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(This is cross-posted at BlogHer.)

Given the option to walk-up or stand still on an escalator, I always prefer to walk. I use escalators pretty often since I ride the D.C. Metro to work and back (typically five days a week, if not more). Depending on the station, though, some escalators are a lot longer than others. Luckily I’ve never had to test my climbing mettle at the Wheaton station — it has the distinction of being “the longest single-span uninterrupted escalator in the Western Hemisphere.” It’s 230 feet long and takes “almost 2 minutes and 45 seconds to ascend or descend without walking.” That’s nuts!

I’ve become so accustomed to walking up and down escalators that I do the same thing in other places, too, like malls — if I’m able to, that is. While regular Metro commuters are pretty good about sticking to the whole “stand on the right, walk on the left” rule, it seems that a majority of people are likely to stand still on escalators in most other public places. In these situations, if there’s only a few people standing in my way, I might say “Excuse me!” and get them to move over so I can pass. But if it’s a huge crowd, I’ll take my place and attempt to distract myself with other thoughts.

You see, while I know that taking the stairs is the healthy option and raises my heart rate, my decision to walk up the stairs has more to do with impatience than anything else. (I feel the same way about those moving sidewalks in an airport. Would I ever stand still on one of those? Not unless I had some kind of injury that prohibited me from moving.)

The only time I’ll consent to standing still on an escalator (when I have the option of walking, but don’t) is if I’m with someone who is very much opposed to this form of exercise. I’m happy to say that peer pressure can be a good motivator, though; if I start walking up, often the other person doesn’t want to be left behind and will climb along with me.

If you don’t have regular access to an escalator, there are many other places to find stairs. (I admit, I like escalators because psychologically it seems much easier to climb when I have a destination in mind and can see my progress as I get higher. The thought of climbing on one of those stair-stepper machines sounds torturous. I wouldn’t last longer than a minute or two.)

Many workplaces, for instance, are located in buildings that have stairwells. When I worked for a call-center in my late teens through early 20s, I was in a three-story building. Not only would I take the stairs when I arrived and left for the day, but I’d often walk up and down the stairs a few times a day during my scheduled breaks. Since I had to sit at a desk for long stretches of time, I welcomed the opportunity to periodically escalate my heart rate. (I wish that I could take the stairs in my current building, but the management keeps the doors locked for security reasons. We have to use the elevator whether we’re going to the second or twelfth floor.)

Some people run up and down long flights of stairs on a regular basis. It’s an awesome form of cardiovascular fitness, and occasionally I’ll run up the stairs at the George Washington Masonic Memorial, but it’s not something I do at a prescribed time. Only escalators. Because they’re there, and I’m too impatient to stand. But, you know, whatever works.

No matter how fit you are, taking the stairs is a good way to get your heart pounding in a short amount of time. Unless I’m really making a concerted effort, I don’t get nearly as out of breath when I’m walking. But give me a good set of stairs? Oh, yeah. Bring it on.

Does anyone else out there utilize the stairs?

Related Reading:

NY Times: Skip the Elevator, Take the Stairs

Slate Magazine: When people take the elevator, does Earth get the shaft?

Women’s Health: Take the Stairs. (69 hospital employees benefited when they used the stairs exclusively for 12 weeks.)

Heather has been taking the stairs at work. Yesterday she decided to do something different and take the elevator instead…and she got stuck. (I’m guessing she’ll go back to taking the stairs.)

When Amy Kiane visited the Statue of Liberty, she bypassed the elevator and took the stairs to the observation level — all 354 of them. “Talk about a workout,” she said.

When A Daunting Tale of Scale Warfare went to the National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC last weekend, she “took the stairs everywhere…My bootie is sore today!”

(This is cross-posted at BlogHer.)

The beginning of January is undoubtedly the most popular time to make fitness and weight-loss resolutions. But if you think about it, trying to kick-start your motivation at the beginning of a new year doesn’t make a lot of sense. At least that’s the case if you’re anything like me — the first few months of the year are when I tend to fall into my moody stage. It’s the middle of the winter, I’m anticipating the warmth and colors of spring…in other words, it’s not the best time for me to motivate myself.

Motivation is certainly not impossible during poor weather. You just have to work a little harder in order to find it. And on the plus side, as Kelly Gonzalez points out, if you can get yourself to work in (and withstand) less-than-desirable conditions, the more-desirable weather conditions will seem that much better. Kelly said:

I remember the day after Christmas in 2007 very well. It was day one of training for the Boston Marathon. It was the beginning of many cold, pitch-black early morning winter runs. Training through the coldest time of year may have actually made my runs a bit easier, because it took more motivation to throw myself into winter winds and below freezing temperatures then it did to actually complete a long run.

I didn’t make any specific fitness resolutions in January — I think I’m kind of opposed to doing that simply because it’s the beginning of the year. (Yes, I’m ornery like that sometimes!) But lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve been slacking off a bit.

In previous posts, I’ve talked about making fitness goals and maintaining motivation. However, writing about it is definitely easier than actually doing it. I never slacked off with my weight training, but cold and rainy weather (or various social activities after work and on weekends) kept me from getting outside as much as I have in the past.

I’m getting back on track. For me, the best way to kick myself in the pants — regardless of the time of year — is to realize I’ve reached a point where I don’t want to be (the waistband of a certain pair of pants feeling tighter than usual, for instance). But I’m not stressing about it. I know that warmer weather is right around the corner, and when it arrives I’ll be re-energized. I can already feel it happening.

BlogHer’s Good Health-athon is coming to an end. If you made any fitness resolutions at the beginning of the year, are you still thinking about them? Have you exceeded your expectations or fallen short? What holds you back from accomplishing your goals?

Related Reading:

Stacy from Stacy’s Random Thoughts says that the way to keep your New Year resolutions is a little bit of friendly competition. She said, “Here’s what works for me — I found a bunch of friends who also wanted to lose weight, and we’ve got a little competition going.”

Miss Ladybug is holding herself accountable to her resolutions by posting updates.

Shauna Reid from DietGirl recently posted a resolutions update, otherwise known as her “2009 Minimum Standards Agreement.”

(This is cross-posted at BlogHer.)

Until recently, I’d never thought about picking up a hula hoop when I was considering new ways to exercise. Who can blame me? I had a hula hoop as a kid, but it’s not something I’ve come across with a lot of frequency in the intervening years. But now more and more people are purchasing both regular and weighted hoops for personal use (or even making their own), and even though it’s a relatively new phenomenon, hooping classes are growing in popularity as well. There are also a variety of websites and DVDs on the subject if you’re interested in improving your technique.

If you want to purchase a hoop, you’ll soon discover that there are a lot of different options (depending on the way they look, how much they weigh, and how much you’re willing to spend). When I went looking for my own, I knew I wanted one that was weighted (at least a few pounds) and not ultra-expensive (I didn’t want to feel bad about spending a lot of money if it turned out to be an activity I didn’t enjoy).

The nice thing is, I found that it is possible to get a decent weighted hoop for a relatively small amount of money (I bought mine for $14, plus $8 shipping, from an Amazon.com-affiliated seller), so it fits into the whole stay fit on a budget thing, too.

If you’re wondering what size hoop would be best to buy, I have to say that I’m glad I went with a two-pounder. You can commonly get weighted hoops between 1-5 lbs, but I read this article on Hooping.org that said hoops between 1-2 pounds seem to work best for most people. With the 2-pound hoop, I can still tell a difference between it and the unweighted hoops I used to use as a child, but it’s not so heavy that it’s cumbersome.

For one thing, the weighted hoop feels okay when it’s spinning around my waist, but once it falls to my hips, it’s more difficult to keep it spinning in that position than it is with the lighter hoops. I’ve only had it for a few days so far, though, so I haven’t attempted any fancy moves yet. (I am, however, happy to report that I had no problems keeping the hoop spinning around my waist, even though it had been a number of years since my last attempt. I must have retained my stellar hip-swiveling action.)

At this point, I’m just trying to get the hang of it and see if I notice any results (meaning: if it appears to be worth my time). I’ve read about the calorie-burning potential (between 150-200 calories per half hour, depending on your weight and the weight of the hoop…but right now it’s hard for me to imagine hooping for that long).

A possible negative side effect of using a weighted hoop? Bruises. Yes, that’s right — apparently some people experience bruising on their bodies afterward (I’m not sure if this is a recurring thing, or if your body gets used to it after a while). It hasn’t happened to me yet, but I might have to plan a marathon hooping session — I’m curious to see if I’d experience the same result.

Have you tried hula hooping as an adult? Do you like it?

Related Reading:

More hoop-related info can be found at the FAQs page at HoopGirl.

Hoopnotica: New to hooping? How to get started.

City Wendy took a hula hoop dance class last year and really enjoyed it.

I’m not going to get rock-solid abs from it or drop a ton of weight, but it’s definitely good exercise anyway and I break a sweat, but more important, it’s really liberating to completely let go and act like a kid again. It’s just like bike riding too, because you never forget how to do it, but also because it’s nearly impossible to feel anxious, stressed, or upset when you’re doing it. Slightly retarded, yes. But stressed? No.

Laurwilk decided she needs a hula hoop to get of those “obnoxious little love handles,” but was worried about the cost, as well as possible bruising.

The only problem is this — apparently hula hoops are now expensive. I was expecting to buy some $5 trinket at WalMart. [...] And based on my hooping research, it is rather important to have a hula hoop that is adult sized so that you can be a more successful hooper. Additionally, there are lots of hula hoops that are weighted and designed to help you trim your ‘mid-section’. However, it seems that these hula hoops tend to bruise people quite badly. I’d rather not be bruised because of some crazy hoop jabbing into my side for five minutes.

April ordered a hoop after a friend at work recommended it, but bruising was one of the problems she experienced.

I hooped a bit on Friday evening and then for a while on Saturday. I started getting pretty sore on Saturday evening. As I was getting ready for bed, I noticed I had bruises around my waist and on my legs where the hoop had fallen.

Di at Moronacity has experienced some additional benefits of hula hooping.

The greatest benefit I am experiencing, so far, is the stretching of my abdominal, lower back, and hip muscles. Hula hooping seems to alleviate much of the back pain I have been experiencing, lately. As an added bonus, it keeps my metabolism revved up since I pick up the hula hoop several times per hour.

Washington Post: In Hula Hoop Rebirth, A Fad Comes Full Circle

A blogger at Fit Sugar bought a hula hoop and was very happy with it.

Another FitSugar blogger reviewed the HoopDance DVD.

Photo: Carole Brown shows us a stack of hoops at her hoop class.

Video: How to Make a Hula Hoop

MunFitnessBlog: Why You Should Consider Hula Hooping To Lose Weight

Reuters: Hoop dreams: cashing in on hula craze