Stair Stepper Vs. Treadmill
Stair climbers and treadmills can offer excellent cardiovascular workouts, and both can do wonders to for working the major muscle groups of the lower body. It's a very close call to determine which piece of equipment offers a better workout. When compared head to head, several things can be considered to help make the most appropriate decision for a given situation.
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Size
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Full-size treadmills take up quite a bit more floor space when in use than a full-size stair climber, making the stair climber a potentially better option for someone with extremely limited floor space. Many treadmills fold when not in use, so storage space necessary for both pieces of equipment could be similar.
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Safety
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Running on a treadmill is a high-impact activity, which isn't necessarily optimal for people with knee or ankle problems. Stair climbers offer a lower-impact workout than treadmill running, but there still is a potential risk involved in using them. The up-and-down motion of working on a stair climber can lead to repetitive stress injuries and cause knee and ankle pain.
Effectiveness
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When used properly, stair climbers and treadmills are excellent for fat-burning workouts. The problem with stair climbers usually comes with the handle/hand rail. As the workout goes on, many people using a stair climber begin to use the handle for more than balance and begin bearing a large portion of their weight there. Bearing too much weight on the handle drastically reduces the overall effectiveness of the workout. With a treadmill workout, people are more likely to move their arms naturally as they walk/run, which increases the effectiveness of the workout.
Cost
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The price range of either type of equipment is vast, but buying a low-end treadmill or stair climber could lead to issues with the longevity of the equipment. When comparing good-quality treadmills and stair climbers from well-known manufacturers, the stair climber is normally the less expensive of the two.
Warnings
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Though treadmills seem to be of a relatively simple design when compared to many of the high-tech pieces of workout equipment available to the public today, there are plenty of moving parts that can wear over time and lead to necessary maintenance. Regular use can cause motors and belts to eventually fail, requiring costly repairs. In terms of reliability over the long term, a stair climber may the safer option of the two.
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References
- Photo Credit "Twitter 365 Project - Day 62" is Copyrighted by Flickr user: lu_lu (Luis Markovic) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
