What’s a piece of gym equipment you love to hate? For us, it’s the stair climber. Whether you choose to use the stairs as a warm-up or a finisher, just a few minutes on this machine can light up your leg muscles while boosting your heart rate.
Did you know the stair climber can help you increase endurance and stamina? Or build strength and muscle mass? Your fitness goals determine how you should use the stair climber in your workout routine. Not sure where to start? Don’t worry — we’ve got all the tips you need to take your strength or endurance training to the next level with the stair climber.
Strength training on the stair climber
You could spend an entire workout climbing the stairs, but that may not be the most effective way to use the machine when you’re aiming to build mass and strength.
We suggest using the stair climber to get your muscles engaged before your strength training session. If you’re separating your workouts into upper and lower body, use the stair climber on the days you focus on lower body.
Tips for using the stair climber for strength gains
- Aim for a steady speed that keeps your heart rate in a moderate zone, from 60% to 75% of your max heart rate.
- Get the most out of each step by using your whole foot; avoid balancing on your toes. Pressing through your heels will activate your posterior chain muscles — including glutes, hamstrings and calves.
- Use the stair climber for 5 minutes as a warm-up to your leg workout.
- Get back on the stair climber after your workout, starting at the speed setting you used in the warm-up, but increase your speed by 1 mph every 30 seconds. This will boost your heart rate, elevating your post-exercise oxygen consumption level (EPOC), which leads to a higher metabolic rate and higher calorie burn post-workout. You’ll also be sending freshly oxygenated blood to your muscles, promoting a faster and more efficient recovery from the strength training portion of your session.
Endurance training on the stair climber
The stair climber can also help improve your cardiovascular health, endurance, and stamina, especially when you incorporate intervals into your workout.
If you’re looking to put the headphones on and block the world out, the stair climber is an ideal place to get into the zone. You’ll burn a ton of calories, get your heart rate up and break a sweat with the push of a button (and many, many steps up).
Stair climber for cardio is best served in intervals; in other words, staying at the same pace the entire time won’t be as effective — or interesting — as changing speeds throughout your workout.
Many stair climber machines have pre-programmed settings for aerobic training. Look for programs that speed up and slow down or put the stair climber in “manual” mode and change the levels yourself.
Try this: 25-minute stair climber endurance workout
- Warm up by doing your base pace for 3 minutes (your base pace is a speed you could do for an extended time)
- Increase the speed by 1 mph every minute until you reach 13 minutes elapsed
- Then, reduce the speed by 1 mph each minute until you reach 23 minutes elapsed
- Maintain this pace for 2 minutes
Boom! You’ve completed a 25-minute workout — and boosted your stamina.
Meet your gym goals
No matter your fitness goals, the stair climber can be a valuable tool in the gym. How often should you use the stair climber? This answer depends on your goals and if the scales balance toward “love” rather than “hate.”If you don’t enjoy something in the gym, it’s okay! Find something different that can give you the desired effect.
The benefits of the exercise should outweigh the drawbacks, so if climbing stairs is not your thing, might we recommend incorporating the rower into your workout routine?
