Georgia fitness buffs climb stairs for good health

When you're reading up on how to add more activity to your life, one of the more common tips is "Skip the elevator, take the stairs." Some athletes are taking that to an extreme and using the stairs as a regular workout. Regulars at the Shut Up and Squat fitness studio in Georgia can make climbing the stairs part of their fitness routine, and even earn a plaque when they can run up and down them 100 times without stopping.

Tomorrow, some of those same fitness buffs will put their stair climbing skills to the test in a race to the top of the Bentley-Forbes Bank of America Plaza -- a 55-story building that's one of the tallest in the Southeast. Stair climbing races can be found all over the country, including a thigh-busting 80-story climb to the top of the Empire State Building.

Stair climbing is an intense aerobic workout that offers the same benefits of jogging, in half the time. It also builds muscle and endurance, but health experts recommend that -- if stair climbing interests you -- you start small and work your way up slowly. Even the extremely fit don't conquer the stairs every day.