Stepmill: Most Underrated Machine in Your Gym. July 24, 2008
Posted by jamieatlas in Health, weight loss.Tags: beginner fitness, box step, cardiovascular, dropping weight, exercise, fat loss, fitness, fitness goals, intermediate fitness, jamie atlas, losing pounds, lower body workout, stair workout, stairs, step class, step up, stepmill, thigh, weight loss, workout
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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.
Frank knew that if the elevator at work ever broke down... he would be ready.
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
Climbing the Vatican Stairs - bring a water bottle... and extra calf muscles
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.
Looking at these stairs, I would wager that these Buddhist monks probably have some killer glutes and calves hidden under their robes
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).
Not sure what to say about this one other than - Whhhaaaaaat?
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.
Jamie Atlas
http://jamieatlas.wordpress.com
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do you put your whole foot on the step of a stepmill or just the ball of the foot (for the best butt workout?)
Ahh, good question Lucy. I needed to think about this one before I answered it as there are a few things to consider.
To stay on the toes would be to work the calves more but would be more unstable than if you had the feet flat on the ground – this might inhibit the glutes from working powerfully…. A very good question indeed. I would have to say it depends on the individual but my tendency would be to say start with the heel down and press up and lift the heel up as you press through and bring the other leg up ready to step. In other words, press through to an ‘on toes’ position but start on the step with your heel making contact.
If you are looking to blast the glutes, here are a few tips that help tap into the butt muscles.
1: Don’t use the handles
The handles allow your upper body to rest. If you can lean the body slightly forward AS IF you were going to rest your arms on the supports but dont touch anything then your glute will have to support your upper body as you step which equals greater glute burn.
2: Double step it
You can take two steps which will increase the angle of the hips and work the glutes more. You may want to slow down the step speed a little for this one.
3: Step across
By stepping across the body at an angle (place the right foot just left of center as you step up and the left foot just right of center as you step up.. This creates more length through the glute. Imagine you are going up the stairs as if you really had to go to the bathroom and your legs are slightly crossed
Hope that helps!
Jamie
Does that help?
J
it depends on the size of your foot!
And who has time to take these instructions on your workout?
Listen to you body and follow what you feel.
Also know that at 15 minutes this machine turns OFF!
If you aren’t aware, you will fall down.
This machine is NOT for beginners or slackers.
I could’ve of sworn Lucy’s question was regarding the STEPmill not the TREADmill. I was looking forward to that answer myself.
Jamie, thanks so much for the revision, yes that did help very much, but I figured it be hard to do the heel toe because we’re unable to get a full foot on the step….unless we slant the foot which I guess is an effective option as well??
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Hi. What about doing the stairmill backwards? Any benifits to that?
Hey Shandell. Although there are benefits to going backwards up the stairmill, they are mostly quad-related. That is, going backwards focuses the attention on the quads. If you are trying to rehab a quad for some reason I might recommend it (as part of a rehab therapy system that was approved by a physical therapist, of course) but I would probably not have you do it for the reason that most people tend to overuse their quads already. Tapping into the posterior chain (hams, glutes, calves, lower back) is a much more effective way to burn calories, save your knees and balance out your muscles.
Hope that helps!