Are you looking for a way to take your fitness to new heights? Well, have you considered adding a stair climber machine to your home gym setup?
Stair climbers rank as one of the most effective ways of getting in shape. Also called stair steppers or step climbers, these pieces of fitness equipment simulate the motion of climbing stairs, providing both cardio and strength training benefits using one convenient machine.
Choosing to buy a stair climber for your home gym is an easy decision, considering its many benefits, but deciding which specific model might work best for you is another thing entirely.
That’s why our experts have taken the time to test out some of the best on the market today. Expect performance metrics, user experience details, and a comprehensive list of specs and features so you can make an informed decision and buy the best stair stepper for your goals and budget.
Having a Stair Climber Machine in Your Home Can Change Your Life
Using stair climber machines at the gym will do wonders for your cardiovascular system, lower body muscle size and strength, and overall fitness, but having a stair master machine for home is game changing.
For one, you now have one of the best pieces of cardio equipment conveniently located in the comfort of your home. You’ll save loads of time since you no longer must pack your gym bag, get in the car, drive all the way over to the gym, and finally get around to working out after all that effort.
Instead, just put on your workout clothes, head into your home gym, and that’s it! Your at home stair stepper is ready and waiting for you to ascend your way to victory without even leaving the house!
Stair Climber Machine Reviews – The 5 Best Options for Your Home
1. GMWD Commercial Grade Stair Climber Machine
2. Bowflex Max Trainer M3 Stair Climber Elliptical Hybrid
3. Sunny Health & Fitness Twisting Stair Stepper Machine
4. Xiser Commercial Mini Stairmaster
5. Body Power Elliptical Stepper Machine
Different Ways to Use the Stair Climber
Many fitness enthusiasts struggle with keeping consistent with cardio training because, let’s face it, it can get monotonous at times.
I mean, how many minutes can you feasibly spend on a treadmill, elliptical, rower, or stair stepper machine before your mind starts to wander and you find yourself wishing you were anywhere else, doing anything else?
Unfortunately, you’ll never nail your fitness goals if you don’t keep consistent, so it’s up to you to innovate new programs and ways to approach your cardio training that keeps you as mentally engaged as you are physically engaged.
Luckily, the stair machine makes it easy by offering a variety of versatile selections for how to use it and get an excellent workout. Here are some of our favorite ways to use your step climber machine for an amazing workout that works!
Interval Training
Steady-state cardio, though effective, can get really tiresome after a while.
Spice things up by sprinkling in some high intensity intervals every so often. Studies show that interval training is one of the most effective and time-efficient ways of burning fat, losing weight, and keeping your heart rate up throughout the whole session.
How long and intense your intervals are will depend on your fitness level, but we recommend a 1:2 work-to-rest ratio when starting out, meaning if you push your pace for twenty seconds, for example, you should follow it up with an easy period of active recovery for the next forty seconds minimum.
Strength Training
Slogging up the stairs is already exhausting, but that might just par for the course for some higher-level fitness enthusiasts or athletes. Some might feel the need to add a little something to make things even more challenging.
Combining strength training with your stair climbing is an effective and efficient way of doing this. You’re already getting a great workout in your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and calves by simply climbing the stairs, but throwing on a weighted vest will make the effect even more profound.
Better yet, do your climb while holding dumbbells, kettlebells, or a heavy sandbag and take them for a walk up the stairs. Performing a workout like this now provides a challenge to your upper body muscles and grip strength too, turning your lower body focused cardio workout into a total body blaster!
Work It Into a WOD (Workout of the Day)
There’s also no rule that says that you have to stay on the stair stepper machine once you get on. Instead of grinding it out for the long haul, work in a set of pull-ups, push-ups, sit-ups, or air squats every so often.
For example, get to steppin’ for two minutes, hop off and bang out twenty push-ups. Then, get back on, rinse, lather, and repeat for the desired duration.
You could also use the stair climber machine to quantify when you need to jump off for a set of callisthenic exercises. Maybe you want to climb twenty floors, get off, do twenty crunches, and structure your workout in that way.
Anything is possible when you have a home stair master.
Endurance Climbs
Performing cardio for twenty to sixty minutes at a time is adequate for most people, but marathon runners and triathletes know the value of long steady-state cardio days too.
The stair master can absolutely be used in this fashion. Instead of jogging for hours during your marathon training program and beating the heck out of your knees and ankles in the process, consider swapping the treadmill training for a stair climber workout.
Given the increased level of challenge that the stair stepper presents, you may not be able to grind it out for more than an hour at a time, but even sixty minutes will yield impressive benefits to both your cardio system and your muscle size, strength, and endurance.
The Stair Climber Machine is the Perfect Piece of Home Workout Equipment
Studies show that the stair climber machine is very effective in regard to your health and fitness, but it’s also one of the best pieces of gym equipment to include in your home gym setup.
Here are some of the reasons why buying a stair climber will make your home workouts as good, if not better, than what you’re able to do in any commercial gym:
- Full-Body Workout: Every step engages various lower body muscles, like the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves, while gripping the handlebars provides some activation in your upper body muscles too. You will also be working your core and cardiovascular system for an all-around comprehensive workout from one convenient machine!
- Joint-Friendly Cardio: The treadmill is not a bad machine, by any means, but it sure beats the heck out of your joints from the heavy impact. Step climbers are low-impact, taking less of a toll on the joints.
- Calorie Burner: Thanks to the high intensity nature of the stair master, you’ll burn more calories using a stair climber machine than by performing other similar activities for a thirty minute period. When time is of the essence, you can’t beat the convenience and effectiveness or torching calories using the stair climber.
- Compact and Portable: Many of today’s stair climbers feature a compact design that doesn’t require loads of floor space to fit in your home. Better yet, some folding or collapsible stair climber machines can be safely tucked away when not in use, so it’s not cluttering up your home when you’re not ready to get your sweat on!
Whether you have a sprawling space dedicated for your home gym or just a teensy little closet-sized room available for your workouts, a stair climber adds loads of value to the space without taking up the whole room, making it the perfect piece to include in your setup.
Zoppler is reader supported and may earn affiliate commissions from links on this page. We support and believe in all the products and services we promote and are affiliated with.
