Stairs

[Crankin]

I always take the stairs.
For most of the fall, I was seeing one of my clients at her preschool. Her classroom was on the 2nd floor and it amazed me how many parents and teachers took the elevator just to go one floor. My employer also has an office in this building on the third floor, and once, when I had to go there for a class, I was like the only one who took the stairs.
It's depressing.

[shootingstar]

I actually don't use stairwell staircases, in office buildings where I work.

I had the freaky experience in a 3 level historic courthouse where I used to work, where I did take the stairs ....but got locked out for at least half an hr. in a stairwell. Thankfully another employee was using the stairs....

I don't want to get into the complicated description but suffice to say at that time I was part of staff who worked for judges and hence, there were all sorts of building security features in place --some good, some not so good.

So from that experience, I just tend not to use the stairwell case in our building. There are some cross over floors which lock out some of exit/entrances.

[Trek420]

I like stairs.

One can't take the stairs from the lobby in our building to the 3rd floor where I work. I could take the elevator to the 2nd and then one flight but that seems silly in the morning.

Once I'm in the building it's stairs. It's faster than waiting for any of the 6 elevators to arrive I'm up or down while coworkers are still in the lobby punching the call button.

I got stuck in the aging elevator in one of our buildings for an hour. By the time repair arrived and she got me out I found out more than I wanted to know about how well they are maintained.

I like stairs

Most of my coworkers are sedentary. One who's a good friend has expressed an interest in fitness. I'm very glad because I've been saddened how sedentary she'd become. We've started walking at lunch. Right now she's up to almost a block and back with a stop midway. It's scary to see that a block exhausts her.

But she's made the commitment and we're starting where she is. I've told her what I know about training, building a program. Most of that I learned here on TE.

[Owlie]

I take the stairs unless it's immediately after lunch or I'm super-sore after a ride. While you can't get to the animal facility (in the basement) any way other than the elevator for some reason, the lab I'm in is on the second floor and right across from the stairwell, so it's far faster to take the stairs.

I lived in a building my second year of college that had six floors and I lived on the fifth. The elevator was broken most of the second semester (thankfully they fixed it before we moved out!), and that set of buildings had a very long flight of ridiculous steps up to it. (We called those the Elephant Stairs because the treads were very deep and you couldn't actually get a rhythm going on them). Yeah, I was in pretty good cardiovascular shape that year!

[malkin]

I normally use the stairs, but I ride up and down the elevator quite often, because kids work for it as a reinforcer.

[missjean]

I try to take the stairs when ever I can.
At my last job I had to carry sample books to the clients. Talk about a good work out - lugging heavy sample books up & down the stairs! I did get some funny looks sometimes.

My daughters & I went into Boston one day and one of the subway stops in Boston has an *enormously* long set of stairs. They took the escalator, but I was going to show them I could get up to the top as fast as them. I did not take into account I did one of the longest rides I have ever done the day before.
Up I go and do quite well for the first half, then my legs say to me - excuse us, but you should have consulted with us legs before you decided to show off! My poor leg muscles were quivering by the time I got to the top.

[Melalvai]

My daughters & I went into Boston one day and one of the subway stops in Boston has an *enormously* long set of stairs. They took the escalator, but I was going to show them I could get up to the top as fast as them. I did not take into account I did one of the longest rides I have ever done the day before.
Up I go and do quite well for the first half, then my legs say to me - excuse us, but you should have consulted with us legs before you decided to show off! My poor leg muscles were quivering by the time I got to the top.

But did you win?

[marni]

actually climbing stairs, or rather my lack of ability to climb four flights of stairs of a parking garage were the the final slap upside the head that made me realize that I either had to lose weight and get my life in control of just give up and veg in a recliner eating chocolate covered cherries until I died.

6 years and 130 pounds later, not to mention endless hours at the gym and over 3,000 miles a year on the bike I am thankful for that lesson.

marni

[jessmarimba]

I take the stairs because elevators make me motion sick.

I do use escalators and people movers when available or necessary (at airports, primarily) but it drives me UP the WALL when people get on them and just stop. I guess if you have a rolling suitcase, walking up the escalator doesn't work very well but I just hate not moving on my own power. I'll walk rather than take trains or buses between terminals when I have the option - sitting on the trains/monorails (at DFW, especially) just makes me edgy.