Soon after the romantic drama "Love Happens" begins, renowned grief guru and bestselling author Burke Ryan (played by Aaron Eckhart) purposefully strides up several flights of stairs to get to his hotel room in Seattle, where he's teaching a seminar to hundreds of fans.
Burke's affinity for stairs doesn't sit well with his overweight manager/promoter Lane Marshall (Dan Fogler), who pleads with his fit client, "Could you please take the elevator?" Burke ignores the question and ascends on foot anyhow, stopping once to catch his breath and survey the flights he's already covered and those to come.
As the story unfolds (don't worry, I'm not ruining the plot) we learn that, for Burke, there's a downside to striding stairs. In fact, taking the stairs represents a metaphor for being stuck.
Excuse me? Exercising by climbing stairs isn't a smart habit? Not in "Love Happens."
Indeed, although Burke is a prominent grief therapist, who has contributed to Psychology Today and has helped millions of people pull themselves together after loved ones have perished, he's been unable to confront the loss of his own wife, who died in a car crash three years before.
In "Love Happens," habitually using stairs instead of taking an elevator symbolizes Burke's imprisonment in a loveless, work-obsessed routine. The solution: He needs to enjoy life more and flex his connecting-with-chicks muscle, as we soon find out when florist Eloise Chandler (Jennifer Anniston) enters the picture. Burke's hypocrisy soon becomes apparent to Eloise, who, upon learning that the grief expert never went to his wife's funeral, tells him he's "really messed up."
In my mind, NOT climbing the stairs is what's really messed up. Frankly, I'm baffled by this film's premise. For me, taking the stairs is an easy, effective, fun way to squeeze in little bits of exercise here and there, especially when your time is tight. And I'm not alone.
Former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw often climbs hotel stairs as a workout. "I find the back stairs in the hotel and run up and down them for 12 to 15 minutes," Brokaw told Men's Health magazine.
Taking stairs is also one way that Beyoncé tones her tush, according to Female First and ThatsFit.com. "I do stairs -- they are the best thing for butt cheeks," declared the singer, known for her slim backside.
As if having a svelte derriere isn't enough incentive, moving on up by foot can also help clear your mind, get you in shape, lift your moods, improve your cardiovascular health, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and strengthen your leg muscles.
Climbing stairs can even lengthen your life, a finding made by I-Min Lee, M.D., M.P.H., an associate professor at Harvard University's School of Epidemiology. Dr. Lee, who studied data from about 11,000 men in the Harvard Alumni Health Study, discovered that those who climbed at least 20 flights of stairs each week (in any combination) were 20 percent less likely to suffer a stroke or die from any causes than men who rode elevators and escalators.
With stairs, calorie burning is fast, too. According to Reader's Digest, climbing stairs for just two minutes a day, five days a week, is the equivalent of a taking a 20-minute walk or expending 100 to 140 calories. And if you use the stair climber at your gym, 20 minutes of moderate climbing burns around 200 calories, according to ThatsFit.com.
Despite all the benefits of taking the stairs, we stair users are in the minority. For instance, while catching "Love Happens" twice, I was the only one who bounded up the four flights in the movie theater. What's more, I almost never run into anyone while going to my apartment. And recently, while at a conference in a hotel near San Francisco, I didn't see anyone else working out on the stairwell. On the other hand, whenever I do encounter people taking the stairs, we instantly bond and share a smile.
Ultimately, "Love Happens" does make a good point, even if I'd turn the metaphor 180 degrees. It's time for all of us--no matter what shape we're in-to get "un-stuck" and do ourselves a healthy favor by taking the stairs as often as possible. Try it. Your legs, heart, mind and soul will thank you. See you on the stairs?
