Mini steppers are all the rage on TikTok — how good is the workout?
Is it time to climb on the bandwagon?
A mini stepper is like the pint-size spawn of a StairMaster and an elliptical machine — it simulates stair climbing, but your feet don’t leave the two pedals.
They’ve risen in popularity in recent months because they’re fairly inexpensive and easy to fit into an NYC studio apartment or a home office — though user results are mixed.
“Based on my experience of using the mini stepper for a few months, I think it is a great option for people who are busy and easily find excuses not to workout,” Maura Hohman, Today.com’s senior health editor, penned this week in a review of the Total Body 2-in-1 step machine from Sunny Health & Fitness ($75 on Amazon).
Makers of the machine say the stepping motion engages the glutes, quads, hamstrings and calves, while detachable resistance bands challenge the biceps, triceps, shoulders and core.
Hohman pointed out that a digital monitor displays workout time, calories burned and number of steps taken. A twistable knob gets you to your desired intensity.
She said the mini stepper is a low-cost, efficient way to get in a good workout, especially if it’s cold outside and you’re not motivated to leave your home.
Simply set up the small, “quiet” stepper in front of your TV — and one episode later, “that’s your movement for the day.”
“I really did feel like my leg and arm muscles were burning, and if I made a conscious effort to try to step extra fast, I could definitely get winded,” Hohman shared.
She did report some downsides, including learning the rhythm of stepping and using the resistance bands at the same time.
She also cited troubles maintaining her balance.
“I think people with a lot of fitness experience, or who enjoy going to the gym or using an existing machine in their home, like a treadmill or stationary bike, might get less out of the mini stepper,” she concluded for Today.com.
Her review comes as a new study linked climbing stairs to a 39% reduced likelihood of dying from cardiovascular disease.
On TikTok, Phoenix Alazam, a certified personal trainer and mom of two in Illinois, credited her mini stepper with reducing her waistline while strengthening her glutes, arms and calves.
When her followers gushed about how “toned” she looks, Alazam shared in April that she’d had the equipment for four months and used it three to four times a week for 15 minutes at a time.
One Texas mom said she shed 40 pounds over five months last year by using dumbbells while on the mini stepper for 30 minutes at a time.
But another TikToker complained that her stepper keeps breaking.
The Sunny Health & Fitness stepper featured on Today.com has an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from 3,000 ratings, with the biggest complaints being machine noise and inability to work the pedals comfortably.
