Cardiovascular diseases have been lurking around every corner of the world, mostly due to one’s lifestyle choices. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently revealed in his newsletter how he planned on changing that with the help of a simple everyday choice.
A common conundrum that people might face in their day-to-day lives is to choose between pacing up staircases versus taking the elevator. And Schwarzenegger believes that opting to climb up a few flights of stairs could do wonders for one’s physical health.
“If we’re going to change the fact that cardiovascular disease is the top cause of death worldwide, then it’s time to start paying attention to the little things.”
A study on the link between climbing stairs and longevity hints at least 39% lowered risk of death by cardiovascular diseases. The fairly common activity could save lives, and Schwarzenegger couldn’t stress enough about it.
Despite being an activity that people may come across almost every day, author and former fitness director of Men’s Health, Michael Easter, once highlighted a concerning statistic-only 2% of people reportedly chose the staircase over elevators.
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To test the efficacy of the activity, researchers from the above-mentioned study conducted a randomized controlled trial – one of Schwarzenegger’s favorite techniques – to dig deeper. The experiment on more than 480,000 people proved to be fruitful in many ways.
“Taking the stairs wasn’t just associated with less heart attack, heart disease, and stroke, but those who got their extra steps saw a 24 percent reduced risk of all-cause mortality.”
It’s no secret that consistent bursts of movement, especially in an era of desk jobs, can benefit most of the crowd. Schwarzenegger has maintained how he prioritized his daily activity of walking or cycling and even indulged in some challenges.
Arnold Schwarzenegger Recently Assigned His ‘Village’ a Daily Task
Schwarzenegger knows how cardiovascular health is crucial to one’s quality of life since he himself has struggled with congenital heart issues. Owing to a recent surgery where he needed to get a pacemaker, doctors even banned him from his regular gym visits and cycling adventures. That’s when he resorted to low-intensity movements to stay active.
Keeping track of his daily steps worked miraculously for his physical and mental well-being during this time. Therefore, he challenged his village to do the same and increase their number of steps every day for some bonus push. That’s how he got the ball rolling to keep his community up and running even during adversities.
