When I was 24, I started up a bituminous coal fired boiler in the high desert in Arizona at 5,000 feet elevation. The unit was 20 stories high and the constructor banned the construction crews from using the elevator. Elevators in such plants are small and slow. On other job sites, I’d see guys waiting for an HOUR to get the elevator up a few floors.
I used to run up those 20 flights of stairs five to ten times a day to work on things and get exercise. My legs were never stronger than during that six months I spent on that job site. A few years back I worked in an office on the fifth floor and I still refused to use the elevator. I trotted up those flights usually two or three times a day. It was a bit harder at age 63 than 24. But stairs are a great way to keep in shape.
Doctor’s office, 7th floor, ran up the stairs, waited, and first thing he would do, is check BP - OK. BTW, for office visits, he charged $1.00/min. (Years later, visit to a doctor who charged $240/min.)