Healthy Hoboken: Rocking Out

If you think you can spend the summer lounging on the beach by day and sipping fruity cocktails all night, without growing a spare tire around your hips, you're Livin' on a Prayer. That's not to say all of your favorite summer pastimes, you know, like jamming out to Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen, will take a toll on your waistline.

I was at the New Meadowlands Stadium Wednesday night as Bon Jovi kicked off the summer. The concert started at seven o'clock, with Train opening the show.  I absolutely love both bands, so I wasn't about to show up late.

By the time I finished work for the day, I had no time to squeeze in a workout. I mean, I ran to catch my train to the stadium, but I don't think that two-minute sprint really counted. I was kicking myself for not getting up early enough to workout in the morning, but as I climbed the seemingly endless ramp to the upper deck, then hiked up the stairs to my seats – at the absolute top row of the stadium – I realized I had nothing to worry about. My thighs were burning. My calves were burning. And trust me, it had nothing to do with the 90-degree heat.

We got there with about 15 minutes to spare before the show started. I decided I'd make the most of it: I offered to grab snacks for everyone, as an excuse to head down (and back up!) the steps. I went all the way down to the ground level, so that I could do the ramp again, and repeated the trip about five times between Train and Bon Jovi. I didn't go all the way down every time – but after the first few trips, I think even just doing the stairs to the top of the stadium was a workout.

Let me guess, you're thinking there's no way you want to be a hot sweaty mess the whole concert. You're thinking I'm crazy. You have a point. But Wednesday night was so hot, we were sweaty regardless of how many times we did the steps. So it really didn't matter at all. I'd say that's the case at most summer concerts.

Despite how great I was feeling, I wanted to see if any trainers thought I really was getting a workout. David Cabral of Hoboken Boot Camps verified my suspicions.

The average person cannot even walk up 3-5 flights of stairs without gasping for air," he says, "I absolutely think that if you walk up and down the steps 20 times you will get in a good workout."

Woah! Twenty times? I asked him if everyone really needs to do that much. He assured me that you don't. Even just taking one or two trips down – in other words, going to the bathroom once and getting a water – will be sufficient for beginners. He recommends beginners take 2-5 trips; intermediate 5-8 trips; advanced 8-10 trips.

"It also depends on the intensity. The faster you go, the more calories you will burn," he says, "but just practicing going up and down stairs would benefit anyone. It makes your legs stronger, builds your cardiovascular capacity, helps your core and spinal stability and, last but not least, it is a great challenge."

To see how many calories I was burning, I did a quick Google search for "calorie burn stairs" and several sites estimated that a 150-pound female burns about 300 calories in a half hour of stair climbing. If each trip up the steps takes you five minutes, you only need to take six trips. 

So there you have it. If you're going to a concert, save your self some money and get a free workout by buying tickets at the top of the stadium. For bonus points, jam out throughout the night. Remember how much you can burn by dancing? I don't think I sat for more than five minutes the whole night.