Stop Using The Escalator!!!

The picture you see here is a relatively well known one but it never fails to amaze me. People avoiding the stairs and riding an escalator up to the gym. The first thing that went through my head is “wow, those people are pretty dumb” but the next thing I thought of is “Why is that escalator there in the first place?”

We all know that we have an obesity epidemic and we all know that the leading cause is the crap we eat and the amounts of it that we consume. However, the second leading cause of our ever expanding rear ends is our unwillingness to get off those rear ends and move around a bit, and that’s not just true at the gym parking lot.

Our Bodies

First of all, let me be the first to admit that I sometimes fall prey to this too.  That is, I sometimes avoid instances where I can be physically active because I don’t notice them.  I’ve become so accustomed to this culture of ours where physical activity has become something to avoid that I forget how much I enjoy and appreciate it.  I say this because I don’t want you to feel as though I’m yelling at you.  I’m trying to encourage you to change your behavior by making you see it for what it is.  I’m not better or smarter than you and I’m wrestling with the same issues you are, but I hope that I can help you a bit by teaching you what I’ve learned through my own struggles with weight and health.

Part of the problem is our culture.  We have been taught to think that a life of luxury is a life of comfort.  A life where other people do things for us and where we need to do very little for ourselves.  We tend to think of an active lifestyle as a “blue collar” life fit only for those who are poor or uneducated.  If you’re educated then a healthy lifestyle is one in which you work out once a day for about an hour at a time.  Now this is a generality.  There are many people for whom an active lifestyle is filled with many activities, only some of which are performed at the gym.  However, those people are probably not reading this blog.  They’re out there somewhere hiking or camping. 

You and I unfortunately, are not those people, at least not yet.  You and I haven’t quite accepted physical activity into our lives, which is why we’re still struggling with our weight and our health.  So what I want you to do is think back for a second. Imagine our ancestors in whatever forest, prairie or mountain they lived on. Look around them. You probably see them hunting for food, gathering materials for clothing and tools and performing the other day to day tasks of life in the stone age.

Now look closely. Do you see that stone age guy in the back on this bowflex machine doing knee curls? What about that woman in the furs doing bicep curls using a mammoth bone and two rocks? OF COURSE NOT! That’s because people back then didn’t work out. They didn’t jog for fun nor did they go to the gym. The only sprints they did was when a saber toothed tiger was chasing them!  Our daily workouts are a substitute for their active lifestyle and a pretty poor substitute at that.

Rather than being active all day, we sit at our desks most of the time, go to the gym for one hour and call ourselves active.  Unfortunately, that just doesn’t cut it. Being physically active means taking every opportunity to move rather than taking every opportunity to avoid moving.

Examples

• Those people on the moving sidewalk at the airport? They’re avoiding being active.  I know how tempting it is to ride those things.  I’ve been there too.  You’re carrying the bags, you want to get to your gate and sit down already.  However, your body needs that walk.  It needs to carry things.
• Called up your neighbor recently? Why not walk over and talk to them instead?  I know it’s convenient to pull out the cell phone and just call, I’ve done it myself on many occasions.  However, we need to teach ourselves a new way.  We need to start telling ourselves to stop avoiding activity and start seeking it out.  That question for the neighbor is an opportunity to walk.  It’s good, not something to be avoided.
• Got a ride-on lawnmower?  Why?  How about enjoying the day and the chance to walk around your lawn for a while.  I’m not asking you to use one of those push mowers, just to walk behind a motorized one.  Trust me, you’re not going to pass out and you may even find yourself enjoying the experience.  I know I do.
• Touring a new city? Don’t take that Segway tour, or the tour bus.  Walk around those streets, talk to the locals, see the sights close up.  You’ll feel tired but you’ll also have a much better experience.

Our culture is based around avoiding effort. Dirty house? Get a cleaning service! Yard needs work? Hire a gardener! Hungry? Order food delivery from the internet! Everything can be done for you so that you never have to get up off that couch. Which leaves you plenty of time to complain about never being able to lose weight (or save money). We spend our lives paying for ways in which we can avoid activity and then wonder why we’re fat and out of money.  And again, I’ve been there myself.  I still find myself there sometimes.  Just the other day I found myself at the local hardware store looking at my lawn and thinking “boy, it sure would be easier if I hired a gardener”.  Then I remembered that I wanted to be healthy.  I wanted to be active.  I also remembered how much I liked the smell of freshly mowed grass and the feeling of looking at my lawn and knowing that I did a great job making it look pretty.  So I put my wallet back in my pocket, got out the lawnmower and got to work.

How about you join me?  How about we all start doing this together?  Let’s stop avoiding physical activity and start welcoming it into our lives.  Let’s seek out physical activity in all parts of our lives, from the office to our hobbies, from the lawn to our family time.

So how about we change this?

• Take one item in your life which is currently powered and make it unpowered. For example, I am going to stop trimming my hedges with a power trimmer and start using normal muscle powered sheers.
• Stop using escalators and elevators.  Ok, those of you who work on the 40th floor may still want to use an elevator, but if you’re at the mall and need to get to the pretzel shop on the 2nd floor food court, how about climbing the stairs? If that sounds like too much effort, you probably shouldn’t have the pretzel…  :)  As for me, I’m going to stop using the car for any trip less than a mile and start using my legs and bike again.  It’s summer time here in California and I love walking.
• Stop using the phone and internet for everything. Got a coworker or neighbor you need to talk to? Stand up, walk over, say hello and talk.  I’m talking to you Pete!  You’re going to see me knocking on your door more often

Whatever it is, stop avoiding physical activity and start welcoming it into your life. It will keep you healthy and put a few extra dollars into your wallet in the process.

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EDIT - The first version of this post was much more negative than I intended.  Thank you to those of you who sent in feedback about this.  I know I sometimes get preachy, but I had no such intention here.  I hope you forgive me for my lapses and keep working with me as we journey together towards a better life.

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