Are you ready for some scintillating stair facts? Of course you are! With thanks to StepJockey, here are a few things about home improvement that you might not have known.

• Stair climbing is officially classed as a ‘vigorous exercise’ and burns more calories per minute than jogging
• Stair climbing requires 8-9 times more energy expenditure than sitting and burns about 7 times more calories than taking a lift
• You burn about 0.17 calories for every step you climb, so you burn roughly a calorie and a half for every 10 upward steps
• You also burn calories going down. Every stair descended burns about 0.05 calories, so you burn 1 calorie for every 20 steps down

• For buildings with five floors or less, it’s nearly always quicker to take the stairs. Studies show office workers save up to 15 minutes a day by taking the stairs.
• As well as guarding against heart disease, diabetes, stroke and some cancers, stair climbing releases endorphins that produce feelings of wellbeing.
• Just 7 minutes stair climbing a day has been estimated to more than half the risk of a heart attack over 10 years.
• Stair climbing cuts carbon emissions. By ditching the lift in a typical office you will save between 0.3 and 0.6 Kg of Co2 a day.
• Professional skiers often climb stairs to keep competition-fit. Many models do the same to keep their legs toned for the catwalk.

• Climbing stairs is a classic ‘short burst’ exercise and ideal for the time-poor. The biggest variable in stair climbing is your weight. The heavier you are, the more calories you burn.
• Other variables affecting calorie burn while stair climbing include the angle of the stairs, your sex, climbing speed, age and general fitness.
• You burn more calories climbing stairs in high heels.
• It’s a myth that climbing stairs two at a time burns more calories. More energy is expended over time by taking things slowly.
• The greatest height reached climbing stairs in 12 hours was 33,000 feet by Chris Solarz of Philadelphia, USA. Solarz climbed 58,080 stairs.
• The 19th century is regarded by many as the golden era of stair construction. In the 20th century architects gave prominence to lifts.

• Now, with the emergence of ‘active design’, architects are once again making stairs more prominent.
• Many scientific studies show that simple stair prompts significantly increase stair usage. One trick is simply to point-out ‘hidden’ stairs
• The longest stairway listed by the Guiness Book of Records is the service stairway for the Niesenbahn funicular railway near Spiez, Switzerland. It has 11,674 steps and a round trip would burn over 3,000 calories.
• Going down stairs burns fewer calories but works and tones different muscles and joints. It’s also good for balance and coordination.
• The Roman architect Vitruvius established the first guidelines for the stair in the first century B.C, suggesting a 37 degree pitch. Most stairs are not dramatically different today.

So what are you waiting for? Forget the lift, take a few deep breaths and get climbing!