Excercise on the Go
Exercise on the Go
As many of you know, I am travelling around Europe for the next month. I thought it would be fun to do exercises while you travel, and how to fit it in.
I know many of you travel with your career and if you don’t these exercises are great because all of them are the do anywhere, get it done in your hotel
type workouts.
We have been in Paris for the last 4 days, seeing all the sights. It couldn’t help but remind me of one of my favourite exercises — stair climbing. You get a cardio workout in, and it works your
lower body at the same time.
Each day we went to one of the major attractions in Paris. The first full day we were here we went to Notre Dame in the morning, which had so many stairs and then we ended our day with the Eiffel Tower. It has three different levels. You can take an elevator to each level or climb the first two, then take the elevator to the top. Of course we climbed the first two. The first floor had 344 steps. The second floor had 398 (we had the kids count the stairs as we went), and by the second set, let me tell you, you begin to feel it. I saw people struggling, with the cardio part, it can really raise your heart rate, and many people said they could really feel their legs.
Even with all my past exercise history, climbing that many stairs made you feel it everywhere—such a great exercise. When we got to the top……what a view 
There are 20,000 lights that come on every 5 min. for a light show.
We then went to Are de Triomphe. We climbed and climbed. And Sacre Coeur, same thing. You can’t go anywhere in Paris without climbing stairs!! These buildings are so beautiful. We happened to be at Sacre Coeur on Sun morning. They still hold regular church service there, and I have to admit I felt very uncomfortable walking around the perimeter of the church while they were having a service.
It’s a very beautiful building and I’m glad we had the chance to see it.
Notre Dame. These were the wide stairs. The ones at the top were barely wide enough for me to climb. Very narrow.
OK, enough about my travels in Paris. Your workout for this week is….. stairs
Try giving this one a try. Depending on how many stairs you have access to. I have done this in my house with only 10 stairs, and I have done it at a park with 20.
Start out by walking the stairs 2-3 times to get warmed up, then pick up your pace if you can. We are going to add some upper body to this workout. So you are going to complete 5 sets of stairs (3 if you are doing 20 or so stairs) then get down and do 2 sets of pushups.(10-20 reps) If you are a beginner start with less, if you’ve done this before start with more.
Set 1- run stairs 5 times
-2 sets of push ups (small rest in between)
Set 2-run stairs 5 times
-2 sets push ups
Do this 5-10 times. This is great for any level. If you are just starting out then you can do a few sets and work your way up. If you need a longer workout, just add sets.
Have fun with your stairs and let me know how you like them!!
Committed to your fitness success,
Kelly Parker
