A stepper machine is one of those easy to use pieces of home gym equipment that everyone should have if they're serious about keeping fit and healthy. Its a power packed aerobic trainer that takes up very little room and can really benefit you in many ways. 

Some exercises are tough to do, while others can be a little boring, but there are ways you can spice up any exercises you are doing and when you're using a stepper machine, you have the benefit of being able to take full advantage of them. This article takes a closer look at the humble stepper machine and what it can do for you in terms of fitness, health abd vitality as well as seamlessly incorprating itself into your daily workout schedule.

Benefits of the Stepper Machine

First of all, one of the greatest benefits of owning a stepper machine is that you can either listen to music or watch a movie or music DVD while you exercise, thanks to the standing up position and the ability to place the stepper machine just about anywhere you want in a room.

While there are many variations of this relatively simple exercise machine in terms of size and relative complexity, the majority of stepper machines are fairly light weight and so can easily be moved to a convenient location in the room that you use for working out.

As far as size goes, the smallest stepper machines are basically just a pair of steps that you put your feet onto and off you go! They take up no more than maybe two feet square and you should ideally place them close to a wall or bar that you can hold onto.

Larger stepper machines come with ski pole attachments enabling you to work your arms while you step, which gives you something to hold onto to keep your balance better. Even so, they still don't take up much more than two square feet or so.

More complex step machines come with all sorts of bio feedback gadgetry to help you to figure out how you're doing as you work out. How complex a machine you opt to have is up to your personal preference, of course.

The Health Benefits of the Stepping Exercise

As to the health benefits of using a stepping machine as part of your daily work out routine, its main benefit comes from the toning up of legs, thighs, backside and tummy. The longer you can keep going for, the more benefits you will reap as this kind of exercise is actually categorized as a cardio or aerobic workout, which means it makes your heart work harder, raises your metabolic rate and makes you burn calories faster. It strengthens your heart muscle, strengthens your legs and abdomen muscles and if you have the ski poles attached, also tones up your upper arms and strengthens your shoulders.

All the while you are doing the stepping exercise, you are pushing against a resistance that forces your legs to work hard. This makes you use up body sugars faster forcing your body to take more from its stored up supply in the fat cells. That in turn causes you to lose weight, although at first you may actually gain a little weight as you build more muscle bulk in your legs. This is short lived as the increased muscle bulk burns even more fat to reduce your body store and thereby reduces the weight.

Remember, muscle weights more than fat by volume, but more muscle means faster calorie burn each subsequent time you do a tough aerobic workout. Exactly this kind of workout comes from using a stepper machine, so you can see that it is a really good investment to add one of these to your own home gym collection.