In this article, we’re going to take a look at how the StairMaster® works, what muscles it trains, and whether or not you can use the StairMaster® to shape, tone, and build your glutes.
What is the StairMaster®?
Similar to a treadmill, the StairMaster® is a piece of fitness equipment that mimics steps for its users. You’ll find lines of StairMaster®s in most gyms, and you can even now buy home StairMaster®s if you’ve got the cash to splash.
Most StairMaster®s are customisable, which means that you can set your own rhythm and burn calories as you simulate an uphill walk.
What are the benefits of using the StairMaster®?
The StairMaster® offers the following health and fitness benefits:
Set your own pace
It’s important to work at your own pace and rhythm when performing exercises, especially when it comes to cardiovascular workouts. What’s great about the StairMaster® is that you can set your own pace and intensity as you build your cardiovascular capacities.
Tones the muscles
The StairMaster® also offers several benefits for the muscles in your lower body, including toning the hamstrings, calves, quads, and more. You also build strength in your quads and hamstrings when using the StairMaster®, as these are going to be the muscles most heavily engaged during any session.
Promotes aerobic fitness
Like any other form of cardio, the StairMaster® helps to improve your cardiovascular and aerobic capacities; in simple terms, this means that performing regular cardio exercise enhances both your cardiovascular capacities and your lung capacities. This means that intense cardio exercise becomes easier over time, allowing you to increase how long, how hard, and how often you train. It’s also great for your health, as well as your waistline.
Weight loss
As the StairMaster® allows you to perform high intensity cardio from the comfort of your own home, many use this equipment to aid in their weight loss programmes. We all know that cardio helps with fat loss, so using a StairMaster® regularly can help you shed the lbs and get toned at the same time.
Is the StairMaster® good for glutes?
So, is the StairMaster® good for building and shaping your glute muscles? There’s no straight up answer to this question: while the StairMaster® can help you improve your overall form and fitness level, it’s not going to be the most effective piece of fitness equipment when it comes to building glutes. Here are just a few reasons why:
The StairMaster® can cause weight loss
As mentioned above, one of the key reasons the StairMaster® isn’t your best go-to for glute-building is because it can cause weight loss. If you’re actively trying to shed lbs while also working on muscle gains, there’s no reason why you can’t incorporate the StairMaster® into your exercise routine once or twice a week.
However, if you’re not looking to cut calories or lose weight, cardio isn’t the best way to grow your glute muscles. The best way to grow your glute muscles is to eat a protein-rich diet and work on strength training (aka lifting weights and performing resistance-type exercises to tone and build muscle strength.)
It doesn’t isolate the glute muscles
One of the key factors when it comes to building impressive glute muscles is being able to isolate the glutes from the quads and hamstrings. Isolating the glute muscles can ensure that your weight training or strength training targets only the muscles in your backside, preventing your quads and hamstrings from effectively taking on all the hard work (and as a consequence, resulting in minimal glute gains). The StairMaster® does work the glute muscles, but it isn’t able to isolate them fully; in fact, you might struggle to engage the glutes at all if your quads and hamstrings are constantly carrying the majority of the load.
It works the quads and hamstrings
While the StairMaster® is great at working out your cardiovascular capacities and improving your overall physical form, the major muscles at work on the StairMaster® are the quads, hamstrings, and calves. While your glutes will get a look in, the StairMaster® isn’t going to be your number one ally when it comes to actually building glute muscle.
However, building strong leg muscles is a must if you want to grow strong, larger glutes, and this is where the StairMaster® can come in handy.
How to use the StairMaster® for your glutes
If you’ve got a StairMaster® in your local gym and want to incorporate it into your glute-building routine, we’d recommend using this machine for your cardio training. Rather than running, jogging, or performing any other type of cardio (which ideally, should be performed 1-2 times a week) use the StairMaster® instead.
Not only will the StairMaster® help you burn any calories if you’re looking to lose weight, but it will also help strengthen your leg muscles (your quads, hamstrings, and calves) and this will enable you to lift heavier, longer, and more regularly. By enhancing your muscle capacity in your lower body, you’ll be able to render your glute isolation exercises more effective when you perform them.
However, don’t forget that it’s important to perform strength training exercises and weight lifting exercises if you’re looking to significantly grow your glutes. While a StairMaster® can help tone your lower body and increase your muscle strength, your glutes won’t grow without targeting muscle work.
Alternate between glute isolation exercises and a few sessions of StairMaster® per week, as well as a few rest days for optimal results.
In this article, we’re going to take a look at how the StairMaster® works, what muscles it trains, and whether or not you can use the StairMaster® to shape, tone, and build your glutes.
What is the StairMaster®?
Similar to a treadmill, the StairMaster® is a piece of fitness equipment that mimics steps for its users. You’ll find lines of StairMaster®s in most gyms, and you can even now buy home StairMaster®s if you’ve got the cash to splash.
Most StairMaster®s are customisable, which means that you can set your own rhythm and burn calories as you simulate an uphill walk.
What are the benefits of using the StairMaster®?
The StairMaster® offers the following health and fitness benefits:
Set your own pace
It’s important to work at your own pace and rhythm when performing exercises, especially when it comes to cardiovascular workouts. What’s great about the StairMaster® is that you can set your own pace and intensity as you build your cardiovascular capacities.
Tones the muscles
The StairMaster® also offers several benefits for the muscles in your lower body, including toning the hamstrings, calves, quads, and more. You also build strength in your quads and hamstrings when using the StairMaster®, as these are going to be the muscles most heavily engaged during any session.
Promotes aerobic fitness
Like any other form of cardio, the StairMaster® helps to improve your cardiovascular and aerobic capacities; in simple terms, this means that performing regular cardio exercise enhances both your cardiovascular capacities and your lung capacities. This means that intense cardio exercise becomes easier over time, allowing you to increase how long, how hard, and how often you train. It’s also great for your health, as well as your waistline.
Weight loss
As the StairMaster® allows you to perform high intensity cardio from the comfort of your own home, many use this equipment to aid in their weight loss programmes. We all know that cardio helps with fat loss, so using a StairMaster® regularly can help you shed the lbs and get toned at the same time.
Is the StairMaster® good for glutes?
So, is the StairMaster® good for building and shaping your glute muscles? There’s no straight up answer to this question: while the StairMaster® can help you improve your overall form and fitness level, it’s not going to be the most effective piece of fitness equipment when it comes to building glutes. Here are just a few reasons why:
The StairMaster® can cause weight loss
As mentioned above, one of the key reasons the StairMaster® isn’t your best go-to for glute-building is because it can cause weight loss. If you’re actively trying to shed lbs while also working on muscle gains, there’s no reason why you can’t incorporate the StairMaster® into your exercise routine once or twice a week.
However, if you’re not looking to cut calories or lose weight, cardio isn’t the best way to grow your glute muscles. The best way to grow your glute muscles is to eat a protein-rich diet and work on strength training (aka lifting weights and performing resistance-type exercises to tone and build muscle strength.)
It doesn’t isolate the glute muscles
One of the key factors when it comes to building impressive glute muscles is being able to isolate the glutes from the quads and hamstrings. Isolating the glute muscles can ensure that your weight training or strength training targets only the muscles in your backside, preventing your quads and hamstrings from effectively taking on all the hard work (and as a consequence, resulting in minimal glute gains). The StairMaster® does work the glute muscles, but it isn’t able to isolate them fully; in fact, you might struggle to engage the glutes at all if your quads and hamstrings are constantly carrying the majority of the load.
It works the quads and hamstrings
While the StairMaster® is great at working out your cardiovascular capacities and improving your overall physical form, the major muscles at work on the StairMaster® are the quads, hamstrings, and calves. While your glutes will get a look in, the StairMaster® isn’t going to be your number one ally when it comes to actually building glute muscle.
However, building strong leg muscles is a must if you want to grow strong, larger glutes, and this is where the StairMaster® can come in handy.
How to use the StairMaster® for your glutes
If you’ve got a StairMaster® in your local gym and want to incorporate it into your glute-building routine, we’d recommend using this machine for your cardio training. Rather than running, jogging, or performing any other type of cardio (which ideally, should be performed 1-2 times a week) use the StairMaster® instead.
Not only will the StairMaster® help you burn any calories if you’re looking to lose weight, but it will also help strengthen your leg muscles (your quads, hamstrings, and calves) and this will enable you to lift heavier, longer, and more regularly. By enhancing your muscle capacity in your lower body, you’ll be able to render your glute isolation exercises more effective when you perform them.
However, don’t forget that it’s important to perform strength training exercises and weight lifting exercises if you’re looking to significantly grow your glutes. While a StairMaster® can help tone your lower body and increase your muscle strength, your glutes won’t grow without targeting muscle work.
Alternate between glute isolation exercises and a few sessions of StairMaster® per week, as well as a few rest days for optimal results.