I sooooo can not wait until spring. Did I mention how I hate stairclimbing? But its all I can do on days like this when I have no other time to do anything else.
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