Endless stairs, nowhere to hide. Glutes on notice.
Stand upright and don't lean your weight on the rails, that's cheating your legs out of the work.
The stair machine feeds you an endless staircase, and counting the session in floors turns your cardio into a climb with a running scoreboard. Every step is a single-leg push against your own bodyweight, which is why the heart rate rises faster than most steady-state options and stays honest for the whole session. It suits anyone who wants low-skill, high-return conditioning that quietly hammers the lower body while it trains the lungs.
Neither is better, they are different tools. Stairs push your heart rate up at slower speeds and keep constant work on your legs, while the treadmill trains actual running. If you want tough cardio without impact, stairs win.
Because the rails carry the weight your legs are supposed to lift, and your floor count stops meaning anything. Rest fingertips on them for balance only, stand tall, and let your legs do all of it.
Start with whatever keeps you moving continuously for ten to fifteen minutes and note the number, then chase it. Progress by adding floors at the same pace or holding the count at a faster one.
