Want better results???? Ditch the elliptical and......

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  • fitzie63
    fitzie63 Posts: 508 Member
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    (1) Cannot afford gym fees; (2) Cost of one of those machines is OVER $2,000 and up to around $5,000; 3) I moved from my lovely home to this nice two story apt. building for those over age 55. I'm on the 2nd floor and our building has an elevator BUT... I'm taking the stairs a lot more these days & wearing my FitBit.

    (4) Climbing the stairs, regularly, for fitness is FREE
    (5) I keep my car in the parking garage under the building. Now, when I come in with groceries, I don't use the elevator to haul them upstairs in one trip. I carry them up and make as many trips with the bags as necessary. To begin with, carrying a heavier load up the stairs helps burn more calories AND.... I'm getting my flights of stairs in for fitness for the day.
    (6) I'll be 75 in early December this year. What's your excuse?
  • FrostyFour
    FrostyFour Posts: 262
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    Oh I see! It looks just like an escalator! That WOULD kick butt! I've never seen one of those but I wish my apartment complex's fitness center had one!
  • MissMaryMac33
    MissMaryMac33 Posts: 1,433 Member
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    Not a fan of most ellipticals -- but I love the AMT machines (adaptive motion trainers) -- they feel muchmore realistic to me.
    The stair thingies hurt my knees ... the AMT machines done. But in reality, I'd rather do zumba or kickboxing than either of them :)
  • missashley884
    missashley884 Posts: 188 Member
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    yesssssss stairmaster > elliptical



    stairmaster FTW!
  • microaggie
    microaggie Posts: 13
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    Yeah, I agree...there is something about the stairs.. even though they show up less amount of calories burned..I sweat there like crazy..
  • sarglava
    sarglava Posts: 206 Member
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    I was always under the impression that the stair master builds butt and thigh muscles. I certainly don't need any of those... You're just using your legs to walk up stairs. Wouldn't a workout that worked multiple areas be best like with running (or the terrifying elliptical)?
  • love22step
    love22step Posts: 1,103 Member
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    Well my gym doesn't have step mills and I can't run because of injury so it's either the bikes which do nothing, or the elliptical. As long as you have an elliptical that takes your heart rate, and weight they are pretty accurate in calories burnt. Never go by the MFP numbers. They are always about 20% higher than they should.

    I've seen other people say the MFP numbers are high, but I used them because my HRM numbers were always higher. I lost my weight using the MFP numbers, so I don't think they can be too far off.
  • kindra3434
    kindra3434 Posts: 177 Member
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    (1) Cannot afford gym fees; (2) Cost of one of those machines is OVER $2,000 and up to around $5,000; 3) I moved from my lovely home to this nice two story apt. building for those over age 55. I'm on the 2nd floor and our building has an elevator BUT... I'm taking the stairs a lot more these days & wearing my FitBit.

    (4) Climbing the stairs, regularly, for fitness is FREE
    (5) I keep my car in the parking garage under the building. Now, when I come in with groceries, I don't use the elevator to haul them upstairs in one trip. I carry them up and make as many trips with the bags as necessary. To begin with, carrying a heavier load up the stairs helps burn more calories AND.... I'm getting my flights of stairs in for fitness for the day.
    (6) I'll be 75 in early December this year. What's your excuse?

    I LOVE YOU
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 798 Member
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    The entire point of the elliptical is removing the stress of walking/running on your joints. You could argue getting the same results walking up an inclined treadmill. People do what they enjoy, the stair master does NOT give any benefits over anything else
  • heatherhills
    heatherhills Posts: 5
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    Is that the same thing as a Stair-Master?
    I am unfamiliar with the gym terms.
    Thanks! :smile:
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
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    There is no one modality that is best for everyone. What you do is not nearly as important as how you do it.
    Training effects are specific to the type of training being performed. If one is not experienced at doing the stepmill, it will naturally feel much harder at first compared to what they were doing. The stepmill movement places a lot of focus on the quads and so perceived exertion is higher due to localized muscle fatigue.
    I agree. I started to mix in the step mill after I sustained a calf pull which limited my running. It was very hard at first mostly because my legs weren't used to it. However, I adapted soon enough and now it doesn't feel any worse than the elliptical.
  • sfoxy219
    sfoxy219 Posts: 103
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    I agree the elliptical and MPF show crazy high amounts of calorites burned. I use the elluptical on my off day for training for marathons. The stair machines are killer. Too much for "rest" days for me. I would also say running burns more calories.

    Actually the stair stepper burns more calories than running. So does biking and most sports.
  • ShaunaLaNee
    ShaunaLaNee Posts: 188 Member
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    Ellipticals are actually good for people with bad knees, I burn and have lost a lot of weight using one, it does over estimate calories burned but with a HRM I still burn twice as much in the same time as the treadmill. So "ditching" the elliptical doesn't work for everyone...
  • mmmyotwnz
    mmmyotwnz Posts: 119 Member
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    I have used it twice. Once I thought I was going to die after 5 minutes. The other time was to see if it was a bad day or I was going to die again....it is an intense workout I agree.

    Sadly I have not used it in a few years....a "small" fall down a flight of stairs, ripped cartilage in my knee and a damaged disc has put me on the back burner.

    Now my new gym has one and now I am thinking about it...
  • monty619
    monty619 Posts: 1,308 Member
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    Ditch the elliptical. Ditch the gym. Get some kettlebells, a jump rope, and a bike. But if you are going to keep wasting money on monthly gym dues, then yes; the stair mill will kick your buttocks.

    wasting money on monthly gym dues?? clearly you dont know what to do at a gym LOLZ
  • Chipmaniac
    Chipmaniac Posts: 642 Member
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    Ditch the elliptical. Ditch the gym. Get some kettlebells, a jump rope, and a bike. But if you are going to keep wasting money on monthly gym dues, then yes; the stair mill will kick your buttocks.
    Ah...another one of those types. There's one in every thread.

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