Coming in all shapes and sizes, stairs have become quite an exercise and health trend. With society pushing more and more people to live active lifestyles, we can sometimes find ourselves feeling quite shameful when we don’t take the stairs.
We understand that choosing the stairs over the elevator (or even the escalator) is the better choice, but sometimes we just absolutely HATE them!
Here are 5 reasons why we loathe stairs, and why sometimes taking that elevator or escalator once in a while won’t hurt.
1. You Get Sweaty AND Out of Breath
Don’t worry, you are not the only person who feels this way after walking up a flight of stairs. According to Live-strong, whether it’s one flight or twenty, stairs significantly increase your heart rate. This means it’s not all in your head.
On top of an increased heart rate, your body actually begins to sweat, and when you finally reach the top, it sort of feels like you climbed a mountain (okay, maybe a very small mountain, but still a mountain nonetheless).
Then pretending that you’re totally chill afterward’s is the worst. Hoping people don’t notice you intensely breathing through your nose, in hopes to catch your breath, can be quite difficult. In through the nose and out through the mouth, am I right?
2. Feeling Rushed by People Who Walk Faster Than You
Okay, you finally decide to take the stairs. You mentally prepare for this intense level of exertion and hold your breath as you take the first step of many.
You’re a quarter of the way up, and feel proud, until you get a strange sense that someone is right behind you. Your hair stands up and the anxiety ensues. Rushing faster and faster, you get the sense you are being chased. When you finally reach the top and take a second to relax you ask yourself, was that even worth it? NO!
Maybe my version of events is a little exaggerated, but hey, you get the point. There is nothing worse than having someone right behind you as you walk up a flight of stairs. You can no longer go at your own pace and the pressure is on. On the flip side, walking up or down the stairs and having slower people in front of you is no fun either.
3. Gravity Sucks
Basic physics tells us that gravity is the force that attracts us toward the center of the earth. A human alone can be pretty heavy. Then add a backpack with a couple of textbooks or a briefcase full of papers, and you got a heck of a lot of force.
Remember, going up stairs goes against gravity, meaning we have even more force to battle with. The numbers really go against us in this equation.
Who can argue physics? This is definitely the excuse I’ll be using against anyone who tells me that walking up stairs is easy. Next time someone tells you to take the stairs just say no, because gravity sucks.
4. The Fear of Falling
“I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Yes, many of us have a fear of falling, and the likelihood of falling down the stairs (or even going up) can be quite scary. According to BBC News, around 1,000 people die every year from falling down the stairs. Many are elderly and more often than not this occurs at home rather than in public.
Most of the time, the worst that can happen to you when you trip up or down the stairs is public embarrassment. There is nothing more awkward than tripping in front of anybody, whether it be on stairs or simply walking. That being said, its always a good idea to be cautious on stairs and USE the railing.
5. There is Always Someone Better
Ever notice that one person who can race up the stairs skipping every other step, I know I have. Just when you thought that walking up the stairs was your minor accomplishment for the day, you see the exercise gods tackle them no problem; leaving you feeling even more inadequate than before. Imagine having one of those people behind you while you are trying to walk up the stairs.
Not only are you left with a feeling of shame, but you also get to quietly admire their miraculously toned muscles and silently wish you had your own. Ah yes, maybe we can aspire to be like the stair gods; someday.
There are a lot of excuses people tell themselves when they choose to take an elevator or escalator over the stairs, but sometimes there is nothing wrong with that. Once in a while, we a deserve a little break.
That being said, the stairs can be beneficial to your health. According to Apartment Therapy, each trip you take up and down the stairs helps shape and tone different muscles; BUT at the end of the day we don’t really care. We still hate the stairs.