Steppers - A Personal Review
Jamie Atlas
Let me say right now, this is not the place to start on your first
day in the gym. But if you want shapely legs and a leaner body,
it’s the machine you should work towards.
You know the piece I am talking about – the infinity
staircase, the forever stepper, the piece of equipment that spits you
out the back if you aren’t looking where you are going.
The Stepmill is an excellent piece of equipment that challenges both
the leg muscles and cardiovascular system. If you aren’t a
regular exerciser (at least once a week) then this machine is not for
you… just yet.
I recently posted an article that talked about the top three pieces
of equipment: the treadmill, the bicycle and the elliptical machine.
What I didn’t realize is that although those are the most
commonly talked about, that doesnt necessarily make them the best
(think Britney Spears).
I received a post shortly after asking me about the rowing machine
and my opinion of that. I of course realized my error immediately. I
had pandered to the masses!
I had Ignored the legions of less-popular equipment users that for
some reason would stumble across this blog and indignantly protest my
narrow perspective of exercise equipment. Shame on me!
Why do I love this machine? Here are just a few reasons:
- Replicates the real world
- Works the all the major muscles of the legs
- Because few enough people use them that you can usually find one that isn’t taken
- Great Cardiovascular exercise
- The variety of foot positions keeps you from ‘hamster wheel syndrome’
- One of the few machines I recommend to average gym goers as well as high level athletes
I can use this machine in a variety of ways. If I am constantly
changing the way my body steps then I can be sure to work all angles of
my glutes/quads/hamstrings/calves while still burning fat and reaping
the cardiovascular benefits.
Some step patterns are more demanding than others, but here are just
a few positions that I have my clients make use of when they feel up to
the challenge.
For a full lower body challenge, try climbing the ‘virtual staircase’ any of in the following patterns:
- Regular position
- With feet wide
- With feet narrow
- At a 45 degree angle to one side
- Regular position stepping slowly then quickly stepping up (think
about waiting ’til the last second to step up with the other foot)
- Angling the feet so they are pointed 45 degrees out
- Angling the feet so they are pointed 45 degrees in
- 2 steps at a time
For an extra booster, try any of the above variables with the following tweak:
- Just one finger from each hand lightly touching the rails (great stability challenge)
- One/Both hands behind the back (awesome leg and stability emphasis)
Warm up before your Cardio
Of course the most important thing in all of the above is that you
are warmed up – I know, I know – you gotta warm up before
you do cardio? You’re kidding, right? This machine is a challenge
on your lower body joints – not something to lead off with.
Be sure you feel your knees and ankles are fully warmed up –
try five minutes on one of the more popular exercise equipment pieces
in your gym before stepping up to the high yield workout that is the
Stepmill cardio session.
If you wanted to do the above as part of your regular workout, here is a recommended program to follow:
For this workout at a 7/10 intensity the whole time – be sure
to get a couple of stepmill workouts under your belt before you start
going for the steeplechase championship.
Beginning full lower body stepmill workout:
- 5 minutes on treadmill at easy pace to warm up
- 1 minute regular
- 1 minute wide
- 1 minute 45 angle left
- 1 minute 45 angle right
- 1 minute regular with only left hand on rail
- 1 minute wide with only left hand on rail
- 1 minute 45 angle left with only left hand on rail
- 1 minute 45 angle right with only left hand on rail
- 1 minute regular with only right hand on rail
- 1 minute wide with only right hand on rail
- 1 minute 45 angle left with only right hand on rail
- 1 minute 45 angle right with only right hand on rail
- 1 minute regular
- 1 minute wide
- 1 minute 45 angle left
- 1 minute 45 angle right
- Feel free to repeat the above 16 minute cycle as many times as you
would like depending on the time you have to workout or when you start
to feel the burn in muscles in your legs you didn’t know you had.
- 5 minutes treadmill to cool down and finish
- Stretch major muscle groups of the legs
All of us are looking to improve our results in less time in the
gym. If you want better results for your lower body, the best thing you
can do is change up the stimulus for the lower body. By increasing the
angle at the hips, knees and ankles. (such as with the angle formed
when using the stepmill).
The total amount of work required by the legs is greater in the step
– if the leg bends 15 degrees (as you would walking on a
treadmill) then the muscles used and the amount of work is
significantly less than if there is a 60-90 degree bend in the knee and
hip. Don’t believe me? Try walking the stairs vs walking the path.
More hip and knee angle in your workout is always going to mean more muscles worked (which makes for better looking legs).
Next time in the gym, dodge your regular cardio routine and have a
play on the stepmill. Sure, it’s a bit dusty and doesn’t
have a fancy program tool or incline adjustment. But just try it out.
After a few weeks of conquering the Stepmill you will find a
newfound ability to conquer hills and staircases of varying altitude.
More importantly, you will now have the power to saunter past the next
escalator you see, giving a consolatory sneer to the poor saps that
just dont have what it takes to take the real stairs. Those wusses.
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Cardio
