Those who exercise regularly can add years to their life. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 30 minutes a day of moderate or brisk activity to promote longevity. If your goal is to work activity into your day, the treadmill and stair stepper are excellent options. However, if you are looking for a piece of equipment that will burn the most calories, or build muscle mass, then you may have to dig a little deeper and compare.
Treadmill
A treadmill is a fitness machine that allows you to mimic the everyday motions of walking, jogging and running. There are two types: motorized and self-propelled. The user must push the belt of a self-propelled treadmill into motion. These were very popular until the motorized treadmills hit the market. The majority of people use the electric version now, but there are a few fans of the self-propelled models, mostly because they are less expensive. The motorized versions are more extensive in features, including such items as clocks, speed and incline adjustments, calorie counters. Organizations such as ACE Fitness and ACSM recommend the motorized version because they last longer, are easier to user for beginners, provide more training options and burn more calories.
Stair Stepper
The stair stepper puts your lower body through the motion of walking up stairs. They can be either just pedals that go up and down, or can look similar to the top of an escalator in which actual steps are formed that you continuously step up onto. Most models have a resistance mode that you can adjust, which in turn adjusts the speed and intensity of your workout. There are mini manual steppers in addition to the electric ones. And like the electric treadmills, the electric steppers have a variety of features.
Similarities
Both the stepper and treadmill offer cardiovascular workouts. Both engage the major muscles of the lower body, and can be utilized as weight loss tools. Both machines offer weight-bearing exercise, which burns more calories than non-weight bearing activities. Furthermore, weight bearing activities like walking, jogging, running and step training aid in maintaining bone mass and preventing osteoporosis.
Impact
While both machines do cause some impact on the joints of the lower body, the stair stepper's impact is slightly less. If you have chronic knee problems or you incur some knee pain on a treadmill, you can try the stepper as an alternative. If the pain continues, you may have to try another form of low impact or non-weight bearing exercise like swimming, biking, rowing or an elliptical trainer.
Weight Loss
According to a 1996 study at the Medical College of Wisconsin, the treadmill offers more calorie burn per hour than a stepper. This gives the treadmill the edge if your goal is to lose weight. In that study, the treadmill burned about 850 calories during an intense workout. The stepper, at that same intensity, burned about 700 calories per hour. The stepper and rower exhibited about the same caloric burn, and beat out the cross country skiing machine and stationary bicycles. Now 700 calories in one hour is nothing to squawk at; that is a significant calorie burn. If you are just looking for more bang for your buck, though, the treadmill may be the way to go. One tip to keep in mind: let go of the handrails. Holding on or leaning onto the hand rails can negatively impact calorie burn. They are there for balance, not to take the work out of your workout.
Weight Loss
When it came to building muscle mass, the stepper won. The stepper tends to increase the muscle mass of the legs and thighs. Whereas the treadmill does tend to tone the muscles of the legs, it doesn't necessarily build mass. Keep in mind if your goal is to build muscle mass, you should be incorporating resistance training into your routine. The stepper is primarily a cardiovascular workout that does provide some muscle mass building.
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