It’s no secret that adding cardio into your fitness routine is a sure-fire way to increase that heart rate, burn more calories and build endurance. But when it comes to choosing a low-impact option that helps you achieve weight loss goals, fitness experts will tell you the answer can be complicated depending on your medical history, age and overall fitness level.
While a treadmill at a steep incline and a stair climber aren’t all that different in how we use them, they certainly work different parts of the body. “They’re both stimulating some type of forward motion, whether that’s climbing stairs or walking on a hill or a flat surface,” Dr. Jeffrey Fleming, a primary care sports medicine physician at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, tells TODAY.com. “They both require you to move your lower extremities while you’re in one position that’s fixed and you’re not actually advancing forward.”
When it comes to the core differences between using these machines, that lies in the user’s range of motion. “They’re different because whenever you’re on a StairMaster or stair climber, you probably have to hinge or flex at your hips and your knees a little bit more to actually clear the distance of the step successfully, whereas on a treadmill you don’t have to pick your leg up as high to accomplish that, Fleming continues. “So, (there’s) a slightly different motion that requires a different amount of force to do.”
Ahead, find the expert-backed tips to figure out which machine is best for your body and goals.
Is an incline treadmill or stair climber better for a workout?
That depends on your fitness level and how you use each machine.
When it comes to using a stair climber, again, you’ll need to engage more muscles than you would on an incline treadmill, Fleming explains. “It requires more muscle strength, especially in hip extension and knee extension, to do that motion, just because you’re going through a bigger range of motion (to take each step).”
As for cardiovascular benefits from each machine, that’s dependent on the incline and/or the speed of the treadmill and stair climber.
“Cardiovascular fitness is going to be entirely dependent on your pace and your volume,” he continues. “If you’re using (each machine at) a very similar pace and volume, you could probably have a similar cardiovascular exercise, but you can obviously dial up the intensity of both of them. So, I think it really depends on the details as to which one can give you the better cardiovascular workout.”
Overall, though, using a stair climber is generally more rigorous because of the marching motion required to clear the step, and is a great option for building endurance.
Stair climbers are “great for functional exercise that can improve strength for everyday living like walking up stairs in your home or anywhere in public,” Rachel Carlson, certified strength and conditioning specialist and performance center coordinator at the National Strength and Conditioning Association World Headquarters, tells TODAY.com. It also “works the quadriceps more than a treadmill as well as the posterior chain and can also work core and coordination more than walking on a treadmill.”
She’s notes, however, that a more intense workout doesn’t necessarily make it a better one. “It might be something that is not a great option for a beginner with a lower level of fitness or chronic knee pain and would likely not be a sustainable intensity for a beginner,” Carlson adds.
What are the downsides of an inclined treadmill?
Before getting started with either machine, Fleming warns those with pre-existing joint discomfort to proceed with caution — and with the guidance of a sports medicine professional.
And if you’re injury free, without proper form, you can injure yourself on both machines.
Incline treadmills allow you to “more easily modify incline and speed based on fitness level or desired duration and intensity,” Carlson says. But “If you have a high level of fitness and want to work on your higher intensity training, a treadmill may be more difficult to reach a [certain] intensity level if you are not at a running pace.”
Treadmills “can be a bit less ‘real world’ as far as functionality compared to being on a stair climber,” Carlson adds. Additionally, “if you have poor walking mechanics, some lower back injuries or flare ups might happen.”
That’s exactly why Fleming encourages proper form while using an incline treadmill. “I think you want to simulate your natural walking motion as much as you can,” Fleming explains. He recommends keeping your hands off the handlebars and by your sides, and walking the way you would if you were walking up or down a hill. This reduces the likelihood of improper form, leaning too much to one side and helps you maintain a natural rhythm and step cadence.
But this isn’t a hard and fast rule. In fact, Fleming encourages people to listen to their bodies above all. “There certainly can be exceptions to that, though, if you have some type of underlying health condition that maybe makes it difficult for you to completely bear weight or balance unassisted,” he continues. “It would be reasonable to hold on to (the treadmill’s handlebars to) support yourself and to prevent the risk of fall or injury.”
What are the downsides of a stair climber?
“I think the primary risk is just causing joint pain,” Fleming says. “If you’re all of a sudden doing a repetitive activity on the treadmill or on the StairMaster that you’re not used to doing and move your joints in a way that they’re not used to moving, it can certainly cause pain, especially if you have some type of underlying joint condition such as arthritis.”
Additionally, because using a stair climber requires a heightened level of balance due to the high range one foot needs to raise in order to reach the next step, older adults may find it best to opt out of using this machine.
As Carlson puts it, “if you’re elderly or have any sort of medical conditions where balance might be an issue or an area of weakness, [this] probably wouldn’t be the best first choice.”
In order to prevent injury or discomfort, Fleming noted that it’s always a good idea to take it slow when starting out with this machine.
“Start with a more moderate kind of pace and volume and gradually increase from there to make sure you can tolerate it,” he advises. “I think a general [rule of] thumb is starting with just walking on the treadmill because it’s very similar to what you’re doing just moving around in everyday life, and then adding things like incline or a stair component to it.”
Does an incline treadmill or stair climber burn more fat?
They can certainly help, but it’s important to remember you cannot spot reduce fat. Rather, fat reduction can only happen in conjunction with a nutritious diet and exercise. And current federal physical activity guidelines recommend 150 minutes to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week or 75 minutes to 150 minutes of vigorous workouts per week with aerobic activity spread out throughout the week.
Both machines can be great tools in helping you achieve your weight loss goals, Fleming says.
“Weight loss is usually obtained by burning more calories or expending more energy, and both of these tools can be used to do that by ramping up the volume and intensity of your workout,” he says. “I don’t think there’s a huge difference between the two. It’s not which one is necessarily better, it’s more so how you’re using them.”
If weight loss is your goal, Carlson recommends speaking with a professional to guide you on how to properly fuel your body while engaging with either of these machines.
“When weight loss is the goal and the person is using both exercise and diet for achieving a calorie deficit, it’s extremely important that people are still fueling themselves enough for the exercise they are doing as well as enough recovery between days,” she says.
All in all, the best option for weight loss is whichever exercise you enjoy the most. Because, ultimately, that’s the movement you’re most likely to be consistent with.
“The best mode of exercise is something that you enjoy, that you can sustain — sustain meaning [you can] do it day in and day out, or, you know, a couple days a week,” Carlson says. “You don’t want exercise to be a punishment. You don’t want it to be a chore. You want it to become part of your lifestyle, part of your daily habits.”
