Elliptical/cross-trainer versus bottom step of the stairs

CattOfTheGarage
CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all.

I generally prefer to move around when I do cardio - bike or walking - but every now and then I find myself daydreaming about some shiny bit of exercise equipment which will solve all my cardio problems and let me exercise in the dry in front of the TV. Thus far I've managed to resist the temptation due to cost, space, I'll never use it etc. I usually find myself thinking about treadmills, but the other day I was watching a TV show where someone was using a cross-trainer and began thinking about that - I can walk for miles but get very out of breath climbing stairs.

But I do wonder what people think about the benefits of these kinds of machines. Today I needed some extra calories fast, usually I would go for a walk but I was stuck around the house as mini-me was off school sick. I thought, I'll go out in the back garden and step up and down on the step down to the lawn. I have never done that before but my mother recommends it as a good way to burn a few calories. I kept this up for 10min - it's a lot more intense than I expected! - and mfp gave me a burn of 143 calories! By contrast, it only gives 124 calories for the same time on an elliptical.

I know these calorie burns depend on the intensity and are only an estimate, but do you guys think an elliptical/cross-trainer has a big advantage over just stepping up and down on a regular step? If not, why do people buy them? I get that going to the gym has all sorts of benefits in terms of motivation, mindset and so on, but what is the benefit of a machine in your house over basic exercises done without a machine?

Basically I'm asking you to give me a good argument to talk myself out of my next starry-eyed exercise machine dream, but if you genuinely think the machine is a better option I'll be interested to hear that.

Replies

  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited November 2016
    i'm dead sure i've seen 'step conditioning' classes among the various trendy things you can do in an organized form. and i know my dad worked for a mining corporation for a while, and witnessed them training their new workers this way.

    my only thing . . . i sometimes use the stairs up to the second-floor weight room as the very first part of my warmup for lifting. i take them two at a time to make sure i'm at the mystical 'parallel', i.e. the angle is deep enough to make sure that my hamstrings and glutes are getting a piece of the action as well. otherwise my anterior chain muscles tend to dominate, which shuts off the posterior chain a little. which defeats the purpose i'm doing it for.

    edit: which might not be yours, as i don't think the elliptical goes to nearly that depth.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    I'm purely in it for the cardiovascular fitness and calorie burn. And the ability to climb stairs without puffing like Thomas the Tank Engine. Although the idea of having pert little buttocks is appealing, I'll admit.

    @MeganAM89 your point about the arm workout makes sense.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    you could buy a stairmaster...

    elliptical versus stairs are somewhat different exercises/movements, so I'm not really sure what you are trying to compare. They both move your legs and burn calories, but steps are a much more intense exercise. Both are fairly low impact, though.

    As for why buy a machine versus just use your stairs - convenience & fluidity. I use a stair machine after weights about half of the time for my cardio and in 25 minutes I climb ~1300 stairs or so. To do that same number of stairs at home would take longer because you have to go back down the steps.

    FWIW, I use an elliptical quite a bit, too, but have to up the resistance and speed to get the same workout of stairs in the same amount of time.
  • vlnielsen519
    vlnielsen519 Posts: 77 Member
    I had an elliptical trainer for many years and I was very happy with it until I got bored. The elliptical helped with going up and down stairs but I think your method will work just as well. At some point when I was getting bored, I started doing workouts with fitnessblender.com (free videos on YouTube). I have gotten much more out of the videos than the elliptical. I am able to climb a couple of flights of stairs without getting out of breath and I have more overall strength and fitness. The videos are free, there are 400+ different ones for all fitness levels. Might want to check them out. PS - I sold the elliptical, don't miss it at all :)
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited November 2016
    I've got a spin bike and rower; 2 of the best available.

    Both cost me $1k each (less than the cost of an elliptical or treadmill combined) but don't take up much space, can be easily moved or stored and have relatively few moving parts that seldom wear out or break but, if they do, can usually be fixed by yourself (w/the advice & assistance of the mfg) if need be.

    Not so elliptical machines and treadmills which are much more expensive, take up much more room, require electricity and regular maintenance, are very heavy and difficult to move and more than likely need the skill of a specialist to repair when required.

    So, if you need to have some cardio equipment of your own, I strongly suggest limiting your choice to a quality spin bike and/or rower instead.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    GauchoMark wrote: »
    To do that same number of stairs at home would take longer because you have to go back down the steps.

    I wasn't going all the way up, just up one step then back down, over and over. So it's quite fluid. Obviously it means you're always leading with one leg, so you have to swap legs every so often.

    I've honestly never used an elliptical - I thought it must stimulated stair climbing. What's the difference then? Apart from the fact the arms get a workout too.
  • SwindonJogger
    SwindonJogger Posts: 325 Member
    one aspect is boredom. Walking up and down the same step might be ok for a few minutes but you'd go insane trying that for 45mins in one go. Kind of like comparing running on the spot with a treadmill.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    GauchoMark wrote: »
    To do that same number of stairs at home would take longer because you have to go back down the steps.

    I wasn't going all the way up, just up one step then back down, over and over. So it's quite fluid. Obviously it means you're always leading with one leg, so you have to swap legs every so often.

    I've honestly never used an elliptical - I thought it must stimulated stair climbing. What's the difference then? Apart from the fact the arms get a workout too.

    Stepping up 1 steps and back down is no different than climbing 10 steps then going down 10 steps. It still takes 2x as long to climb the same number of steps. Not to say that it isn't good exercise, just different.

    As for the elliptical, it is a hybrid exercise. It doesn't really emulate any real world movement, but is a combination of a few. I think it is most like if you crossed walking/jogging with riding a bike. Steps use a lot more lower back and glutes.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    SwindonJogger wrote: »
    one aspect is boredom. Walking up and down the same step might be ok for a few minutes but you'd go insane trying that for 45mins in one go. Kind of like comparing running on the spot with a treadmill.

    Except running on the spot doesn't really burn much.

    Do you find boredom less of a problem on a machine, then? That's my main issue with indoor exercise of any kind, I get bored.
  • Tacklewasher
    Tacklewasher Posts: 7,122 Member
    Get a strong box about the same height as a step, put it in front of the tv and go for it.
    Actually, this isn't a bad idea. I like the treadmill for hockey games but maybe mixing it up with a box is a good idea.
  • French_Peasant
    French_Peasant Posts: 1,639 Member
    ^^ I agree with the above. Step aerobics are a good burn especially with dumbbells. There are different patterns, kicks, jumps, lunges, even triceps dips and such that you can do with them. The taller the step, and the more vigorous the exercise, the better the calorie burn. You can get either a piece of step equipment ($35) or a plyometric box ($60)
    maybe a foot and a half high...or just a sturdy little chair or stool, plus a couple of 5 or 10 weights and you can go to town. I did it with 20 lb dbs on a box yesterday and it kicked my butt.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    edited November 2016
    Ha! @grmckenzie the box in front of the tv is exactly what I was going to say.

    I often do a routine at home, Nerdfitness, that includes jumping jacks and, because I don't like the impact, have replaced them with step ups using the JJ arm movement, or punching, and light weights. I am not sure I could do more than a few minutes at a time- boredom.

    A high kitchen stool works fine. I'm short so get a good rise from the stool.

    Edit- @CattOfTheGarage buy a step stool and go on a trip with the money you saved. A Caribbean island trek up a mountain to a waterfall will make all those steps worth while. That's why I do it B)

    Cheers, h.

  • pondee629
    pondee629 Posts: 2,469 Member
    In the summer, with the approaching winter with its dark early nights, icy streets and sidewalks and cold wind, I started looking into either a treadmill or elliptical for my home to continue my cardio through that time. I found that inexpensive(cheap) ones are cheap and anything that is a reasonable quality cost over $1000.00. In fact closer to $2000.00. There was no way I was going to get that expense, plus the use of the space required, past my significant other, with whom I share a home and bed. I couldn't justify that expense, both money and space, to myself. Leaving Amazon's showplaces (you may know them as Dick's and Sears) broken hearted over my revelation it dawned on me that $2,000.00 is 100 months of gym membership (at $20 per month) which is 8 years and 4 months. The gym is cheaper for the first 8.33 years of use than the machine in my home would have been.

    I joined the gym, use their equipment, machines, treadmills, ellipticals and free weights and still have over 7 years before I start losing money on the deal. By the time I catch up to the cost of a good machine, it would probably need to be replaced anyway.

    Join a local gym, use all their equipment and save money. Just my $0.02
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
    They are expensive but I love mine. Don't know what I would have done without it.

    http://www.bowflex.com/max-trainer/

    They will give almost anyone 0 interest payments on them. Takes a while to arrive sometimes (Mine took 4 weeks) but it kicks my *kitten* daily. I use it for roughly 35 minutes a day six days a week for a 510 calorie burn on level 16. Because of this thing I need no other cardio, and can even skip a leg day lol. Doesn't do as much for your upper body, but I hop off this thing and do push ups and pull ups to compensate for that. During the warmer weather I prefer to walk/jog, but this thing is a godsend on days I want to give my knees or back a rest or when it's cold outside. It has 0 impact on your knees/back. I have the M5, 2 year warranty, had mine for 1.5 years and still love it.
  • michael_hatten
    michael_hatten Posts: 34 Member
    I suspect the elliptical would be easier on the knees than stair climbing. At some point in your life that might be important.
  • GroundedOne2019
    GroundedOne2019 Posts: 532 Member
    CattOfTheGarage wrote: »
    Hello all.

    I generally prefer to move around when I do cardio - bike or walking - but every now and then I find myself daydreaming about some shiny bit of exercise equipment which will solve all my cardio problems and let me exercise in the dry in front of the TV. Thus far I've managed to resist the temptation due to cost, space, I'll never use it etc. I usually find myself thinking about treadmills, but the other day I was watching a TV show where someone was using a cross-trainer and began thinking about that - I can walk for miles but get very out of breath climbing stairs.

    But I do wonder what people think about the benefits of these kinds of machines. Today I needed some extra calories fast, usually I would go for a walk but I was stuck around the house as mini-me was off school sick. I thought, I'll go out in the back garden and step up and down on the step down to the lawn. I have never done that before but my mother recommends it as a good way to burn a few calories. I kept this up for 10min - it's a lot more intense than I expected! - and mfp gave me a burn of 143 calories! By contrast, it only gives 124 calories for the same time on an elliptical.

    I know these calorie burns depend on the intensity and are only an estimate, but do you guys think an elliptical/cross-trainer has a big advantage over just stepping up and down on a regular step? If not, why do people buy them? I get that going to the gym has all sorts of benefits in terms of motivation, mindset and so on, but what is the benefit of a machine in your house over basic exercises done without a machine?

    Basically I'm asking you to give me a good argument to talk myself out of my next starry-eyed exercise machine dream, but if you genuinely think the machine is a better option I'll be interested to hear that.

    I love my elliptical workouts it's a greats calorie burner!! And. Both the legs & upper body get a workout. I have a good time. I usually do a 45 min workout and huge calories burn.
    I also have a stepper machine that a get a good sweat on.
  • CattOfTheGarage
    CattOfTheGarage Posts: 2,745 Member
    michael_hatten wrote: »
    I suspect the elliptical would be easier on the knees than stair climbing. At some point in your life that might be important.

    True - but then, with knees and stairs, I can't help but think there is an element of "use it or lose it". I see a lot of people avoiding stairs because of knee problems without actually being medically advised to avoid them, and I can't help wondering if it actually makes it worse.

    I'm in the last stages of recovering from a knee injury (a "bad bony bruise" as they say, but good grief, it's taken 7 months!) - I have been systematically avoiding stairs because of pain and discomfort, but the physio did not advise me to do so, and actually said I really need to build up my quads, as they are crucial to proper knee function. My stair avoidance has left the quads on my injured side pretty weak and that is now making stair climbing difficult. I realise stairs are not the only way to exercise the quads, and the bike was recommended, too - but I think I need to get back into practice on the stairs. Or elliptical. Hence the question.

    Another nugget the physio gave me was that noisy knees (grinding or clicking) is not a sign of trouble, lots of people have noisy knees, it's just individual variation. This amazed me as I have always had grinding knees and thought it meant something was wrong. Nope. No more excuses from that department.

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