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Old 11-06-18, 09:38 AM  
Sharaz
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: South Florida
I was also impressed with the running equivalency. I can run but running is NOT an activity I look for regularly. Is boring for me unless I am doing sprint intervals. I do feel 1 hr of pure step equals 1 hr running. I can burn 400 calories during a solid step workout if I am feeling energized and motivated to crush the workout. I also use the Step for lower intensity cardio Stepping at my own pace keeping my HR at the desired zone.

There are not many new Step workouts out there. I would like more workouts with nice music.

BTW I just saw the clip pf Amy Bento Advanced Step Challenge 5. I like it! I don’t have any of the ASC workouts. I may purchase all at some point

Wendy – I also like cardio + weights specially Cathe’s circuits workouts. These are good for my endurance. I just got a Reebok step because is more compact than the Original Step. I move a lot nowadays and this one is convenient. I do have an Original Step in my hometown. During vacation, Step workouts keep me on track. The Reebok step heights are 6, 8 and 10. I guess you reach 14” with the Original Step, right?
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Old 11-06-18, 09:45 AM  
Sharaz
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: South Florida
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pam View Post
If I haven’t done a step workout in awhile, I have to start out slowly and build up, or it bothers a knee. So, just 10 minutes and just the bench and as my knee permits I increase the time and add risers, until I am doing an full workout with 2 risers.

My motivation is for endurance and strength for hiking.
Your plan sounds good to build up intensity. I enjoy hiking a lot.
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Old 11-06-18, 11:14 AM  
hch
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Originally Posted by wendug View Post
Great article! I had no idea an hour of step aerobics is equivalent to running 7 miles!
The idea is at least as old as research from the time of Step Reebok. A search leads to this March 1990 New York Times article and this December 1990 AP article, neither of which I'd seen before but maybe others here have:

ON YOUR OWN; Step Up (and Down) To Sharper Workouts

Step Aerobics: The Next Step?

Quote:
Step training by well-conditioned athletes at an aerobic cadence of 120 beats per minute can use more energy than running at 7 miles an hour on a treadmill, said researchers Peter and Lorna Francis of San Diego State University in California.
I'd like to know about some others of the "several studies" mentioned in the original article of this thread.

Searching for "step aerobics" and "METs" (which came to mind when I read "more energy") led to a news article that used, among other sources, something called the Compendium of Physical Activities Tracking Guide (link to PDF on the website of the University of South Carolina).

The 2000 edition (page 1 of this document, under the heading "dancing") gives 8.5 METs for "aerobic, step, with 6 - 8 inch step" and 10.0 METs for "...10 - 12 inch step." To my slight annoyance, no cadence or speed is given--and I've read that step classes would vary in cadence. (Other "dancing" numbers include 6.5 METs for "aerobic, general," 5.0 for "aerobic, low impact," and 7.0 for "aerobic, high impact.")

Roughly comparable activities for 8.5 METs include "moderate" bicycling (12-13.9 mph), running at 5-5.2 mph, walking at 5.0 mph, "slow" crawl swimming (50 yards/minute), and "vigorous" stationary rowing (150 watts).

Roughly comparable activities for 10.0 METs include "fast" bicycling (14-15.9 mph), running at 6 mph, "fast" crawl swimming (75 yards/minute), and "vigorous" stationary bicycling (200 watts).

At least to me, these comparisons aren't unimpressive. Of course, the usual cautions apply--for example, don't assume that a certain level of ability in one activity will simply transfer to a similar level for another activity.

I'll write later about my limited recent experimenting with steady-state bench stepping (up, up, down, down ), which I haven't done before (I've done intervals). I can compare my subjective thoughts with some of the other activities just mentioned.
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Last edited by hch; 11-06-18 at 11:24 AM. Reason: expanded note about lack of cadence mention in METs table
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Old 11-06-18, 11:58 AM  
hch
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A little extra reading time led to this news article from December 1992, which has additional detail.

The Ups (and Downs) of STEP AEROBICS

(From reading the article, I think that "downs" is just wordplay about stepping up and down: I see safety tips, but I don't see a mention of any particular disadvantage of step aerobics. The safety tips here, from an article nearly 26 years old, may or may not reflect current thinking--check before you begin a new activity.)

This article discusses a study commissioned by Reebok and conducted by the Francises and others.

The activities compared here were walking at 3 mph on a treadmill, running at 7 mph on a treadmill, and a "step exercise routine" at 120 beats per minute on a 10-inch platform. They were measured at an average of respectively 3.9, 11.5, and 12.2 METs.

(The closest matches in the Compendium of Physical Activities Tracking Guide are 3.3 METs for walking at the same speed on a "firm surface," 11.5 METs for running at the same speed on an unspecified surface, and 10.0 METs for step aerobics on a 10- to 12-inch step at an unspecified cadence. I don't have enough information to say anything specific about why the numbers differ the most for stepping.)

Notice that 10 inches is a higher step than others use; my impression, which may be wrong, is that most VFers who've recently mentioned step height (though this sample maybe isn't very large) don't use 10 inches or higher for an entire workout. I wonder how much generally using a lower step height influences the comparison to running.
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Old 11-06-18, 12:45 PM  
killoffsonny
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Houston
I did step for 20 years. I got tired of it and it started bothering my knees. The last few years I did it ....I did it without risers. So I probably didn't get the equivalent of 7 miles.
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Old 11-06-18, 01:18 PM  
yogapam
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Location: West coast of Canada, eh. ;)
I love step, but only do it occasionally and on a low step due to knee issues. I also believe that step, like with any choreographed workout, makes you think & concentrate so it’s good for the brain.
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Old 11-06-18, 03:25 PM  
Joni O
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pat58 View Post
I was in the best shape of my life when lifting heavy weights, regularly taking step classes and doing step at home with Kari Anderson and Jane Fonda.
Ditto!
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Old 11-07-18, 12:42 AM  
tiffanywu
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Join Date: Nov 2001
I've been meaning to try stepping (only having attempted it 3-5 times in the 18 years I've been a vidiot!) and just never gotten around to it because time is short and stepping is a lot noisier than working out barefoot (my preferred mode for kettlebells and low impact floor aerobics, and always the case for weights at home but not permitted at the office gym). And as proof of what a vidiot I am, I have 5 step routines on DVD sitting on my shelf in the hope that I will get inspired to actually give it a real shot!
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Old 11-07-18, 07:39 AM  
Rhonda
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: MI
I may have to put step in once a week. I liked it when I did it then the choreography got so complex I got frustrated.

I like the straight forward step - Gin's simply step, Gin interval step one (though I don't do the high impact stuff); Kathy Smith had a couple nice ones, I liked her Power step.

time to pull them out and see if my knee can handle it.
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Old 11-07-18, 12:52 PM  
marki64
 
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Wisconsin
This article is about 15 years too late. I still love step. It killed my Achilles tendons a few years back, but that was because I did step all the time. I have since lowered to one set of risers and only do step once in awhile. I enjoy it more now, mainly is because I am pain free, vs. sore tendons. Some step routines feel like brand new workouts, because it's been so long. I am still able to recall the choreography after one time through, though.
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