If there is one thing that is non-negotiably true about the fitness industry, it’s this:
Everyone wants to know the fastest and most effective way to lose fat and get that hard body look.
And, to be fair, that makes good sense considering most of us have never been busier.
Who has the time to be farting around with their fat loss goals on nonsensically decelerated time frames when we could be spending time with our families, pursuing our up-and-coming side hustle, or even catching up on the most recent Netflix documentary that everyone is buzzing about?
I sure don’t, and I doubt you do either.
But, you clicked on this article because you’re wondering if the StairMaster is the holy grail of fat loss from which we can all sip in shredded six-pack spendor, so let’s quit wasting time with introductory banter and get into the meat and potatoes of whether or not the dreaded stairs can help you carve out the statue-esque physique of your dreams.
Now, rather than directly answering the question of whether or not you should do the StairMaster to lose weight, I’m going to pitch you four reasons you could be on the StairMaster and how they could impact your body recomposition goal.
The Only 4 Reasons You Should Ever Be on the StairMaster
1. You're Using It to Burn Calories for Fat Loss
Make no mistake about it, walking on the StairMaster can burn you a ton of calories in a short amount of time, which makes it an excellent choice for busy people who just don't have a ton of time to spend on their fat loss goals.
And, this takes the number one slot on my list because it's by far the best and most logical reason - in my opinion - to be putting yourself through such torture.
So when I see people on the stairs, I assume it's time to get shredded, which means you have a focused fat loss goal that’s being done in tandem with a focused fat loss diet.
Or, for people who really know what they're doing, getting on the stairs a few times per week can be a great way to stay lean while keeping your calories higher.
I respect that 100%, and generally I assume that's what people are doing when I see "fit" people on the stairs.
For a bit of practical application, I want to reiterate that I would always recommend using the StairMaster in combination with a calorically-controlled diet.
For example, if you’re a 110-pound female with a ferocious hankering for a Chipotle burrito who has to drop calories beneath 1200 to continue chipping away at the fat loss you want, you might consider assisting your deficit through the StairMaster 2-3 times per week for 15-45 minutes per session depending on the intensity.
Although I personally would always opt for more flat walking or incline treadmill work due to its minimal impact on overall recovery, the StairMaster is certainly a more time efficient way of burning a few extra calories than either of those options.
Keep in mind, however, that there literally isn’t a single person on the planet who needs the StairMaster to lose body fat and achieve the look they want.
It’s simply one tool of many that can be used strategically in context of your overall plan! Always remember that.
2. You Might Be Training for a Hiking Trip, But I Doubt It
This isn't going to be very many people, but I have known a few people who were training for a hiking trip and used the stairs to prepare themselves for the hills.
Let's be honest though, that's not going to be many people, and I would estimate that less than 1% of people on the stairs in the cardio section are training for a big hike.
At the same time, this is technically a legitimate reason to be on the StairMaster, so I thought it was worth including even though hiking protocols typically have nothing to do with a focused body recomposition effort.
3. You Want to Improve Your Cardiovascular Fitness
Although this seems like a nutty reason to me since so many other things could achieve a very similar result, you could use the StairMaster for general heart health.
But you could also walk or jog or row or even do weight lifting circuits to keep your heart health on point, so I personally think the stairs are an unnecessarily brutal choice if you're just a noble soul looking to stay healthy.
That being said, good for you if this is your perspective on health! There is zero judgement coming from me. I see you and I celebrate you.
In fact, I have a medal of honor and nobility sitting on my desk for you at IVRY headquarters. Feel free to pick that up anytime between the hours of 9-5PM Monday through Friday.
But again, this has nothing to do with a focused body recomposition effort, and you could easily have a healthy heart while rocking a dad bod.
The StairMaster is not an automatic one-way ticket to Shredzville or Peach Town.
4. You Enjoy It!
Preference is always a fine reason to do something in the gym as long as you're doing it safely.
If you like the StairMaster, cheers!
But stay away from me because I don't personally trust you.
Okay, so those were the four main reasons I think you should ever really be on the StairMaster outside from silly reasons like you’re looking for a reason to talk to the cute girl who happens to be on the StairMaster next to you.
But I’m not going to leave it there.
Now, it’s time to expose three simple reasons you really shouldn’t be using the StairMaster.
3 Reasons Not To Be Using the StairMaster?
1. You Think It's Going to Plump Up Your Peach
Using the StairMaster is not how you get a big, muscular butt.
I fear that a lot of people slaving away on the stairs are doing so because they saw some fit Instagram model doing it and they're envious of her rump.
Don't do that.
Big butts are built mostly through heavy compound movements like deadlifting, squatting, lunging, and hinging for hypertrophy when paired with a high-protein diet that can actually build the muscle you want.
So let me say this one last time, if you see a chick on the StairMaster with a bum you’d be eager to sport yourself, remember that she did not build it on the stairs - even if she’s kicking her legs back with every step like a bad YouTube ad.
Big butts are either the product of genetics or heavy resistance training.
If anything, the StairMaster might even be working against your glute gains!
Why? Because muscle growth seems to occur when your glutes are trained within a few reps of muscular failure with a load that allows for 6-20 reps per set in most cases.
So answer me this.
Do you want a bigger butt?
Or do you want an “endurance butt?”
The last time I checked, walking on the stairs is technically like doing thousands and thousands of supoptimal reps that never push your glutes to within a few reps of failure.
Do you see my point?
The classic illustration of this idea in the fitness industry is the comparison of physiques between sprinters or “explosive athletes” and longer distance athletes.
To be fair, they always exaggerate the juiciness of the sprinters while making the long distance runners look like they’re on their deathbeds, but in general I think the point is well-supported.
FATIGUE BUILD-UP and the interference effect
And, one final point I want to make while we’re here is this…
Being on the StairMaster will create an immense amount of fatigue build-up in your legs. Some even call this the interference effect.
Think about it.
If getting a bigger butt is about training with loads that allow you get within a few reps of failure in the 6-20 rep range, but your legs are too tired from your time on the StairMaster to create the stimulus you need from your weight training, your butt is not going to grow optimally.
Can you see how you’d really be shooting yourself in the foot? Or should I say the butt?
So the take-home point is this: If plumping up your peach is your main goal, train your glutes with heavy weights for 10-20 hard sets per week in the 6-20 rep range, tailor your calories and protein according to your goal, and stay away from the StairMaster.
2. You Think It's Going to Give You That Hard, Lean Look
Although riding the stairs can absolutely burn body fat like crazy when paired with a calorie-controlled diet, it's not going to give you that "hot" look all by itself unless you already have plenty of muscle hiding underneath your chub.
And even then you might be risking a bit of muscle loss without a high-protein diet.
For example, if you're a former athlete and you used to have a lean look, you might be able to get away with hammering away on the stairs to reveal your lean tissue because, in some sense, you already put in the work years ago.
But if you're in that "skinny fat" category - or maybe if you're just overweight in general without much muscle mass underneath - slaving away on the stairs is just going to deflate you.
If your chubby self was a succulent grape, you’re now on the fast track to looking like your pointer finger after being in the hot tub for two hours.
You'll lose weight! That's for sure. But you won't look the way you want to look.
You’ll just have traded one unimpressive look for another - the only difference being a few pounds on the scale, which I doubt will capture the attention of your friends and family.
Think about it through the lens of my “family summer weekend at the lake” analogy.
MY Family Summer Weekend at the Lake Analogy
I am a Missouri person, which means one big aspect of Missouri culture in the summer is that people tend to hangout at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Nice lake homes on the water, fancy boats, fun drinks, good vibes, and…
Swimsuits - the infamously feared summer garment that reminds us all of how much we’ve let go.
And the fact that everyone is in their swimsuits means that you probably don’t want to feel wildly insecure in your own skin.
I actually had a client tell me once that one of his bigger motivations in pursuing body recomposition is that he didn’t want to be the “fat friend” in photos from a friends vacation he’d be taking in a few months.
Oof!
But, for the sake of setting up our analogy, let’s assume that next year you are going to show up to the lake after having undergone some type of weight loss or body recomposition effort.
I present to you two scenarios that could apply to men or women.
Lake Scenario 1 - You Lost Weight But That’s About It
You show up and no one really says anything.
You’re in your swimsuit on the boat enjoying everyone’s company for maybe 40 minutes before you get caught up in a 15-minute conversation with your brother-in-law you haven’t seen a while when he says, “Am I making things up or did you lose some weight?”
Tickled that someone finally noticed your 30-pound weight loss, you proudly say, “I did actually! I’ve lost 30 pounds,” to which he responds, “Thirty pounds? Really? Huh. Well good for you, man. I wouldn’t have guessed it to be 30, but that’s great.”
Ouch!
And to be honest with you, I think that’s what happens a lot when people diet for a weight loss goal through slaving away on the StairMaster (or any other type of cardio machine) without paying homage to resistance training and a high-protein diet along the way.
You lost weight, but no one really cares because you don’t really look that different and you certainly don’t have that hard-body look that tends to turn heads.
You'll be softer but mainly just smaller and equally squishy unless you really took your fat loss to the extremes.
And even then you'd probably just be a super tiny person with little to no muscle mass and a metabolism fit for a toddler.
Lake Scenario 2 - You Got Lean and Jacked
You show up and everyone says, “Dude, what in the world did you do?! You look sick!”
I’m not saying you all of sudden transformed into Chris Evans, but you’ve definitely got broader shoulders, a shelfed chest, and some abs.
And, depending on how short your swim pants are, you might even be showing off a bit of quad pizzazz like our handsome Internet model Peter over here to the left.
You see that quad vein? Good job, Pete.
Or for the ladies, imagine hearing, “Girl, you look amazing! Please tell me exactly what you did so I can start tomorrow! But seriously, what did you do...”
Those are the kind of reactions that happen organically when you show up with less flabby underarms, stronger and more shapely glutes and legs, and a flatter tummy than you’ve had in a long time.
Just imagine how invigorating of a feeling that would be.
Speaking from experience as a body recomposition coach, those are the comments that continue to light the motivation fire for people more than anything else.
I could be wrong, but my guess is that 10 out of 10 people would choose this second scenario over the first every single time.
And for anyone scoffing right now because they’re unimpressed with the focus on vanity, keep in mind that having a strong, muscular body is a very functional way to live.
So what in the flying fork does that all have to do with not looking to the StairMaster to get you that hard, lean look?
It’s a reminder that the coveted hard body look is a product of weight training, protein, and caloric control - not impulsive amounts of cardio.
And if you really want to remodel your physique over the long-term, cardio will actually probably play a somewhat minimal role in that process relative to those more important points of emphasis.
3. You Are Super Duper Overweight
One last reason I think some people should avoid using the StairMaster is if you are significantly overweight or obese.
The reason for that is simply because you likely don’t need to do something that intense.
In other words, just getting your diet in check is enough to get most obese people losing slabs of weight with very little required exercise.
I don’t say this to be judgemental in the slightest, but it seems like obesity is often times the result of having done almost everything “wrong” in terms of diet and exercise for an extended period of time, which means making a few critical changes - especially in the realms of calorie control - is enough to get the scale moving in the right direction.
I think I felt the need to bring this up because I frequently will see some very overweight people using the StairMaster at my gym, and it always makes me wonder if they know that it’s probably unnecessary.
Secondly, I think being on the StairMaster when you’re very overweight puts you at increased risk of burnout because it’s semi-unsustainable.
Imagine being overweight, putting in a ton of work on the stairs without tweaking your diet, not losing any meaningful amount of weight in the first two weeks, and giving up.
I think that’s probably a very real thing and the greatest source of frustration for a lot of people looking to lose weight.
“Screw it! If I’m not going to lose any weight, I’m done.”
If you’re very overweight, I would encourage you to look to more sustainable forms of increased caloric expenditure like:
Walking outside with friends
Incline treadmill walking at a very doable pace
Spin class
Other group classes with a community element like CrossFit
If you’d like an in-depth take on how to leverage walking for fat loss, read my article here.
Let's Wrap It Up
That was a long one, so let’s recap.
Being on the stairs stinks.
Your heart rate goes soaring through the roof, you sweat like you're in a sauna, and your hip flexors cramp up into little tennis balls.
So if you're going to put yourself through that, do so for reasons that you've determined make sense for your long-term goal.
Trying to lose body fat? Stairs could work! But walking also works, might me more sustainable, and sucks a lot less if you have the time.
Trying to gain muscle optimally? I'd recommend staying off the stairs and sticking with a moderate level of steps mainly for health.
Walking up stairs won't make you jacked or help you really turn heads at your next pool party or family event at the lake.
And for the love of all things moderately decent, don’t hop on the StairMaster in an attempt to grow your butt, ladies.
“What about you, Andrew? Do you do the StairMaster?”
Personally, I have strategically used the stairs in the past to accelerate my fat loss, but I did so in a limited fashion with design and purpose. I encourage you to do the same!
In fact, here is my transformation from 2019 when I lost 18 pounds. I used the stairs for the last two weeks of my diet. I was around 200 on the left and about 182 on the right.
And just for some comparative photos, I got on the stairs zero times when I underwent this transformation you see below in 2020.
I walked, lifted weights 5-6 times per week, ate plenty of protein, and kept my calories in check.
Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.
If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!
And, if you're interested in working with me one-on-one, visit The Vegan Gym and apply for coaching. I’ve had nothing but success in guiding people toward their fat loss goals.
Cheers, everyone!
-Andrew
