Freestyle Step Vs. Treadmill Machines
There are many ways to improve your cardiovascular fitness. In this article we will look at both, freestyle step and treadmills and their impact on cardiovascular fitness.
Most gyms have treadmills and steps for members’ workouts. Both types of equipment are also easy to purchase for home use. You might prefer one kind of workout over the other, or want to incorporate both into your fitness routine.
Most gyms have treadmills and steps for members’ workouts. Both types of equipment are also easy to purchase for home use. You might prefer one kind of workout over the other, or want to incorporate both into your fitness routine.
Freestyle Step v's Fitness?
The step platform is quite a nifty piece of equipment, if you have a close look at it. I mean it is quite versatile.
To start with, it is adaptable. Those tall members and those not so tall, or those that want to either increase or decrease their workout intensity can graduate the height of the step by adding additional step risers, or removing some, or..... removing them all together, until the desired height is achieved that will match your physical height, and the level of workout you want to do. .
Needless to say the varied areas you could actually use the step platform. I mean, you can use the step in a Gym's group exercise class if you want to be part of a Freestyle step or Les-Mills BodySTEP class. If shaking your bootie at a group exercise is not your cup-o-tea, or the weather is really bad to adventure out there, or for whatever other reason you could not make it to the class, you have the option of stepping it at home with a DVD, or simply with your best rhythmic music playlist, or for those that want to still go to the gym, but coordination in a group environment is not their thing, they can still use the step as part of their weights program by intermixing the step with other gym and weight exercises. .
For all of the above situations you could do some step-ups using your step platform. Step-ups are an easy exercise/move that simply involves stepping up and down off the step, also known as the "Basic Step". Such a simple exercise increases your heart rate and with repetition it also increases your legs strength and resistance. You could do a minute or two of these between sets of resistance exercises to add cardio to your workout. .
If you had to look at the cost of having a step, or a treadmill at home for exercising, it is needless to say that a step is less costly than a treadmill while also easier to store away. .
As discussed in one of my previous blog articles, "Step Aerobics: In Prevention of Osteoporosis" it suggests that step aerobics might help increase bone density, protecting against osteoporosis. While I have not been able to find any sources that state such a claim in relation to the treadmill. .
Now, let's talk about the "C" word..... "Calories". "Calorie burn" to be precise. As you know calorie burn depends on the vigor of your moves, that may be running on the treadmill or using your step, and on your weight and the height of your step or the length of your stride. However it is known that using your large group muscles in your legs to step up and down, lifting your entire weight off the ground, and to safely put it back again, does burn more calories than running on a treadmill for the same period of time. However, as the step up and down is a higher energy consumption and effort "cost" to your body, running on the treadmill for a longer period may achieve the same number of burning calories, but at the same time less taxing to the body. As an example, a person of about 61Kg in weight, that exercises doing low-impact step for about 30 minutes would typically burn about 215 calories, but on the other hand, if the same person decides to change the low-impact for high-impact step for the same period, the number of calories burned would be of about 325... not bad for a simple platform!
To start with, it is adaptable. Those tall members and those not so tall, or those that want to either increase or decrease their workout intensity can graduate the height of the step by adding additional step risers, or removing some, or..... removing them all together, until the desired height is achieved that will match your physical height, and the level of workout you want to do. .
Needless to say the varied areas you could actually use the step platform. I mean, you can use the step in a Gym's group exercise class if you want to be part of a Freestyle step or Les-Mills BodySTEP class. If shaking your bootie at a group exercise is not your cup-o-tea, or the weather is really bad to adventure out there, or for whatever other reason you could not make it to the class, you have the option of stepping it at home with a DVD, or simply with your best rhythmic music playlist, or for those that want to still go to the gym, but coordination in a group environment is not their thing, they can still use the step as part of their weights program by intermixing the step with other gym and weight exercises. .
For all of the above situations you could do some step-ups using your step platform. Step-ups are an easy exercise/move that simply involves stepping up and down off the step, also known as the "Basic Step". Such a simple exercise increases your heart rate and with repetition it also increases your legs strength and resistance. You could do a minute or two of these between sets of resistance exercises to add cardio to your workout. .
If you had to look at the cost of having a step, or a treadmill at home for exercising, it is needless to say that a step is less costly than a treadmill while also easier to store away. .
As discussed in one of my previous blog articles, "Step Aerobics: In Prevention of Osteoporosis" it suggests that step aerobics might help increase bone density, protecting against osteoporosis. While I have not been able to find any sources that state such a claim in relation to the treadmill. .
Now, let's talk about the "C" word..... "Calories". "Calorie burn" to be precise. As you know calorie burn depends on the vigor of your moves, that may be running on the treadmill or using your step, and on your weight and the height of your step or the length of your stride. However it is known that using your large group muscles in your legs to step up and down, lifting your entire weight off the ground, and to safely put it back again, does burn more calories than running on a treadmill for the same period of time. However, as the step up and down is a higher energy consumption and effort "cost" to your body, running on the treadmill for a longer period may achieve the same number of burning calories, but at the same time less taxing to the body. As an example, a person of about 61Kg in weight, that exercises doing low-impact step for about 30 minutes would typically burn about 215 calories, but on the other hand, if the same person decides to change the low-impact for high-impact step for the same period, the number of calories burned would be of about 325... not bad for a simple platform!
Boredom, The Killer Of Exercise
The study, out of University College in London and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, found that "bored people die earlier", and the same can be told about exercise regimes. If you get bored while doing your exercising regime, sooner or later the exercise regime will die!.
People has to confront the fact that the majority forms of exercise battle with the boredom factor. That is applicable to both, the treadmill and the step. This is true with some regular runners, where they In fact, some runners ardently dodge the "dreadmill”, choosing to run outside, even sometimes with fierce weather.
But by no means I am saying that the treadmill is boring. You can always adapt it to your needs, specially when it means to make it more interesting. You could vary its speed regularly, and for more vigorous workout you can play with its inclination angle feature, if it has one. You could include a short bursts of one minute intervals of hard and easy paces to keep you engaged on your ultimate goal... the workout.
We face boredom also with step. Imagine doing basic step (step up and down) for long periods of time. I get bored just of thinking about it!!. With boring step exercises, without variety of change, either may drive you insane, or get you totally bored and feel like you had enough and wanna quit right there and then. To avoid these black holes of boredom, try to use a stop watch to try to jam in more steps in the same period of time. Do interval stepping with fast and slow stepping, or change the style with some personal flair. Or simply, why not go to a step aerobics class, to use the members and enthusiasm of the class to keep you motivated, and if you bring a friend or two... to keep each other motivated.
People has to confront the fact that the majority forms of exercise battle with the boredom factor. That is applicable to both, the treadmill and the step. This is true with some regular runners, where they In fact, some runners ardently dodge the "dreadmill”, choosing to run outside, even sometimes with fierce weather.
But by no means I am saying that the treadmill is boring. You can always adapt it to your needs, specially when it means to make it more interesting. You could vary its speed regularly, and for more vigorous workout you can play with its inclination angle feature, if it has one. You could include a short bursts of one minute intervals of hard and easy paces to keep you engaged on your ultimate goal... the workout.
We face boredom also with step. Imagine doing basic step (step up and down) for long periods of time. I get bored just of thinking about it!!. With boring step exercises, without variety of change, either may drive you insane, or get you totally bored and feel like you had enough and wanna quit right there and then. To avoid these black holes of boredom, try to use a stop watch to try to jam in more steps in the same period of time. Do interval stepping with fast and slow stepping, or change the style with some personal flair. Or simply, why not go to a step aerobics class, to use the members and enthusiasm of the class to keep you motivated, and if you bring a friend or two... to keep each other motivated.
Treading and Stepping Safely
Know that "Safety is always first". With that in mind, you need to be aware that both treadmill and step exercises do have their fair share of safety hazards, which are mostly created by the member performing the exercise.
If you have ever been on a treadmill, you can tell me how many times your mind gets so bored that seeks for things to place its attention to. This normally results in.... "Distraction" from the exercise itself. It’s so easy to get distracted on a treadmill, that many people have fallen, and/or have catapulted off the back of the treadmill by the running belt.
These situations occur doing absolutely normal everyday stuff, like drinking water, reaching the treadmill controls, looking to the side at someone talking to you, etc... however these actions are "normal" in a firm un-moving floor, and are a total different story over a fast moving belt.
Avoiding these situations is very easy indeed. Lets say your warmup is over, and you need to remove a piece of clothing to enable a more free run while on the treadmill, do not do a "Houdini" performing the straight-jacket routine, instead you would need to slow the treadmill down until it is slow enough to safely step off from it. If someone is trying to get your attention, or approaches you for a chat, don't try to turn your head in their direction like a paranoid ostrich and make eye contact while moving and bouncing that you trip over, fall flat on your face and the treadmill's running belt centrifugal energy throws you out the back like an elephant dung. I beg you to think of "Safety first" by resting your fingers of a hand on the side hand-railing should you suddenly need to hold onto it for dear life.
In humans, height is not everything, however for step aerobics and its safety, it is very important. Always choose the right amount of step raisers, if any at all, that matches your body height, and or step ability. If you happen to be a step "green apple", you should begin with the step board only, without adding any raisers. Once your brain and your feet start understanding each other while on a step, then you start adding raisers to your board, however it is recommended for safety reasons not to exceed 25 centimeters in height. On the other hand, many exercise councils do warn us not to elevate the platform to a level that makes you bend your knee more than 90 degrees for the purpose of lifting your body onto the step, and always put your entire foot softly and fully on the step platform; don’t let your heel hang over.
And finally, as part of the "Safety" section of this article, people with joint problems, specially on their knee, should talk to their doctor before taking up step aerobics.
If you have ever been on a treadmill, you can tell me how many times your mind gets so bored that seeks for things to place its attention to. This normally results in.... "Distraction" from the exercise itself. It’s so easy to get distracted on a treadmill, that many people have fallen, and/or have catapulted off the back of the treadmill by the running belt.
These situations occur doing absolutely normal everyday stuff, like drinking water, reaching the treadmill controls, looking to the side at someone talking to you, etc... however these actions are "normal" in a firm un-moving floor, and are a total different story over a fast moving belt.
Avoiding these situations is very easy indeed. Lets say your warmup is over, and you need to remove a piece of clothing to enable a more free run while on the treadmill, do not do a "Houdini" performing the straight-jacket routine, instead you would need to slow the treadmill down until it is slow enough to safely step off from it. If someone is trying to get your attention, or approaches you for a chat, don't try to turn your head in their direction like a paranoid ostrich and make eye contact while moving and bouncing that you trip over, fall flat on your face and the treadmill's running belt centrifugal energy throws you out the back like an elephant dung. I beg you to think of "Safety first" by resting your fingers of a hand on the side hand-railing should you suddenly need to hold onto it for dear life.
In humans, height is not everything, however for step aerobics and its safety, it is very important. Always choose the right amount of step raisers, if any at all, that matches your body height, and or step ability. If you happen to be a step "green apple", you should begin with the step board only, without adding any raisers. Once your brain and your feet start understanding each other while on a step, then you start adding raisers to your board, however it is recommended for safety reasons not to exceed 25 centimeters in height. On the other hand, many exercise councils do warn us not to elevate the platform to a level that makes you bend your knee more than 90 degrees for the purpose of lifting your body onto the step, and always put your entire foot softly and fully on the step platform; don’t let your heel hang over.
And finally, as part of the "Safety" section of this article, people with joint problems, specially on their knee, should talk to their doctor before taking up step aerobics.
That was our article for August 2016. Remember to feel free to comment, or contact me via email to FreestyleStepXTRVGNZ@gmail.com, and comment on what you think of this article, or any article you have read, or just any improvements you may want to see happening.
Next month, we will looking at the subject of "Freestyle XTRVGNZ - Zumba, Cinemotion Dance and Freestyle Step Aerobics" here we will looking at the event that was scheduled by the "Freestyle Step XTRVGNZ" Facebook group.
Next month, we will looking at the subject of "Freestyle XTRVGNZ - Zumba, Cinemotion Dance and Freestyle Step Aerobics" here we will looking at the event that was scheduled by the "Freestyle Step XTRVGNZ" Facebook group.
In September 2016 article... I look at how the event went, what was in offer, some pictures, videos to give us an idea on what this sort of event does bring to the Step-a-holic community.
Bruno Jimenez
August 2016
August 2016
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