Stepper exercitii - exercitii de baza si beneficii
What Muscles Does the Stair Stepper Work?
Walk up and down your own staircase about ten times and you will feel how fitness and exercise stair steppers tone and shape your leg muscles. I did this only last week as I had been sat at my desk for over four hours (I know, way too long to be sat in front of my screen, it was just one of those days!) and as I have circulation problems in my left leg, I needed the exercise to increase my circulation.
Well I can tell you, my legs ached from the top of my thighs to the bottom of my calve muscles!
The Stair Stepper Mimics this Movement
Firstly your upper thigh muscles (quadriceps) feel the movement. Go do this on your stair case and you will feel it yourself. The job of the quads is to extend the leg out straight at the knee.
Try this: Stand on one leg (not on the stairs of course) and hold on to something, even lean against a wall for balance. Try squatting up and down a few times with your leg and you will work this muscle group. Can you feel it? (One legged squats are great for adding strength and definition to your quads to).
The next group of muscles to be worked by stair steppers is the hamstrings, or leg biceps as they are also known. These work by bending the knee, working in opposition to the quadriceps.
Try this: (You can even do this without getting out of you chair right now) Concentrate first on bending your knee, and you will feel the backs of your legs tighten slightly.
Now try this. Concentrate on your hamstrings and really squeeze them really tightly, (its probably better to do this one standing again on one leg and lift the other) bringing your calve up as far as you can to meet your hamstring. Repeat a couple of times. Do you feel the backs of your legs aching, or even burning?
Another way to feel this action, and one I use often in the gym with a dumbbell in each arm, is to stand straight legged and bend at the waist. Keeping your legs straight, you will feel your hamstrings stretch (don't over stretch them if you are not that supple) and then really squeeze them so the tension brings your position back to straight.
Your Buttocks are also worked with the Stair Stepper
This muscle group is called the gluteus maximus or glutes. Their job is to roll your hips back and forth, while you are flexing the quadriceps and the hamstrings. Again, you can feel this with the bent over row which I described above (refer to hamstrings).
Try this: Again with your back starting at the straight position, bend at the waist and on the return of this movement (from bent over, back to straight) squeeze your buttocks and you will feel them tighten more than you usually can just by standing in one upright position.
Ladies, this is a really great way to tighten and define your buttocks!
You probably won't feel them, but your hip flexors are also worked by the stair stepper. They attach your pelvis to your femur in your upper leg.
They lift the heel off the floor.
Try this: Stand on the edge of a step and just using your tip toes, work them by lifting your whole body up and down a few times. This is another great additional way to strengthen and tone your calves.
NOTE: Please do not bend (as in the hamstrings example) if you have back problems, as you may hurt yourself. This also goes for not over stretching them by bending towards the floor. You don't want to injure yourself.
