Focus on Employees
No Time for Exercise? Too Rainy Outside? Take the Stairs!
When the days get shorter and the weather turns dark and damp, it can be hard to find the motivation to exercise. Don’t let that stop you! Remember, exercise doesn’t have to be done all at once to be effective. Research shows that exercising for 10 minutes 3 times a day provides many of the same health benefits as exercising for 30 minutes all at once. Try finding 5 or 10 minutes several times a day to be more active, and stay dry and warm while you’re at it. How? Take the stairs.
Climbing stairs burns 7 calories a minute. Standing in an elevator burns only one calorie a minute.* If you take the stairs for 15 minutes 3 times a week, you’ll have burned more than 1250 calories by the end of the month. That’s equivalent to more than 2 pounds of fat!
If you don’t have access to the stairs in your office building, get creative! When you start looking, you’ll soon see opportunities to climb the stairs all around – at the mall, in department stores, visiting other buildings for meetings or appointments. One King County group of employees even makes time every day to climb the public stairs at City Hall.
Too busy for exercise? No such thing! Too wet outside? Take it inside. Stair climbing is great for your heart, legs, and your mood – studies show that regular physical activity can decrease stress and depression. It’s great training for winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. And it’s free! Take you health to heart and take the stairs!
* based on a 150 pound person. Calories burned will vary by weight, body composition, and level of intensity.
Download and print your own poster
All posters measure 11" x 17" and are in pdf format.
