fitgeeks | math is hard, let's go kick some ass!

So, how much calories are expended using the stairs rather than the elevator? I used to have excuse after excuse for punking out and taking the elevator to my fourth floor office, but lately I have been using this summer to train myself into taking the stairs every chance I get. The fact that BOTH elevators have taken to not relinquishing anyone foolish enough to enter into them (OM NOM NOM NOM) means that I am DEFINITELY taking the stairs as much as possible!

How much more exercise is it? A quick troll provides this handy number: 0.11 kC/step. Given that I'm a bit heavier and taller (5'9", 190 lb, down from 194 last month) than the average woman (or, come to think of it, a lot of men) that I think this calorie-unit is based on, I'll call my expenditure 0.12 for now. Once I lose a bit more weight, I won't be burning as much.

Steps for each floor: 28
4 floors at 28 steps times 0.12 kC per step=13.44 kC burned.

13.44 calories does not sound like a lot. But consider that it takes me a little under a half hour of a fast uphill walk to burn 200 calories on the treadmill, and you'll see that for (+/- 1 minute)'s worth of exercise there's a lot of caloric burn for one's time, and this is exercise I can do whenever I feel like it! Today's been a busy day, so I've taken the stairs up (and down) to the fourth floor twice, plus once down to the third floor and back.

9 floors at 28 steps x 0.12kC=30.24kC burned before 10 am!

Go forth with the knowledge that 1 step=0.11kC, my amazons and hoplites, and burn for all you're worth!