Mini steppers are not the number one workout in the world but they do offer benefits. Find out why it could be worth using this equipment more.
It is worth mentioning that you can also get some of these benefits from equipment alternatives. Whether these are better than mini steppers for you ultimately depends on many details.
1. Mini stair steppers offer low-impact workouts
Many at-home-friendly workouts implement exercises like jumping jacks, jumping rope, and jump squats that involve jumps.
If your body can deal with these, they can be effective.
At the same time, exercise beginners and people with a few pounds to lose may find the examples above too rough on their ankles, knees, and back.
A benefit of mini stair steppers is that they offer low-impact workouts that don’t include jumps or other rough movements.
This can be valuable since injuries can really decrease how much you can work out.
Additionally, you may enjoy the feeling of these low-impact mini stepper workouts more.
2. You can combine mini stepper sessions with other things
Many people find it hard to stick to their exercise routines because they don’t enjoy the workouts they do.
One way to overcome this to some extent is choosing something like a mini stepper that you can combine with activities you find more enjoyable.
For example, because mini steppers are compact, not the most intense, and relatively silent you can use them in front of the TV.
Additionally, you may find it relatively easy to follow an audiobook or listen to music during your mini stepper workouts.
One thing that is worth mentioning is that more intense mini stair stepper sessions tend to offer more benefits. These can be somewhat harder to combine with the activities above.
3. Mini steppers engage a few muscles
Most people will find mini steppers challenging for their cardiovascular system but it is worth mentioning they work a few skeletal muscles too.
More specifically, some of the muscles worked with mini steppers are your glutes (butt), hamstrings (back thighs), quadriceps (front thighs), and calves.
One important thing to note about this muscle engagement is that it will likely not be challenging enough to actually build muscle. Especially if you consider how strong your leg muscles are.
At the same time, working your muscles with mini steppers can still offer other benefits too.
Some of these include improving muscle endurance, slowing down muscle degradation, keeping your muscles flexible, etc.
In turn, this can benefit you in daily activities like walking around and climbing stairs.
4. Mini steppers are light and compact
Mini steppers deserve their name in the sense that they are actually very compact. They tend to be under 25″ (63.5 cm) long, 18″ (45.72 cm) wide, and 15″ (38.1 cm) high (but brands can vary).
This makes them relatively easy to store. Even if you don’t have that much space at home or in your car.
Besides that, mini stair steppers are often relatively light (under 26 pounds = 11.8 kg) too.
On top of the compact storage, you will likely find it easy to move your mini stepper around.
5. Mini steppers can maintain or improve cardiovascular health
When using mini stair steppers, your body parts will need more oxygen and nutrients and produce more waste products.
These substances get to the right places thanks to your cardiovascular system which includes your heart, lungs, and blood vessels.
Generally the more intensely you use your mini stair stepper, the harder your cardiovascular system has to work.
This can be a good thing (if you don’t overdo it) since it can lead to a stronger cardiovascular system over time.
In turn, having a stronger cardiovascular system tends to reduce your risk of negative conditions in these areas.
Even if you don’t use mini steppers to the point where you actually strengthen this system, you are likely slowing down its degradation which is a good thing too.
6. Mini stair steppers can benefit weight loss
To lose weight, you need to get in a situation where your body needs more energy than is coming in. At this point, it starts using energy stores like excess body fat.
Since the number of calories burned with a mini stepper is likely higher than what you usually do, you can say that this equipment can benefit the process above.
You do want to keep in mind that actually seeing weight loss results from using a mini stair stepper requires habits that are good enough in areas like your diet.
To get some idea of what you can expect from mini stair steppers, there are a few very rough estimations of how much energy they burn.
Using this device at a moderate pace for 30 minutes burns around 118 to 203+ calories. Using a mini stair stepper at a vigorous pace would burn something like 189 to 325+ calories.
There are definitely equipment options that offer more impressive results but it is fair to say mini steppers can burn nice amounts of calories (and hopefully fat) over time.
7. Mini steppers are straightforward to use
It is easy to come up with examples of workouts and sports where you have to learn some type of technique or skill.
This can be part of the fun but also means you will have to spend some time before you can get the full benefits of the activity.
Additionally, it is possible that you prefer something straightforward.
If these more complicated exercise options do not sound like something for you, mini steppers could be a good alternative.
Since these try to simulate walking up low stairs, you should be able to do good mini stepper workouts right away.
8. Mini steppers can train your balance and coordination
Mini steppers are not that hard to use but it is still fair to say that they require some balance and coordination.
This can be a good thing in the sense that challenging yourself in these areas can help you get better at these skills.
Having better balance and coordination is not just help for your other mini stepper workouts. It can also help you avoid accidents in your daily life.
Something important to note is that this aspect of mini steppers can also be a downside for certain individuals.
If you currently have any balance issues you may want to invest in a mini stepper with handles or choose a different workout entirely.
9. You can use mini stair steppers at home
Workouts outside of the house can be fun and even necessary to get certain health benefits but they have their downsides too.
For example, even if you only have to drive 15 minutes to your local gym, this adds an extra 45 minutes in the car after working out 3 days a week.
Secondly, if you avoid this extra transport time by going for a walk or a run outside, you still have the weather conditions that can make it harder to stick to your exercise routine.
On the flip side, you have pieces of fitness equipment like mini stair steppers that simply allow you to work out at home.
Even if you also want to implement these workouts outside of the house, having a mini stepper can be useful for days when you don’t want to drive and/or go outside.
10. Mini stepper workouts can improve your sleep
Many people know that having quality sleep for long enough is important for things like mood, health, and cognitive function.
At the same time, actually improving these details can feel challenging.
While this benefit is definitely not unique to mini steppers, they can still improve the quality and duration of your sleep (1, 2, 3).
One thing to note is that doing mini stepper workouts too close to bedtime can also cause the opposite.
To avoid this, you preferably want to keep these exercise sessions for earlier in the day. More than two hours before bedtime if possible.
11. Mini stair steppers have an affordable price
Investing in your health can be great but there are often ways to get more benefits for less.
Bigger cardio machines could offer more effective cardiovascular workouts at home than mini steppers but they also tend to have a higher price tag.
On the flip side, at the time of writing, you can get many good mini stair steppers for 100 USD or less.
You do want to keep in mind that there are potentially more budget-friendly cardiovascular workout options too.
More specifically, if your body can deal with them, jumping rope, jumping jacks, high knees, etc. can be great too.
12. Mini stepper sessions can improve your mood
It can be easy to forget that how you feel in terms of mood and happiness is the result of big physical actions like workouts too.
More specifically, these workouts tend to increase to what extent your body produces endorphins which are so-called feel-good hormones because of the way they can improve mood (4, 5, 6).
On top of that, some of the other benefits of mini steppers like improving cardiovascular health can help you avoid conditions that make you feel worse.
