Hi, my name is Assata McKenzie and I’ve been in the Fitness and Wellness industry for over ten years. As a certified fitness professional and a graduate from Centennial’s WWHP program, working for UHN Wellness AND joining the Green Team was a no-brainer. Serendipity rules as I’m also part of the annual Stair Climb Challenge team, spearheaded by Tania Williams. This is a perfect activity for personal wellness and environmental health.

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step”

-Dr. Martin Luther King

This is one of my favorite quotes on so many levels by Dr. King, a great teacher and motivator. We can take this idea literally and extend it to TeamUHN helping doing good for the environment and our bodies by joining the Stair Climb Challenge.

Leggin’ it

Assata’s many ups and downs

The Stair Climb Challenge, presented by the UHN Wellness Department, helps reduce elevator traffic, encourages social distancing, saves electricity, and increases your physical fitness, all by simply taking the stairs.

When the weather doesn’t allow for easy access to an outdoor stroll, taking the stairs is one of the easiest and most available indoor activities that most people can do. The more people that take the stairs, the less crowded the elevators will be for those that need to take them, so it helps COVID-safety too. Not to mention, there’s an environmental element from fewer elevators moving around which saves electricity.

I live for a really good quote (or pun) and as a new Wellness Coordinator here at UHN, the exercise and wellness puns are endless :).

“There’s no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs”

Some of the many benefits of Stair Climbing are:

  1. It is often faster than taking the elevator
  2. Can help improve cardio-respiratory fitness
  3. Releases endorphins that produce feelings of wellbeing
  4. Helps cut carbon emissions by decreasing elevator use and saving electricity
  5. Can help build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints

Join the challenge and take the stairs during your work day at any of our UHN locations.  And for our staff who are working from home, you too can join the challenge and take a few mini breaks throughout your day to climb the stairs or walk around your neighborhood. For those outside UHN, you can practice your own stair-wellness program too.

There are great prizes to be won by top participants at each UHN site and a grand prize for the overall winner!

You can record your daily stair climbs using the QR code provided on the Stair Climb Challenge page.

For more details on the Stair Climb Challenge and other UHN Wellness initiatives please visit our Wellness Page, (UHN staff, try the Wellness Intranet Page).

Stay green and stay well.

P.S. a little more about the Wellness Department at UHN:

One of UHN Wellness’ main objective is optimizing the overall wellbeing of TeamUHN. The Stair Climb Challenge, with its physical and environmental benefits falls in line with what UHN Wellness hopes to achieve.

The Stair Climb Challenge would not be possible if it weren’t for Space & Infrastructure. Space & Infrastructure were given the leadership by UHN to help transition people returning back to work – managing distancing and elevator use.

“Wellness is a part of life, inside and outside of work. A healthier community translates into a healthier organization”

The views expressed on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent those of UHN.