If you were told to imagine climbing stairs as an exercise, you would probably picture a seemingly endless flight, like those leading to the top of the Eiffel Tower, or perhaps you would picture boxer Rocky Balboa's famous run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Enter the stair stepper machine, a cardiovascular exercise machine available for in-home use to give you the same effects attained by the Italian Stallion's run without the need to leave your dwelling. The exercise stepper gives you an aerobic workout while toning and strengthening your legs and glutes, and comes in a variety of types.
Best Mini Exercise Stepper
If you are short on space, but still want a stepper in your home to assist you in your everyday workouts, consider purchasing a mini stepper. Available in a portable or foldable model, these machines are compact and stashes easily away under a bed or in a closet until you need to use it. The best mini stepper on the market is Brookstone's Fold-A-Way Cardio Stepper which costs about $200 and has sensor grips to monitor your pulse and a counter containing a timer, pacer and a display to show you the number of calories you burned. The only downfall to the smaller stepper is the lack of stability. Some users report the machine feeling a bit "wobbly" when they work out on it.
Best Price Exercise Stepper
For the shopper with a larger space for a stepper, but a tight budget, you should consider the Schwinn 305p, which costs $300. While this stepper is not quite the caliber of stair stepper you may find at a gym, it will give you an effective cardiovascular workout and help tone and tighten the muscles of the lower body. Larger individuals should avoid this model, as the weight limit is 200 lbs., despite the sturdiness of the machine. It has a wrap-a-round handlebar to give the option of several ways to grip the machine while working out and includes a computer display to show you the number of calories burned, number of steps taken, time and step rate.
Best Commercial Exercise Stepper
You should consider buying a commercial size and strength stepper if you plan on putting it in a gym. The best on the market is the $3,800 ProSTEP 6000 Climber. It is sturdy and durable and provides an excellent and highly adjustable workout, making it suitable for fitness centers as well as rehabilitation clinics. This type of stepper is like a miniature escalator in that it has actual stairs that rotate around a belt for you to climb onto. This eliminates "cheating" while climbing stairs on other steppers where you can take more shallow, faster steps, which decreases the amount of resistance you may experience in your lower body. The ProSTEP's revolving stairs ensure each step will be the same size as the first, but you can adjust the speed of the stairs to suit your needs.
Best Overall Exercise Stepper
If you are looking for the absolute best workout in a stepper for in-home use, consider buying the $2,500 StairMaster FreeClimber 4200 PT which contains four workout programs, 20 resistance levels and speeds of up to 174 steps per minute. The StairMaster is structured like the ProSTEP, as it also has the revolving stairs to give you a more thorough and consistent workout. Sold as an in-home piece of exercise equipment, many people believe it is durable enough to be used in gyms. If climbing the continual steps isn't for you, consider the $500 LifeFitness Lifestep 9500 with dependent steps. As you climb, your body weight pushes one stair down, forcing the other to rise. The Lifestep has six workout programs and a console that provides a readout showing the elapsed time, distance, heart rate, incline, speed, calories burned, calories burned per hour and your program profile.
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