Want to have toned calves and buttocks, not making special efforts? Best stair steppers, such as NordicTrack Rock ‘N Step Side-to-Side, are great helpers for ladies!
No time to go to the gym?
There is an easy way out – to arrange it right at home! It will only be necessary to take a modest corner for the simulator and combine the useful with the pleasant. See mini steper before and after results.
What are the key health benefits of a stair stepper?
Best stair steppers 2020
Stepper simulator – a gift for those who want to keep themselves in good shape. Such a device has a large set of positive qualities.
The compact body will help to train in a confined space. The loading mechanism helps to work out all the necessary muscle groups.
You might be wondering:
There are many competitors in the global equipment market, but we have selected the best manufacturers and recommend paying special attention to them:
We have compiled a list of the best steppers, based on expert assessments of experts and feedback from real buyers. Our recommendations will help you to make a choice, the best requirements, and desires.
Meet the advantages of best stair steppers
DFC SC-S032
The advantage of this model:
The presence of a hydraulic mechanism that provides a minimum load on the knees.
Therefore, people with injuries can also train on this stepper. The simulator is small, not equipped with additional handrails, so it is easy to store and transport.
Sports Elite GB-5112
The training simulates walking up the stairs with the regulation of the load. And with the help of an expander, you can train your arms at the same time.
A mini-stepper has a built-in computer with a display that will help you track your performance during a workout, calories burned and workout time.
The permitted weight of the trainer is 100 kg.
Body Sculpture BS-1122HA-B
The expanders create an imitation of an elliptical trainer, allowing you to use your arm muscles during exercise. The simulator does not take up much space, as it is not large in size and lightweight.
The weight of the mini-stepper is 8 kg. This allows you to keep it under the bed, as well as take it on vacation to keep fit all the time.
Torneo Tempo S-221
The mini-stepper is equipped with a front desk with armrest, which is adjustable in height or completely removed, thereby providing light and comfortable home workouts.
And thanks to the built-in computer, you can track workout time, speed, kilometers traveled, number of steps, and calorie consumption.
Body Sculpture BS-1370HAR-B
Thanks to the design of the simulator:
It is possible to conduct full-fledged comfortable workouts at home. Mini-stepper is equipped with wide pedals with non-slip surface, durable expanders, swivel mechanism and a display with information about the workout.
The simulator can be used by people of different age categories, which is why this stepper will be able to recreate a home gym for all family members.
Torneo Twister S-211
Simultaneously with the steps, it is possible to carry out turning movements by the body, thereby involving not only the muscles of the legs and the abs, but also the dorsal ones. And when using the expander, you can achieve a uniform load throughout the body.
Thanks to this mini-stepper the opportunity to build the body of your dreams becomes reality. What about minuses, it creaks during exploitation.
How to choose a suitable stepper for home use?
The stepper is a simulator designed to simulate the load that occurs when climbing the stairs. The small size and weight of this simulator allow you to train with it at home.
Get this:
However, they allow you to develop several muscle groups, endurance and coordination of movements. Choose a stepper for the house workouts can be based on its price and functionality.
Training on stepper involve the muscles of the legs, back, abdominals. Overcoming a given load simulator strengthens the cardiovascular system.
It is only important to choose the training program correctly, based on individual characteristics: age, health status, anthropometric data.
Varieties of steppers
Simulators that simulate walking on the stairs differ in several parameters:
Steppers are called large-sized simulators equipped with handrails, moving arms for hands and other devices that complicate the load.
The mechanical stepper drives by the pistons.
The classic model of the stepper simulates walking up the stairs in the frontal position of the body. During training, the muscles of the thighs, ankle, buttocks, lower back and abs work on it.
In more complicated models, the resistance of each pedal is regulated separately. This function is required during rehabilitation exercises after injury or surgery. Such simulators are more expensive.
Principles of choice
Selecting a simulator for the house workouts is not easy.
The professional IMPULSE PST300
It is equipped with 6 training programs and 20 levels of load on the pedals; To adjust the desired load, select the appropriate data from the table on the control panel.
The training pulse is automatically read by the sensor located on the handrail of the simulator and is displayed on the display. High price and non-compactness are the only drawbacks of this model.
User reviews recommend:
The HORIZON DYNAMIC 208 stepper
This one allows you to select one of 12 load programs using the control panel functions. You can set up independent pedal travel.
The cost is high, but the price corresponds to the quality: classes at HORIZON DYNAMIC 208 with the correct technique of performance will bring tangible benefits to the athlete.
When practising on such a stepper, the same muscles work as on the classical one. The use of expanders allows you to load the muscles of the back and upper body.
The KENTURI K5705-1 mini-stepper
It is popular with novice athletes. It is equipped with a time sensor, a step counter and expanders on elastic cords. The disadvantage is the dependent pedal travel – one pushes the other, like on a stationary bike.
Mini-stepper TORNEO RITMO S -112B
This one is another popular model among beginners. Disadvantage: it is produced without expanders, which limits the functionality of the simulator. The price of these models – 50 – 70 dollars.
Working with mini-steppers, it is impossible to change the workload. When choosing a simulator for the home is important to pay attention to:
6 benefits for calves & buttocks
Walking, including the stairs – one of the oldest forms of physical activity and one of the most accessible. People of almost all ages can practice it to improve health immune system.
It is shown even to those who cannot, for example, run. Classes at the stepper can successfully replace it.
6 useful properties
The undoubted advantage of this cardio is to provide the necessary amount of natural movements for a person. Performing them regularly and correctly, you can achieve excellent results in several directions at once.
1. Benefits for the heart, blood vessels and lungs
The stepper is a cardiovascular device – it increases the blood supply to the heart muscle (including its capillarization), the brain, strengthens the walls of blood vessels, normalises the lungs and the respiratory system as a whole.
You will obtain the cardiovascular benefits of heart health only with proper pulse control exercises. If your simulator hasn’t a computer with sensors, you can calculate the upper and lower boundaries of the pulse.
Check this out:
Take away from 220 (baby pulse at birth) age and multiplying the resulting number by 85% and 65%. These indicators are the controllers of the effectiveness of the workouts.
If the pulse is lower, the lesson will not give a result at all, the higher is a signal that you are overloaded.
And one more thing:
It is proved – it is only for a person to buy a car, in the first few months he significantly gains weight, and the condition of the cardiovascular system worsens.
2. Increase muscle tone
The main “pumping” zones on this simulator are legs (calves, ankles), hips (including the breeches, problematic for many, zone), buttocks.
However, if your stepper is equipped with levers, a turning handle, expanders, or you simply use weights for your arms (dumbbells, cuffs, etc.), practically all muscle groups of the body can be included in the work.
3. Reduction of cellulite
“Orange peel” will steadily melt during regular exercises on the simulator, providing enhanced blood circulation in problem areas of the lower body.
The effect can be increased by combining classes with cosmetic procedures, using anti-cellulite products or wearing special neoprene clothing during training. Improving blood circulation helps to eliminate toxins and slags, smoothing the skin surface.
4. Improved coordination, increased strength and endurance
Coordination or coordinated muscle activity is the basis of any movements of the human body. How much higher it is, how confident a person is in his physical activity. It develops any stepper, but in particular – balancing, or side.
It gets better:
Classes on this simulator also increase strength and endurance, which is especially important in our “sedentary” age, when the muscles do not get almost no load and weaken at a rather young age.
Begin to inculcate the skills of physical culture from the age of 4, making them strong and resilient, allowing kids and cardiovascular equipment, including a children’s stepper.
5. Strengthening immunity and general healing effect
Regular physical activity stimulates metabolic processes and provides a full physiological load, including at the stage of recovery after injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system.
All this strengthens the overall immunity:
90% of which depends on the work of the intestine, and serves to prevent constipation, prostate adenoma in men and gynecological diseases in women. Long-term natural walking movements improve blood circulation in the muscles of the limbs, the abdominal cavity, and the pelvic area.
6. Body correction
Smart, slim, beautiful silhouette – the result of methodical training on the stepper. Also one of the main advantages – the stepper effectively helps to lose weight.
Let’s talk more about what results can be obtained while practicing and why knees hurt from exercises.
The effectiveness of training for weight loss
Weight loss on a stepper simulator:
Burning excess calories, speeding up the metabolism and, as a result, smartness and clarity of body lines. What do you need to consider when dropping extra pounds?
Duration
With the goal of losing weight, the optimal time is 40-60 minutes at low intensity (pulse is about 100-110 beats per minute for beginners and 120-130 for medium preparation).
The “25 minutes rule” works here:
During this period of exercise, blood sugar and carbohydrate glycogen from the cells of the tissues are consumed, and only after these minutes does the process of burning fat start.
Periodicity
2-3 times a week is ideal for beginners and for fitness experienced people. The difference is in the intensity of the load.
In the morning or in the evening?
Those who want to lose weight, preferably morning. A sharp transition from a lazy state to an active one will help the body burn fat more intensively to compensate for the energy expended.
Contraindications and possible harm
Walking is so natural for a person that a false conviction may arise: a stepper has no contraindications at all. However, it is not.
Do not forget:
The steps on the simulator are steps with an effort. In some cases, it should be abandoned at all, or trained with caution and under the supervision of a specialist.
Treadmill or elliptical stair stepper?
It has been scientifically proven that jogging is the best natural trainer.
It is not replaceable in the fight against excess weight and helps to improve the tone in the whole body. Many lovers of homework cannot make the right choice between a treadmill and an elliptical trainer.
This article will list all the positive and negative sides of each device separately, comparing them according to the functional part and a list of the best models.
Features of the treadmill
This type of simulator is recommended to be used by everyone without exception, both for weight loss and for body strengthening or rehabilitation after any diseases.
Treadmills come in mechanical and electrical types:
The load changes due to the adjustment of the speed of the working web and the change on the tilt track itself.
Ways to change the angle of inclination
Such indicators as the depreciation system and the size of the working canvas affect the comfort and safety of running. During the operation of the track, the working canvas must always be in a moist state for better sliding.
Usually, for these purposes use special substances or coatings for the canvas.
Treadmill cons
This simulator, like many, has its advantages and disadvantages. Here are the main ones:
1. Colossal load
Exercises on the track put a heavy strain on basic human joints, such as the spine, knee joints, or thighs. This effect is enhanced by the fact that the person does not warm up before classes or uses an enhanced program for a long time.
Despite the fact that there are tracks with improved depreciation, they still carry enormous loads.
2. Safety in use
To practice on this simulator, you must know your physical condition exactly and do not overdo it in choosing the load. Otherwise, it will become very dangerous for you.
Features of the elliptical step trainer
This fact reduces the burden on the person and his joints. Another interesting feature is the fact that on an elliptical ellipsoid backward movement is possible to work with the muscles of the thigh and tibia.
The elliptical simulator will help:
Stair stepper elliptical can be used by everyone, regardless of age and experience. But it is recommended to start with low loads, gradually moving to heavier if desired.
Elliptical trainer cons
Despite the huge number of advantages, the disadvantages are also present on this device. Here is a couple of them:
Elliptical stepper or treadmill, what is better?
These two devices are the best options for certain tasks. The choice depends entirely on the person, his preferences and physical health.
With excellent health, it is better for a person to choose an ellipsoid, during exercise he will engage both the upper and lower parts of the body.
Functional comparison. These two simulators, though different from each other, but at the same time, their main functions are in many ways similar.
Consider the common basic functions:
1. Help in the fight against obesity
Both devices are associated with running and walking, and as you know, these are the best helpers in the fight against excess calories.
Their difference is that the track, because of its many functions (changing speed, changing the angle of inclination of the canvas, heart rate monitor), is more effective than its opponent. Experiments show that this type of simulator destroys more calories.
2. Increase endurance and strengthen human muscles
Each of the simulators focuses on certain muscle groups. If the track mainly aimed at the muscles of the legs and thighs, the stepper will involve much more muscle groups including the chest, back and arms.
But this is only if a special moving steering wheel installed on the simulator.
3. Strengthening and supporting joints
In this simulators are radically different from each other. The track is aimed precisely at strengthening the joints, preserving their elasticity and prevent aging.
Classes on the ellipsoid, on the contrary, does not affect the joints, it is made so that the load on the joints is minimized. But on the ellipsoid, you can get the perfect posture.
4. Keeping the heart in good shape
Since both devices are cardiovascular machines, then they perform this function at the highest level. Both of these simulators strengthen the cardiovascular system by reducing the risk of heart problems.
Also, due to the rapid heartbeat during workouts, the respiratory system also improves.
These simulators have both positive and negative effects.
To determine which simulators are best used, many personal facts you should take into account, such as height, weight, former traumas, level of health, planned result, etc.
As for the treadmills, they are recommended to be used by an experienced athlete because of their great functionality and heavy loads.
The choice of a simulator is a personal matter, and it is necessary to select a person individually. But if there are a desire and possibility, then it is better to use both options.
If you have already decided to buy a stepper:
Read in the previous sections for details on how to choose such a trainer and what to pay attention to. But for those who missed this information, see the next paragraph. Once again, we briefly recall the criteria for choosing a stepper.
The main features to mind buying a stepper:
Stair stepper workout
Fitness instructors give general recommendations on how to practice on a stepper so that the workouts are safe and beneficial:
Since the walking movements are too monotonous, they combined with other exercises: jumping over the rope, squats, strength, etc.
How can a beginner start the workout?
Preparation for high-grade training for beginners is 1 month. Exercise on stepper three times a week. Sample program:
The body of a novice athlete should get used to the loads, become stronger. Strengthens the heart and blood vessels, joints gain flexibility. Then go to classes for 20-30 minutes 3 times a week.
For those who want to lose weight, the total duration of classes at home is at least 1, 5 hours per week. Given the feedback from users of steppers, many people train daily for 15-20 minutes, in the morning or in the evening, after work.
A stepper, like other cardio training equipment, is good for health if used reasonably.
With the help of the stepper, you can not only lose weight but also strengthen the muscles of the lower body. What kind of result you get depends on the intensity of classes and nutrition plan.
So, your goal is to lose extra pounds, then the training of low and medium intensity is best suited. High-intensity workouts leave to fitness professionals.
Pulse
Let’s see how the intensity and duration of the training is determined. It’s very simple, how much to do, can be determined by the pulse:
Training on the stepper with handrails
This simulator is found in many fitness clubs, and if finances allow, you can buy it for home classes. If you want to lose weight, and not pump up muscles:
Then choose a load below the average, that is, the one at which the pedals push through without much effort.
If you keep your balance well without handrails, then do not hold them. Bend your elbows and make them rhythmic movements back and forth, like when running.
Try standing on straight legs to reach the floor. If you succeed, try to reach the floor with your palms. Well, now you can proceed to the water procedures!
Mini-stepper training
This type of step simulator is the most affordable. Some models of mini-steppers are equipped with expanders, which will allow training not only the bottom but also the upper body.
But for us girls, first of all, it will allow us to spend more calories on training! The technique is about the same as the handrails are not there, so learn to keep your body in balance.
Cardio on the stepper is best done on separate days, not combining them with strength training. For a beginner, 2 cardio workouts per week are enough. For more advanced comrades, I recommend practicing at least 3 times a week.
Before you start training, I advise you to watch the video with the correct technique of work on the stepper.
Training on stepper has its own nuances:
Therefore, in order to preserve and increase your health, avoid the most common mistakes!
At first, it will be difficult to comply with the ideal technique:
Then the lumbar sag, the heel will come off the pedal. But over time and with experience, all movements will reach automatism, and you will be able to focus all thoughts on muscle work.
Another, and probably the biggest mistake is the neglect of contraindications.
First of all, training cannot be started if there are heart problems. After all, cardio load in the first place loads it. I advise you to pass an examination before class and consult with a cardiologist!
But this is only an approximate method:
It does not give a complete assessment of the state of health! Despite the relative safety of the joints, people with problems with the musculoskeletal system also recommend consultation with a specialist.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I want to mention once again that the stepper is one of the preferred simulators for cardio workouts. It minimally burdens the knees, which the treadmill cannot boast. Nonetheless, if you have your knees hurt, read the following paragraph!
Thanks to the compact models of steppers on it:
After a workout, my knees hurt: why and what to do?
The correct and competent approach to training is the path to a healthy and beautiful body. But many young people are ready to quit training due to the fact:
The pain in the knees after training does not give them a normal exercise, and most importantly feel satisfaction from the training process.
And since the opinion of the “specialist” becomes decisive for many, there is nothing else left but how to fold the legs and throw classes at the gym. Is this really correct, we will now try to figure it out together.
Ways to prevent pain in the knee joints
1. Visiting a sports doctor
The first step you should take, as soon as you feel pain in your knee (knees) after a workout, is to visit a doctor who works with athletes and athletes.
It is a sports doctor, and not any doctor in your local clinic, as the local doctor (traumatologist, orthopedist) does not know the subtleties of the training process.
If you do not want such a fate for yourself, then it is worthwhile to find a good specialist and consult on this issue with him.
We go further. If your knees hurt after a workout, then perhaps you do not follow the basic safety rules when exercising in the gym, namely:
Also, the cause of pain in the knees can be improper nutrition.
2. Proper and balanced nutrition
Not for nothing, I put the item “food” in second place in the list of ways to prevent pain in the knees. Nutrition is the basis of all vital metabolic processes in the body and is responsible for most of our diseases.
If you start to worry about pain in your knee after training or during it, then the reason may be in the wrong diet.
Of course, you need to consider each individual case individually and only after consulting with a specialist, but the basic rules for proper nutrition of any athlete you should know:
Observing at least these points, you will protect yourself from knee injuries and premature wear of your joints.
3. Warm-up muscles before training
A very important point in preventing injuries and pain in the knee joint is heating the muscles and preparing the joints for work. We must not forget to do a warm-up before any physical activity, whether it is ordinary aerobics or strength training.
By doing this:
You protect your joints and ligaments from injury, and yourself from going to the hospital and restrictions in the classroom. It is not so difficult to allocate 5 minutes from your workout, warm up your muscles and prepare your entire body for working with weights.
4. The correct technique to perform squats with weight
You have repeatedly heard this advice from your colleagues in the gym, from the trainers themselves, from articles and posts on the Internet, BUT …
Let me guess what kind of squat should be in your understanding – when the hips are parallel with the floor, that is, so-called half-seat squat to parallel.
In that my words do not seem to you unfounded, I will now prove why this is so. When you do squats up to the parallel with the floor, especially with regard to the squat with a heavy barbell on the shoulders.
You slow down the trajectory of movement not only with your thighs and buttocks but also with your knee joint.
And a full squat much more effectively affects the results of the gluteus muscles. Surely, many girls just want to achieve this, making this a wonderful basic exercise at each of their training buttocks.
For those girls who are afraid or for some reason do not want to do a full squat, but to worry about their knees, there is good news.
You can safely squat up to parallel the hips with the floor, but you should do such squats either with your own body weight, or with a bodybuilder, or with a barbell up to 15 kg. In all other cases, it is recommended to do a deep squat.
Also, the mistakes of the correct technique for the performance of everyone’s favorite squat, as well as deadlift and leg press, include a complete extension of the knees in the final phase of the exercise. What do I mean?
Well, the rules are so cruel in this sport.
We, dear girls, need to take care of our joints and hamstrings as much as possible, so that after a couple of years, do not go to doctors and not learn how to train with bad knees.
5. Stretching at the end of the workout
In fact, stretching after you have properly exercised this or that muscle group is a guarantee of not only the elasticity of your muscles but also healthy joints.
The fact is that if you do not stretch the muscles after a workout, they do not return to their normal pre-training condition, but remain shortened for a long time. This, in turn, leads to overstrain in the joint, which causes pain in the knee after exercise.
6. Balance in uniform development of antagonist’s muscles
This advice is very, very important when it comes to leg training and pain in the knee joint. These two processes are closely interrelated, although many coaches and trainees, not only young girls but also adult men, do not realize this.
And the reason lies in the fact that, by nature, the front surface of the thigh (quadriceps), in both men and women, is several times stronger than the posterior surface of the thigh (thigh biceps).
So what? – you ask.
And the fact that it affects the implementation of basic exercises on the legs and buttocks, as well as exercises with free weights.
Such an imbalance in the development of one antagonist muscle over another leads to overload and rapid wear of the knee joint, and hence to sore knees. Therefore, we return to step 4 and monitor the correct technique for performing one or another exercise.
7. Use moderate weights
I appeal to all the girls: if you are not a professional athlete in the field of bodybuilding or body fitness, then you do not need to chase after large weights, hoping to pump your buttocks in the gym for a month.
Understand it is unreal!
To look like bikini competition girls and have such forms and good muscle mass in the right place, you have to spend more than one month, persistently and regularly doing in the gym and following a sports diet.
Again, this is connected with clause 4, where the wrong squat technique (excessively heavyweight for you will not allow you to squat below the parallel with the floor) will lead you to overloading the joints and to further pain in the knees.
8. Eliminate the use of elastic bandages
No matter how strange this advice may seem to you:
I assure you that any bandaging, whether it be your knees or elbows, does not save you from injury, but quite the contrary, it ISSUE and ACCELERATES the wear and tear of your joints!
Blood simply ceases to circulate normally throughout the body, poorly enters the transferred and bandaged places, and this affects the lubrication of the joints and their proper and safe operation.
All this leads again to overload and pressure on the working joint.
Well, we have considered the main methods of prevention that can protect you from knee pain during and after training.
Exercising correctly, following all the above recommendations, you do not have to look for the answer to the question: why do your knees hurt after a workout?
A serious and responsible approach to the training process will help you not only to avoid various injuries but also make you an absolutely healthy and happy person!