Where there’s a rant, there’s a story and here it is: So in the city where I live, they have made all underground stations wheelchair accessible by installing elevators. That’s all good, except you never actually see handicapped people on those elevators. Instead, they’re always occupied by young and perfectly healthy people. If elevators were the only means of getting to the surface level, then I wouldn’t mind this at all, but they are not. There’s always a staircase that will get you to the surface just as fast and often faster. What’s so ironic about this is that some of these people may actually be paying good money for a gym membership, but they’re too lazy to walk up a bunch of stairs.
A couple of years ago, I made the decision not to use elevators or escalators anymore, unless I absolutely have to. Apart from the obvious benefits (you can’t get stuck in a staircase and if somebody farts you can run away from the smell), it’s also done a great deal for my overall physical fitness. If that doesn’t convince you, just think about this for a sec: if you have an office job, you probably spend eight or more hours a day sitting down. After that, you should really crave for some exercise but instead, you voluntarily stand in an elevator with a bunch of people who might be crazy and who you might have to spend a substantial amount of time with in the likely event that the elevator should get stuck. This sounds crazy because it is. Still not convinced? Well, listen to this: According to this statistic, walking up one hundred steps equals an energy consumption of 11 kcal. Not bad, considering that it’s not really exercise but a means of getting from one floor to another.
To help spread the word about this, I have made a mockup for a sign that I think should be installed wherever there’s both an elevator and a staircase. Click the image to see a larger (printable) version.
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(not to be confused with Lieutenant General Sir Manley Power --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manley_Power)
By the way, I don't just walk stairs. I do real sports, too.
@Zac: Good post! I agree with you that in many situations, taking the stairs isn't an option. But isn't that a shame? I mean, if you work in a skyscraper and your office is like on the 25th floor, of course you're going to take the elevator because taking the stairs would take an eternity. But with smaller buildings, I think everybody should be able to take the stairs if they want to. I also think companies should encourage that because it could help improve the health of their employees.
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