Fitness and Nutrition

Anyone doing or did the CN Tower Stair Climb? Any tips?

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  • Oct 19th, 2014 7:30 pm
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Member
May 11, 2008
425 posts
3 upvotes

Anyone doing or did the CN Tower Stair Climb? Any tips?

Probably should've asked weeks ago, but I signed up for the public climb this Saturday with a couple friends... I've never done any real cardio event for distance before, though I'm pretty competitive with these guys so I still want a good time :D

Cardio isn't really my forte, but I've been practising on the stairclimber and going up/down a local apartment for the last month or so. For those who've done this before, with good times (my ideal goal is sub 25 minutes, less than 20 would be great), can you give me any pro tips? So far I've read that 1) Pace yourself 2) Do two steps at a time and 3) Don't stop, are all important if you want to clock in well.

Morning of - skip breakfast or no? Better to go early as possible or later in the morning? During the climb, how would you pass people with manners, especially if the stairwell's crowded? Do you guys keep your breathing aerobic the entire way, or start sprinting towards those last few flights?

Again it's my first time so I'm not expecting world class speed, but I'm excited to really challenge myself; hopefully if all goes well I'll prepare much earlier for the April climb next year :D
6 replies
Deal Addict
Sep 22, 2009
3862 posts
2940 upvotes
Markham
Why challenge yourself once a year (or once a decade) when you can challenge yourself everyday?
Fitness is a lifestyle....it is a full time job on its on.

Don't skip breakfast.
Go in early so you don't have to deal with slow people and their BO.
Member
Mar 19, 2008
473 posts
26 upvotes
I did it a few years ago. I did one step at a time I think, but I trained two at a time. In the end it works out the same. How many flights of stairs did you train on? The only real difference with the CN tower and smaller climbs is that it is long enough to be fully aerobic so you need to be more careful about a sustainable pace. Basically you will just be walking briskly for the time range you want. Not stopping really hinges on having chosen the appropriate pace to begin with. For me, knowing the right pace came from training for it by running up stairs (I practiced in about a 20 story building) so hopefully you have a sense of it.

I ate breakfast but that means nothing. Do whatever you would normally do before a morning workout. It's not really an endurance race. I would go as early as possible the wait will be shorter. Generally people were pretty good about being passed, you could just say excuse me and go by. There were a few inconsiderate people using both railings or walking next to each other or something, I just said excuse me loudly to them, did not really worry about being polite. It was not too crowded.

I didn't sprint the last bit because I had no extra energy for it. If you do though then of course you should go for it.
Member
May 11, 2008
425 posts
3 upvotes
I hear ya BDSL! Didn't mean to suggest this is a weekend warrior type thing, yes I do strength training on the regular, but I neglect cardio (let's face it, annoying balancing deadlift/squats sessions with too much long distance cardio).

But I'm stoked to do the stair climb because a)it's with friends b) it's a relatively short event, so my leg training hasn't suffered in the last month as opposed to signing up for a marathon and c) United Way's got a good rep for charity transparency.

Thanks jjason! The apartment was only ten floors, 12 steps each, so I did about 14 rounds of that and took the elevators down each time. Admittedly this won't replicate the lactate threshold of the real thing as the elevators did give me a short break each time. I am surprised you did one step as I keep hearing 2 steps for competitive times, but that's harder to maintain as well. But you're right in the end I'll have to trial and error a sustainable pace; I'll stop nitpicking details and just see how it goes.
Member
Mar 19, 2008
473 posts
26 upvotes
It was a lot of fun and you'll feel really good after doing it. Good Luck!
Deal Addict
May 6, 2007
1114 posts
228 upvotes
Toronto
I've done this twice. My time was slightly above 25 mins though that's partially due to congestion.

Get there as early as possible! I've been there both early and later. The later you get there, the more people are present which means more congestion. There is a bit of a line up before you start too. This isn't a race where you just show up and are good to go. You have to check in, walk from the Metro Convention Centre to the CN tower (sometimes this can be a long line up), go through security, walk more, and then you can star the race. If there are a lot of people climbing the air is even more stale than it'd normally be (which is pretty stale). You're not climbing in well ventilated area. It's like back, service, metal stairs and the air isn't great. With more people there's also more of a line up at the beginning and end. My times were longer than they should've been because after they time stamped my card at the beginning I had to wait a bit to get going because there's a long line and at the end there was a line up to get my finish time stamp so I had to wait a couple of mins then too.

I'm not super competitive in anyway but in my experience it's a combination of cardio and leg strength. When I did it the first time my cardio was great but my legs weren't strong and I could feel it. My friend who was a cycler, she had no issues with it and could've completed it faster but waited for me. Biking is a good combo of cardio and legs so it showed. I did one step at a time and took breaks when needed. I also walked the whole thing. There are usually these buff guys who start running up the stairs 2 at a time, and then a few flights later they are pretty dead and I end up passing them. The best practice I think is climbing stairs. There are a crazy amount.

It's also a hands free climb. So no music, can't bring water with you, can't hold your keys. I think I was able to bring my watch because it was on my wrist. The water thing kinda sucks. There are medics and officers every few flights. I've seen people sitting down with the medic and people who have puked. Some people give up and probably take a service elevator down or something.

At the end, you can to walk around the top of the CN Tower which is nice. And you get a bottle of water. But watch out for the line up to take the elevator down! Again, if you go later with more people this line can be super long! The time I went late I think I had to wait half an hour to take the elevator back down. It actually would've been faster for me to walk down if that was an option.
Deal Fanatic
Jul 10, 2003
8086 posts
3869 upvotes
I did it for the second time today! The first time was 3 years ago when I wasn't fit at all and did in in 22:02. Nowadays I do 7 hours of cardio a week so I did it in 15:27 pretty easily!

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