StairMaster vs Eliptical for cardio?

[nomasgordo]

a dude at work, who goes to the gym the same time I do, and I were having a small debate over which is a more effective form of cardio. StairMaster machine or Eliptical machine.

From experience, the stair machine is brutal, and I sweat like twice as much on them as I do on the eliptical. That alone is enough to convince me, but he hypothesized that it is far superior for fat burning, because almost every woman we see that uses the stair machines have very well defined abs and legs. I just figured thats because you have to be in pretty darn good shape to begin with to be able to take the punishment of those stairs!

Unfortunatley, the gym only has 4 stair machines compared to the 30 elliptical machines!

[ScottC]

I haven't seen a stairmaster in a while. None at my gym. I prefer the eliptical when I am not riding either a regular LifeCycle, recumbent bike, or my mountain bike. The eliptical make me work up quite the sweat over less time than a bike, for me. I know it doesn't help your debate, but that is my $.02.

[Original Poster]

Forget them both.......use a Stepmill.

[namtrag]

I am able to do 30 minutes on the elliptical with no problem. I have noticed that running on the road under your own power is much tougher than the elliptical.

[Obadiah!]

I've done both. You are correct, the stair climber is brutal. After 50 minutes of high intensity on that baby I'm soaked. I mop up around the machine and then I pour myself home. My Polar HR monitor tells me I just used 800-1,000 calories. I use this for my cardio and in addition to my leg days.

The eliptical incorporates the arms, as does the treadmill, but I have found that when I work my upper body I don't want to do so again the next day on the eliptical.

[bluescorpion]

I suppose it depends on many factors. For example, if your elliptical has an incline and fairly brutal resistance settings, it can be quite a workout. For some reason, the people I see on the stair machines always seem to be going very slow and hanging on it, as if they were supporting their weight with their upper body so their legs won't tire. At the same time, many people seem to get on the elliptical on a very low setting and spin like crazy. I can't imagine that either machine, in those instances, is really that helpful.

By the way, what is the purpose of getting on the elliptical and pumping rapidly at extremely low resistance for a half hour or more?

[dbx]

After 50 minutes of high intensity on that baby I'm soaked.

LOFL. After 50 minutes of doing anything MEDIUM intensitry, I'm soaked

[nomasgordo]

Forget them both.......use a Stepmill.

wait a sec, i think thats what im talking about.. this thing right here:

http://www.globalfitness.com/images/...pmill_Used.jpg

[jspirate]

Forget them both.......use a Stepmill.

10-4 on that. The StepMill is insane. The pace is slow (or can be). but it is very taxing. It also makes for some nice definition in the legs. I use it about 50% of the time for my post workout cardio (20 mins).

Yeah... the one you linked Gordo

[teewoods]

Elliptical is hardly challenging

[X-REPPER]

People after three decades of training and hating any form of cardio
i have to give the stepmill the thumbs up you are definately going to get more out of it for the time you put into it i do 10-11 floors at 60 steps per min
before and after each workout and it has made a huge difference
now i know how some pros are getting their quads so ripped.!

[dungeonmistress]

a dude at work, who goes to the gym the same time I do, and I were having a small debate over which is a more effective form of cardio. StairMaster machine or Eliptical machine.

From experience, the stair machine is brutal, and I sweat like twice as much on them as I do on the eliptical. That alone is enough to convince me, but he hypothesized that it is far superior for fat burning, because almost every woman we see that uses the stair machines have very well defined abs and legs. I just figured thats because you have to be in pretty darn good shape to begin with to be able to take the punishment of those stairs!

Unfortunatley, the gym only has 4 stair machines compared to the 30 elliptical machines!

first, most people do the stairmaster wrong. they lean on the rails and don't even take a full 8" step. if you want a brutal workout, try the stepmill instead. it will kick your ass, guaranteed. if you have bad knees, bad back, etc., i would recommend elliptical over either of these though.

[SPARTANusm]

first, most people do the stairmaster wrong. they lean on the rails and don't even take a full 8" step. if you want a brutal workout, try the stepmill instead. it will kick your ass, guaranteed. if you have bad knees, bad back, etc., i would recommend elliptical over either of these though.

You want brutal? Do the stairmaster for a full hour with sweats and a hoodie. It will drive you insane.