I remember the years when Jack and I lived in a dormitory at SMU while he attended seminary. Those were the years I became a runner. I would meet friends from our dorm and we'd run on the track not far from our residence. What I had forgotten, was we lived on the third story for the first year, and the dorm did not have an elevator. Every day I climbed up and down, carrying two kids, groceries, suitcases, or whatever the day held.
One evening, the weather had been too wet and cold to do my usual run, so I decided to run up and down the stairs for 30 minutes. It was nighttime, and the darkness had transformed the large windows in the stairwell into mirrors. I was starting down the stairs, when I was startled by the reflection of these other pair of legs coming down with me. They were lovely legs, well muscled and slim. I turned to see who it was and was shocked! There was no one else there! I was looking at my own legs! I laughed myself silly. Never in my life had my legs looked like that.
The other benefit I remember from stair-climbing every day is the coordination. When I was daily running up and down the stairs, I never had to watch my footsteps. It was an inherent motion. I think I want that ability back more than the carved legs! I was feeling so old last weekend as I had to watch each step so carefully.
I hope I can get the coordination back.
I have been reading about climbing for fitness and there are a few points to remember, if you feel like joining me in this challenge.
- Start slowly, there is more stress on the knees going down
- Try two flights and then walk on a flat surface for a minute or two
- Warm up for 5 minutes by walking around the building or floor
- Place your entire foot on the step so you don't damage your Achilles tendon
- Alternate days of climbing with a different exercise to avoid over-use injury
- If you have them, you may want to wear knee braces for a few weeks
