You're probably used to seeing rows upon rows of elliptical trainers at the gym. You've probably seen a few stairclimbers, which look like a combination between an escalator and a treadmill, too. But whether it's because running on a stairclimber is much more difficult than running on an elliptical, since you must time your steps precisely to the stairclimber's motion, or simply because of the daunting psychological hurdle of climbing an endless set of stairs, stairclimbers don't enjoy the same popularity as ellipticals.
Calories Burned
According to Harvard Health Publications, depending on your body weight, you can burn between 270 and 400 calories in half an hour of pedaling an elliptical trainer. Stair-step machines rank quite a bit lower, at between 180 and 266 calories burned per half hour, depending on body weight.
Appearance
Elliptical trainers have two independent pedals that move in an elliptical motion to simulate a natural running stride, giving the machine its name. Some ellipticals also come with moving handlebars that let you work your upper body as you run.
Stairclimbers look a little different from your standard stair stepper. Instead of featuring two independent pedals that you press up and down as if you were climbing stairs, minus the actual stairs, stairclimbers look like a very short escalator. As you climb the steps they shift down beneath you, simulating the effect of an endless flight of stairs.
Muscles Worked
Both stairclimbers and elliptical trainers work all your major lower body muscles: glutes, hip flexors, quads, hamstrings and calves. Elliptical trainers offer a more versatile workout, however, as they offer the easy option of pedaling forward or backward. An elliptical trainer with moving handlebars lets you work your upper body, too, which is a feature that stairclimbers don't provide.
Features
Both elliptical trainers and stairclimbers usually come with a digital console that displays basic information such as time spent, flights climbed or distance pedaled, calories burned and machine speed or resistance levels. Both elliptical trainers and stairclimbers may also have integrated heart rate monitors or be compatible with wireless heart rate monitors. Some elliptical trainers let you adjust the machine's incline, focusing the effort of running on different muscles in your hips and legs.
Impact
Elliptical trainers provide no-impact exercise. There is no pounding or jarring to your joints because your feet never leave the pedals. Stairclimbers are a low-impact exercise. While your feet do leave the steps with each stride, creating some impact on your joints, the limited number of steps available on the stairclimber keeps you from moving fast enough to generate the full impact of running a flight of stairs.
Cost
According to Consumer Search, you should expect to spend a minimum of $1,000 on an elliptical trainer. As of May 2010, stairclimbers begin at about the same price range and, like elliptical trainers, can easily cost several thousand dollars for a quality piece of heavy-duty equipment.
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