Thursday, June 10, 2010

Step it up: say no to short elevator rides

199 pounds
Dave and I spent last weekend in Nashville with my parents, and just like always, I sought out the staircase at our hotel. We were staying on the third floor, and it seemed ridiculous to take the elevator every time I wanted to go up two floors.

I've been doing this for years and have seen the inside of many, many hotel staircases—some I'd like to never see again. Believe you me. But it's a totally rare occasion when I spy another human being hoofing it to their room.

And when I thought this last weekend, it hit me: why does it seem like most people fall back on the elevator when staying in a hotel? These same people don't normally use an elevator to go up one floor at work, but the fact that most hotel staircases are hard to find and somewhat unkempt makes me think most people get lazier when they travel.

It's as if there's some unwritten rule about the way we act in a hotel. People will actually visit the postage-stamp-size room that most hotels pass off as a gym and climb on the stairmaster to get their heart rate up, but when it comes to lifting their legs up the real stairs? Forget it. You're more likely to see a frat boy sober on Thirsty Thursday.

So what would happen if we didn't take the easy way out? Is it possible the solution to the obesity problem in our country is as simple as avoiding the elevator at the Holiday Inn?

I propose that we find out.

Promise yourself that the next time you find yourself standing before a hotel elevator—or any elevator for that matter—just to go up one or two floors, you'll do yourself and all of us a favor by finding the stairs. Sometimes you have to look for them or even ask for directions, but 99% of the time, they're open to the public.

I'll do my part if you do yours.

4 comments:

  1. I'm all for stairs! When I worked on the 7th floor, it was be my mini workout.

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  2. Whenever I travel in Europe and encounter a hotel without an elevator, I always have an American princess moment.

    "You don't have an elevator? Just stairs? But I have luggage! Am I supposed to carry it? Myself?"

    It breaks the vacation mindset, I think. Which is ridiculous, because Europe is nothing but walking anyway!

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  3. I'm generally a stair taker. In addition to good exercise, I'm pretty sure there are fewer germs in the stairwell. At least in my office building.

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  4. Yay to Amy and Kara! Boo to Emily!

    Just kidding, Em.

    That's exactly my point—that we have become so accustomed to taking elevators in hotels (and sometimes offices) that we act like it is SO difficult to take the stairs when we encounter them there even if it's just a flight or two.

    When in reality it's just a perspective issue—if we change our perspective, we can solve the problem.

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