• By Sam Parton
• In Blog
• Oct 25, 2015

Top Five Toughest London Underground Staircases

The London Underground in a nutshell: overpriced, overcrowded and over-sweaty. At least three quid to have your head wedged in someone's unwashed armpit. Your face pressed against the carriage window. The pleasant smell of someone's unbrushed teeth or even worse, a hidden fart. But this is all for someone else's blog. Apart from walking or cycling to avoid the tube in the first place (highly recommended), one of the easiest lifestyles changes anyone can make is to take the stairs whenever possible. As a rule of thumb you will burn one calorie for every 6.5 stairs climbed or around 0.15 calories per stair going up and 0.05 calories for every stair going down. This might not sound like much, but if you take the stairs at some of London's deepest underground tube stations, the cumulative results over the course of a year could hugely noticeable. It's either that or can feel a lot less guilty about your secret afternoon cookie or pre-dinner packet of crisps.

So here are the top 5 toughest staircases on the London underground and what results you can expect by taking them everyday.

1. Hampstead

Steps: 320

Calories burnt going up: 48

Calories burnt going down: 17

Will taking these stairs everyday make you look better naked? Yes you'll be fighting of your husband/wife/partner or general admirers in no time at all. 

2. Covent Garden

Steps: 193

Calories burnt going up: 29

Calories burnt going down: 10

Will taking these stairs everyday make you look better naked? Yes the results will certainly be noticeable unless you replace the calories burnt for an extra pint...

3. Belsize Park

Steps: 136

Calories burnt going up: 20

Calories burnt going down: 7

Will taking these stairs everyday make you look better naked? Nothing to write home about, but certainly general aesthetic improvements

4. Russell Square

Steps: 136

Calories burnt going up: 20

Calories burnt going down: 7

Will taking these stairs everyday make you look better naked? Just about noticeable, but you'll feel 5-10% fitter pretty quickly

5. Goodge Street

Steps: 136

Calories burnt going up: 20

Calories burnt going down: 7

Will taking these stairs everyday make you look better naked? No need to get carried away, but that extra 140 calories a week equates to a small kitkat or over a year is 1kg of fat. 

So in conclusion you have two options:

1. Walk or cycle and forget the tube - it's rubbish anyway

2. Take this simple lifestyle change and start taking the stairs whenever you can.

The cumulative result is that you have the choice or either looking better naked or instead can justify having that extra pack of crisps or pint each week.

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