Mini steppers do not look like the most impressive workout tool but they help you move. Find out whether this is enough to achieve weight loss.
If you want to lose weight, you need to make it so your body needs more energy than is coming in from the foods in your diet.
That means mini stair steppers are good for weight loss in the sense that they can help with this to some extent.
Some of the positive points of this workout tool are that it is relatively budget-friendly and easy to use at home.
You can combine light stair stepper weight loss workouts with other things like listening to an audiobook or watching tv.
At the same time, the principle above mentions other lifestyle habits like your diet for a reason.
It is possible to use the mini stair stepper a lot without any weight loss results if your habits in these other areas are suboptimal.
Additionally, it is important to note that there are also many exercises and workout equipment options that are more effective.
Even if you want something to do at home, a stationary bike, jumping rope, and high-intensity bodyweight exercises will typically be better for losing weight than a mini stair stepper.
Can a mini stepper help you lose weight?
Quickly refreshing your weight loss fundamentals can help you understand why mini steppers can help but are no guarantee for results.
To lose weight, you need to get to a point where your body needs more energy to function than you get from dietary food sources.
In a situation like that, you start using up energy stores like body fat to get the remaining energy needs.
The movements involved in mini stepper workouts typically require more energy than normal daily activities. In turn, you can say that a mini stepper can help you lose weight.
On the flip side, the things above also mean that working out is not the only thing that influences weight loss. What your habits are in areas like your diet will influence the results you get from mini steppers a lot.
That means how many calories mini steppers burn matters too. Especially how these numbers compared to workout alternatives.
How long does it take to lose weight with a mini stepper?
From everything above, it should become clear that lifestyle areas like your diet will play a big role in how long it takes to lose weight with a mini stepper.
That being said, by assuming you get in a situation where all the calorie-burning comes from fat, you can get a few interesting weight loss predictions.
A rough estimation is that using a mini stair stepper for 15 minutes at a moderate pace will burn around 59 – 102+ calories depending on details like body weight (the heavier the more you burn).
More specifically, a 155-pound (70 kg) person would burn around 730 calories or about 0.21 pounds (0.09 kg) of body fat by using a mini stair stepper for 15 minutes for 10 days a week.
The same person doing the same mini stair stepper workouts for a month (30 days) would burn about 2190 calories which comes down to 0.63 pounds (0.27 kg) of body fat.
While these results sound nice and are welcome, you also want to know how stair steppers compare to other options. You can find out more about this later in the article.
Does a mini stepper help you lose belly fat?
One of the popular secondary goals of losing weight is losing fat in specific areas. It is a common myth that you can really focus on specific body parts.
Unfortunately, it is generally not possible to target fat loss in specific areas like your belly. Not with mini stair steppers and not with other workouts.
That being said, it is still possible to lose belly fat.
To do this, you need to lose enough weight overall. As you see more and more results, more and more fat from your stomach will go away.
In simpler words, a mini stepper can help you lose belly fat but there are conditions.
First of all, your other lifestyle habits need to be good enough to start losing weight.
Even then, it may take a while before you start seeing significant fat loss around your stomach.
Calories burned mini steppers vs alternatives
You only have a certain amount of time to exercise more. In turn, how effective mini steppers are for weight loss compared to alternatives is important too.
To do this, you can look at the calorie-burning estimations for mini steppers and other fitness tools and workouts below.
These numbers are based on MET values and are calculated for a 155-pound (70 kg) person doing the exercises for 30 minutes (1).
- Using a standing mini stepper (moderate effort): 146 calories
- Using a standing mini stepper (vigorous effort): 234 calories
- Using a standing mini elliptical (light effort): 95 calories
- Walking (3 mph/4.8 kmh) (on a treadmill or not): 128 calories
- Using a pedal exerciser (moderate effort): 128 calories
- Using a standing mini elliptical (moderate effort): 128 calories
- Walking (4 mph/6.4 kmh) (on a treadmill or not): 183 calories
- Stationary bike (moderate effort): 256 calories
- Stair climber (moderate effort): 330 calories
- Running (5 mph/8.1 kmh) (on a treadmill or not): 366 calories
Something to note is that you should not take these estimations too precisely. Your actual results can vary due to differences in many areas.
That being said, the calorie-burning estimations do show you how good mini stair steppers are for losing weight compared to the other activities.
It is fair to say that mini steppers are decent but that there are many more effective exercise options and machines too.
Is a mini stepper better than walking?
A mini stepper can be better than walking for burning calories, losing weight, and improving cardiovascular health if you use it intensely enough.
On top of that, you can use it at home which means you could combine it with entertainment options like watching TV. Additionally, you are not dependent on the weather.
That being said, walking still has its advantages too. Some of these include getting some fresh air, getting some sunlight, being able to burn a lot of calories, and potentially being more calming.
Whether you choose a mini stepper or walking will depend a lot on your personal preferences, health goals, and outside conditions. You can also consider implementing both.
Should you choose a mini stepper to lose weight?
A mini stepper has the potential to help you lose a bit of weight in combination with habits in other lifestyle areas that are good enough.
Some of the main pros of mini steppers are that they are relatively budget-friendly and that you can combine them with other things like watching TV and listening to audio.
On the other hand, it is important to note that you have many other options too. These can offer more weight loss results in a shorter amount of time.
You can use some of these alternatives like a stationary bike indoors too. At least if you don’t mind the extra cost and space required.
Additionally, there are many more options if you don’t mind focusing all your attention on your workouts.
Some of these include jumping rope, bodyweight workouts, stair climbers, running, etc. These examples will typically burn more calories than mini stair steppers.
Something you do want to keep in mind is that personal preference matters too. People who like mini stair stepper workouts may find it easier to do them consistently.
This will be helpful for getting weight loss results.
