- Walking up and down stairs helps to tone and shape the buttocks, thighs and calves. For those who don't have their own flight of stairs to walk up and down, exercise equipment has been developed to emulate the type of workout a person would achieve if he exercised on a flight of stairs. One of these is a small set of portable steps that can be incorporated into a person's exercise routine. The other is a mechanical stair-stepper. Like the treadmill that emulates walking for the exerciser, or the rowing machine that gives a similar workout as rowing a boat, the stair-stepper is an exercise machine that gives the user a workout comparable to walking up and down stairs.
- Stair-steppers come in a variety of styles. The stair-stepper is a stationary exercise machine that has foot pedals that the user stands on. The pedals move up and down with the user, following a pattern similar to climbing stairs. The pedals are designed to provide resistance, which typically can be adjusted, depending on the user's personal needs and exercise goals. Handles are on the upper part of the machine, where the user holds while stepping. Some models have handles which include sensors to monitor the user's heart rate.
- Some stair-steppers do not have handles on the upper part of machine, and instead have handles that are connected to cords that are attached to the base of the stair-stepper, and help to position the body as the pedals are being pushed back and forth. One of these is a compact, lateral machine that creates a side to side motion similar to skating.
- As with the portable steps, which contain no movable parts or mechanisms, some stair-steppers are nothing more than two foot-sized platforms that are placed over a spring coil which provides resistance when pushed down by a foot. Handles attached to a rope, which come from the base of the machine, help the user to keep balance while stepping up and down. Stair-steppers can be simple, like the set of portable steps that the user marches up and down on, or the large piece of equipment that includes a heart monitor.
