Anyone ever use a Mini Stepper?

ChantiC

I am thinking of buying on of those mini steppers, some have bands for your arms, some have a pole with a hand rest and a timer. Now this will not be my only form of fitness, but I thought with the days getting darker earlier now and I am not going to walk in the dark alone, its something I can do while watching some of my fav shows in the evening. They are pretty compact and relatively cheap. I heard they work well for lower body and I know its low impact so I probably won't burn a ton of cals, but its something while watching TV and not eating lol. So have any of you ever used one? Are they good? What brand did you like or not like? Or should I not get one and just walk in place LOL? Thanks for any feedback!

claritarejoice

I have one. I think it's better to use it without bands/hand rests, because you have to balance yourself so it works your core. It's definitely a good way to get a mild workout while watching TV. It burns some calories but not as many as a full size elliptical. I would go for it because it's cheap. I bought InStride from Amazon.com.

PriceK01

I'm interested in the response, too! I was thinking of doing the same thing, and was looking at the Sunny Health & Fitnes​s Twister Stepper on Amazon. It has a lot of reviews, and most are good.

ChantiC

Yeah I think i would try not to use the hand rests either, to help with balance. Thanks for the feedback so far I would love to have elliptcial, but its the space thats the issue. I need something small.

ChantiC

Anyone else?

PriceK01

Looks like we're on our own, Chanti

wolfchild59

I had one at one time and the resistance, even when cranked all the way up, wasn't really anything that felt "resistant". I felt like I could get the same workout just walking in place.

ChantiC

Well I bought one, its one that has the hand rests and counts steps etc. Its pretty heavy duty and looks to be in almost new shape, I only paid 20.00 for it. So if i dont like it I guess I will sell it lol. It has a knob to tighten the resistance too. I tried it for 2 mins, and though it felt like just walking in place, I gotta say it got my heart rate up quickly. So thats neat. And you can really feel the burn in your legs and bum.

I also heard good things about the Sunny health one. I really wanted the twist one too, but I guess I will just not hold on with my hands and balance on my own. I was not expecting some huge awesome workout. Just something to get me off my butt that was small while i watched The Voice lol.

gatorginger

Very smart and wise not to walk in the evenings by yourself as there are all kinds of wierdos out there. I think that is a good way to workout or even buy a dvd and work out with that too if you want to change it up some.

Seabring17

I had one but everytime I used it my back went out on me or my hips ended up out of alignment.

Ready2Rock206

I have one - I don't use it as much as I should....

eikito

I've got a twist one. I use it almost everyday and I love it. Bought it 3-4 years ago but only started using it about 6 months ago. It's called Lateral twist stepper here in the UK and I would use the bungee cords as well whilst watching the tv, I would burn around 700 calories in one hour (although by that time I would not feel my toes); I used it so much that I broke it so I got another more heavy duty one called Lateral Thigh Trainer which is bigger and harder to use and it gives me a very good workout; I use it for about 30 mins everyday bungee cords and all, and I have to say that my biceps and thighs are shaping up quite nicely. It's not the only form of exercise that I do, but I can't live without it. Give it a go!

ChantiC

Thanks everyone for your positive feedback. My bf just laughs at me because he thinks its from the 80's and that it wont do anything for me. I said who cares I paid 20.00 for it and it fits in a closet where you dont have to see it and at least I am not sitting on my @ss when I watch tv lol. If I enjoy this one, I think I will look into the one that twists.