If you like exercising in your home gym, mini-steppers can be a great piece of equipment. Not only are most of them pretty small which saves space, but they also offer a relatively effective workout. Below is the best mini-stepper review and a few of our recommendations.
Mini-steppers are smaller, portable versions of the larger steppers you use at the gym. If you always wanted a fitness stepper, now is your chance.
They allow you to do cardio exercises in front of the TV, in a hotel room, or in any small, confined space in your home. They are easy to move around and most have adjustable step height.
Some mini-steppers machines have different resistance levels, while others only have one setting. Some even come with resistance bands for upper and lower body workouts.
Most mini-steppers can be used standing up, but others are designed to be placed under a desk and used while sitting. Did you hear that? You can get a workout while sitting down. Winning!
In this guide, we’ll discuss the benefits of a mini-stepper, the different types of steppers, and provide some of the best mini stepper options on the current market.
Top 3 Recommended:
What Is A Mini-Stepper Used For?
A mini-stepper is a lightweight, portable stepper you can use to tone muscles. It’s a smaller version of stepper machines you find at health clubs.
The best mini-steppers provide an excellent way to keep your legs moving when you’re stuck indoors or can’t get to the gym.
You can use it to tone thighs, the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles (calve muscles), and the glute muscles (namely, the gluteus minimus and tensor fasciae latae muscles).
Is the Xiser Commercial Stairmaster worth it?
While the Xiser Commercial Mini Stairmaster is a fan favorite on Amazon, it comes with quite a price tag. We wanted to give you some more affordable options, but we will say that the Xiser Commercial Mini Stairmaster is a great product and one of the best mini steppers you can buy.
Differences Between Mini-Steppers And Full-Size Steppers
Unlike full-size steppers at the health club, mini-steppers lack handles for you to hold. This omission makes it easier for you to build and tighten muscles.
You need to use your core muscles to maintain balance instead of merely holding handlebars. A mini-stepper with resistance bands will to help you to work your upper body and arms.
Best Mini Stepper Benefits
A mini-stepper has two pedals that move up and down. The repetitive motion of the steppers provides an aerobic workout to improve cardiovascular health and makes your heart and lungs stronger.
The cardio boost offered by a mini-stepper controls your blood glucose and helps your immune system strengthen, protecting you against colds and helping you heal from injuries quicker.
Using a mini-stepper machine will also boost endorphins and fight depression.
Using a Stepper While Seated
Burn calories by using a mini-stepper by bringing it to work with you and pedaling underneath your desk. Utilizing the mini-stepper for one hour will burn 100 calories. Standing up on the mini-stepper will burn even more calories. You can get your steps in by sitting down at work. Score!
Toning Muscles
While mini-steppers tone your body, they don’t give you the same intense benefits as larger machines.
Compact steppers offer a limited range of motion so that they won’t work as deeply into your muscles as the machines at your gym.
You won’t get a lot of variation using most mini-steppers, although you can adjust the steps on some to provide more extended or quicker movements.
You may want to use a mini-stepper for a while and then walk up and down a staircase in your home a few times to work your muscles some more and vary the movements. (You can skip a step while walking up a staircase or walk sideways.)
Mini-Stepper Safety
Always place your mini-stepper on a flat surface, and avoid using it on a rug or carpet. Wear sturdy sneakers that can cushion blows from the machine, and never use the device barefoot or in stocking feet.
Make sure you have steady balance before ramping up the speed on your mini-stepper. (3) Also, remember that mini-steppers have a user weight capacity.
Mini-Steppers As Part Of Your Weekly Cardiovascular Routine
The mini-stepper machines should be part of your weekly exercise routine, which should consist of between 150 and 300 minutes of cardio a week.
You can swim, walk, dance, or jog and use your mini-stepper during the week to get in the required minutes.
It doesn’t matter how many minutes you spend doing each as long as they add up to 150-300 minutes per week.
If you haven’t exercised in a while, start your routine cautiously with walking or mini-stepping. Talk to your doctor if you have any chronic health conditions before taking on an exercise routine.
You’ll also need to do some strength training each week using free weights, or do sit-ups and planks for your core.
An all-around exercise plan will help you see better, longer-lasting results, and using your mini-stepper is one part of that.
What Exercises Can I Do With A Mini-Steppers?
There are plenty of ways to use a mini-stepper to increase circulation and strengthen muscles.
The best exercise routine with a mini-stepper is the one that’s done on a regular basis, along with walking and other aerobic exercises every week.
A Mini Stair Stepper Routine
Here’s a routine you can do a few times a week. It lasts from 35 to 45 minutes, but you can add or subtract minutes according to your needs.
If you have a stepper with one resistance setting, vary the pace of your exercise from calm to vigorous in small increments.
- Before using your mini-stepper, do five to ten minutes of stretching, jump roping, or walking in place
- For the first five to ten minutes put the mini-stepper on the lowest resistance level.
- Increase the resistance for the next ten minutes similar to light jogging.
- Exercise intensely for the next three minutes at the highest resistance.
- Exercise at your own pace (even if it’s leisurely) for the next five minutes.
- Step vigorously for two minutes.
- Rest
- Set to low resistance and step for five minutes
- End the exercise session.
The Best Mini-Stepper
We looked at the features of several mini-steppers and found that the following options provided the best value for consumers in the fitness marketplace.
1. Wagan EL2273 Mini Stepper Master
- Keep your body limber and flexible while pivot stepping to healthier glucose and lower blood pressure levels.
- Offers comfort and convenience in your home or office; pivot step to a healthier and more active you!
- The Pivot Stepper is made of steel that is structurally solid, but maintains a lightweight feel.
This mini-stepper takes up less than 1 foot by 1.5 feet in floor space, so you can carry it with you and use it almost anywhere. Use it in your home gym, office dorm, or on the road. Also, this stepper with a handle helps your upper body as well.
You can adjust the step height, which makes this stepper an excellent choice for people with limited mobility.
The Wagan EL2273 Mini Stepper Master can be used by everyone in the family, including kids and the elderly. The max user weight is not to exceed 225 pounds.
Older adults can use it to build up leg muscles and improve endurance for daily walks. Kids can constructively work off excess energy, and athletic adults can get their steps in even when they’re stuck in the house all day.
It’s pretty solid, and you can stay balanced on it without much effort. Keep track of workout time via a digital display.
This monitor, powered by an AAA battery, shows you the number of calories burned, number of steps, and repetitions per minute on an easy-to-read LCD. Seeing your repetition time and calories burned is motivation to keep on stepping.
It has ergonomic soft-grip handlebars that you can adjust either horizontally or vertically. The durable, lightweight, heavy-duty steel frame is solid.
It’s easy on the knees, and you can adjust the resistance. All of that is prime value for money.
- Easy to Assemble
- Adjustable Steps
- Multi-function LCD meter
- The foot pedals may crack easily
- Squeaks when you use it
2. FP1 Exercise Mini Stepper Machine Mini Twister Step Elliptical Trainer
- For a beginner, you can burn about 350-450 calories in a 40 minute workout
- As you become fitter you can increase intensity to burn about 600-700 calories in a 40 minute workout.
- Mini steppers provide a great workout for very little money while you are considering buying a stair stepper, not only save money, but also space saving.17" x 16" x 11", when you finish exercise, you...
This durable mini-stepper works on the buttocks, thighs, core muscles, and hips, making muscles progressively stronger.
It’s quiet and compact, so you can use it while watching TV. It’s lightweight but comes fully assembled, unlike many other steppers. The weight capacity is 220 pounds.
The steps twist, so they work your hips as well as your legs, and the non-slip pedals feature a surface that increases friction.
At a slow speed, it may not seem like it’s getting your heart rate up, but as soon as you increase the speed, you’ll work up a sweat.
This compact mini-stepper with resistance bands can help tone those thin arms, sculpt abs, and tone buttocks and calves without using big, bulky equipment.
- Sturdy
- Low stress on back and knees
- LCD display monitor shows steps taken and calories burned
- The pistons get hot after using the stepper for 15 minutes or more
- The hydraulic cylinder may break
The Health Fitness Twist Stepper is a compact home fitness machine that combines a mini- stepper and elliptical machine for better resistance training.
Put your feet on the pedals for twist-action to tone buttocks and thighs while raising your heart rate in a cardiovascular workout.
The Sunny Health Fitness Twister Stepper has resistance bands to improve all the typical trouble spots – chest, arms, back, and shoulders – to tighten and build strength all over your body.
The durable steel construction makes this twist stepper last longer than many other compact steppers.
The stepper features large, non-slip footplates to keep your feet firmly in place when you exercise. With a maximum of 250 pounds weight capacity, it will give most users a vigorous workout.
You can adjust the step height for longer steps or quick bursts. Also, adjustable resistance bands offer that upper body workout that you want. This twist stepper is one of the best.
- The digital display shows calories burned, repetition count, and exercise time
- Up and down and side to side movement
- Works deep muscles without straining joints
- Cylinders may overheat after you work out for 15 minutes
- Makes a squeaking sound when you use it
Conclusion
In our best mini stepper reviews, we think purchasing the FP1 Exercise Mini Stepper Machine Mini Twister Step Elliptical Trainer is the way to go.
This fitness twist stepper comes fully assembled and ready to use. It twists to work your hips and offers a chance to tone your legs, buttocks, and other parts of your lower body.
The pedals on this stepper slant slightly inward. Depending on how you use the pedals, you can work on your thighs, hips, or your butt.
An excellent tool for increasing your circulation and keeping leg muscles toned while standing (or at a standing desk), this mini-stepper and twister can be used by everyone from teens to older adults.
We recommend it for its ability to tone the lower body and for its sturdy construction.
While there are many different types of mini steppers to try, we hope this helped you to get great value for money when trying to decide. From a stepper with a LCD monitor to a stepper with handles, try to find one that will work for your home gym.
Our team at The Fitness Tribe often collaborates together to produce content. Many times the content is not written by a single author, instead it is usually a team effort.
Last update on 2023-02-20 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API