StairMaster Vs. Treadmill: Which One Is The Better Burn For Weight Loss, Strength, And Cardiovascular Health?

“The treadmill and StairMaster can both help you meet most health or fitness goals,” says personal trainer Nika Shelby, CPT. These two cardio machines offer many overlapping benefits, including boosted cardiovascular capacity, high-calorie burn, and improved endurance, to name just a few.

But don’t get it twisted: That doesn’t mean you should flip a coin and let chance dictate your choice. These machines work differently, benefitting your body in slightly different ways, says Shelby. Plus, odds are you enjoy working out on one more than the other—and that matters!

Ahead, fitness pros dish out the potential perks of the StairMaster and treadmill—and tips for getting the most out of both popular cardio machines.

How These Machines Work

Because the StairMaster and treadmill are built differently and have varying settings, your movement patterns will vary on both machines.

Your Body On The Treadmill

“Walking and running on a flat treadmill use the same motion as walking or running on flat ground outside,” says strength and conditioning specialist Alena Luciani, CSCS. Regardless of speed, your quads, glutes, calves, hamstrings, and core are all working to keep your body upright and stable.

When you increase the incline, you really kick up the intensity of your workout. The steeper the treadmill, the more your body has to work against gravity to keep that balance. As a result, you’ll notice your body leaning forward, your core engaging, and those muscles along your back working even harder. “Using an incline really boosts the activation of your glutes and hamstrings,” shares Shelby. Plus, it gets your hip flexors moving nicely, too!

Your Body On The StairMaster

In theory, the mechanics of using a stair stepper are the same as walking up a never-ending flight of stairs, Luciani says. However, the steps on most StairMaster machines are taller than those on your run-of-the-mill staircase. So, your lower body has to work harder and exert more force to climb each step.

Like the treadmill, this machine engages various muscles, including your quads, glutes, calves, hamstrings, and core. However, unlike the treadmill, which usually has a flat or lower incline, the stepper also targets your hip flexors. With each stride, the stepper allows for a deeper range of motion, giving your hips a fantastic workout and strengthening all the muscles around the hip joint, including those hip flexors.

Treadmill vs. StairMaster For Weight Loss

Unfortunately, there isn’t one universal podium pick for weight loss. It all comes down to the not-so-secret sauce: Burning more calories than you consume. You can effectively and efficiently torch significant calories—and thus support a calorie deficit—on either machine, says certified personal trainer Maelee Wells Sutton, RDN, CPT.

But for your weight loss goal to be practical, you have to use the machine consistently. “Ultimately, the best workout for weight loss is the one that you actually do and stick with,” Wells Sutton says. So, if you’re interested in losing weight, it’s up to your personal preference whether you’d rather jump on the treadmill or StairMaster.

STEPR Classic Stepper Machine

Schwinn Fitness 810 Treadmill

Now 31% Off

One thing to remember: A few other variables will impact how many calories you burn, says Shelby. The more intense your workout—like, the steeper the treadmill incline—or the longer the duration, the higher the energy expenditure will be, and the more calories you’ll burn, she adds.

However, Shelby says there isn’t a cut-and-dry answer to how fast or steep the treadmill should be to match the calorie burn of the StairMaster or vice versa—how fast you’d need to set the stepper to be equivalent to a treadmill running workout. She says that the machine, an individual’s unique physiology, and how they use it all vary.

However, if weight loss is your primary objective, Shelby suggests doing interval-style work on your preferred machine. Alternate between bursts of more challenging (i.e., higher intensity, faster speed, or steeper incline) work and recovery (i.e., lower intensity, slower speed, and zero incline) at a two-to-one ratio.

Treadmill vs. StairMaster For Strength

Both machines target the major muscles in your legs, says Wells Sutton. (These include the quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves). “Both machines can also strengthen your core, so long as you don’t hang onto the handrail while you use them,” she says. Additionally, an incline treadmill and stepper both activate your hip flexors, but a flat treadmill does not.

Here’s the thing: If your primary fitness objective is to get stronger or put on muscle mass, you’ll need to supplement either cardio machine with weights. “Muscle growth requires strength training,” says Wells Sutton. Walking, stepping, and running just don’t elicit the same physiological strengthening response as functional strength training, she says.

In practice, this means lifting weights at least two days per week, according to the CDC. Then, follow progressive overload, which is when you increase weight or intensity as your body adapts to it. “To keep getting stronger, you must continue challenging your muscles by increasing the difficulty of your strength sessions,” says Luciani.

If the idea of forgoing your favorite cardio machine breaks your heart, here’s some good news: Both machines can help you warm up for your strength workout, says Wells Sutton. Hopping on the treadmill or StairMaster for just five minutes before you lift will raise your core temperature, get your blood flowing, and lubricate your joints, which helps prep your body for the lifts to come and minimizes the chances of strains, she says.

Just don’t overdo it: “Causing fatigue in the muscles before lifting will result in a less effective workout,” she says. Not to mention, it increases the likelihood of compromised form and, therefore, injury, she says.

FYI: Outside of cardio, your strength training warm-up should also include some dynamic stretching, which moves your joints through a full range of motion to prep the muscles you’ll be calling on in your workout, says Wells Sutton.

Treadmill vs. StairMaster For Cardiovascular Health

Both machines can increase your heart rate and improve your cardiovascular health over time, says Wells Sutton. In fact, the cardiovascular health benefits are generally considered the same, she adds.

But once again, it’s essential to consider which machine you’re more likely to use regularly because how often is more critical than which, says Wells Sutton. Additionally, you should monitor whether you can push yourself to work harder on one machine or particular setting (incline vs. flat, for example) over the other—then, opt for that one more often. To improve heart health, the goal should be to do 75 minutes of cardio per week, where your heart rate is at 70 to 85 percent of its maximum (typically, 220 minus your age), according to the American Heart Association.

That said, you shouldn’t sweat it if you don’t have the energy that kind of intensity requires on a particular day or week—moderate-intensity exercise (walking, weightlifting, and calisthenics) supports heart health too, according to 2022 research in Circulation.

A mega-caveat: What’s healthiest for your ticker also depends on factors such as diet, current overall health and medication line-up, age, and exercise experience. So, ultimately, which machine (if any) is best is something only you and your doctor can decide.

Treadmill vs. StairMaster For Your Goals

Both can get the job done. Keeping that in mind, here are trainers’ top tips for integrating both machines into your routine:

If your goal is improving endurance: There may be several different ways to do so, but one of the easiest and most accessible is increasing exercise duration, says Luciani. Because of that, the treadmill is the best option for this goal. Most people can comfortably spend more time on the treadmill than on the stepper.

“When fatigue sets in, it is easier to slow the pace from a run to a walk on a treadmill than to lower the step rate on the stepper,” she explains. (Fair enough.) Moving on the treadmill for 30 or more minutes five days per week at a moderate intensity (think: Zone 2, or 60 to 70 percent of your max heart rate) will build your endurance, she says.

If your goal is building strength: Both machines will work your lower body and core but “there is no replacement for resistance training,” says Wells Sutton. If this is your goal, lifting at least two days per week is essential. However, if you want to add strength work to your cardio, donning wrist or arm weights or holding light dumbbells once or twice per week will add some upper-body strength work to a jaunt on either machine. (BTW, when your hands are preoccupied with dumbbells, set the pace to one you know you can sustain to keep yourself safe.)

If your goal is losing weight: Again, “whichever piece of equipment you’ll use more is better for weight loss,” Luciani says. Ideally, you’ll use your machine of choice for at least 30 to 45 minutes of cardio four to five days a week for your weight loss goals. (P.S. lifting weights at least two days per week, either on your days off or before cardio, can support your weight loss goals further).

If you need a lower impact option: “For individuals who have joint pain or another similar condition, I’d recommend the StairMaster or walking at an incline, which are both lower impact than running on the treadmill,” says Wells Sutton. A low (one to two percent) incline is best for beginners, but more experienced hill walkers can play around with a steeper (five to 10 percent) incline.

Also crucial for preserving the health of your joints? Moving with proper form, says Luciani. “That means not holding onto the handles of either machine in such a way that it throws off your gait,” she says. A less-than-ideal stride can cause imbalances in the leg and feet muscles, which puts undue strain on the surrounding joints and can lead to injury, she explains.

How To Make The Most Of Both Machines

Don’t hang on the handrails. “To reap the benefits of either machine, you need to hold yourself upright without the assistance of your hands on the rails,” says Shelby. Relying heavily on the rail offloads your weight from you to the machine, which reduces muscle recruitment. Plus, it can seriously mess with your form, skyrocketing your risk of injury, she says.

Get your arms in on the action. Curious what your arms should be doing if not holding onto the railing for dear life? Pumping, says Wells Sutton. Whether climbing on the StairMaster or walking or running on the treadmill, swinging your arms in rhythm with your strides helps propel your steps and maintain balance. If you find yourself frequently grabbing for (or draping your body over) the railings, that might be a sign that you should take a beat and back off the intensity, speed, or incline, says Luciani. Or, press pause and take a breather.

Look straight ahead. Shelby says that people tend to look down to guarantee that their feet are landing in the proper spots, especially when they are new to cardio machines. The problem is that looking down messes up your form. It causes you to strain your neck forward and round your upper back, throwing off your gait. So, look straight ahead; that will keep your neck neutral and your back straight rather than rounded.

Try intervals. Even the most basic variations of both cardio machines have pre-set interval workouts, which you can activate so that the machine automatically varies your speed or incline setting as you go, says Shelby. You can also do this manually by switching back and forth between high-intensity (fast or steep) and lower-intensity (slow or flat) options every minute or so. This training style, known as HIIT, is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories.

Zhuzh it up with wearable weights. “Wearing a weighted vest or arm weights [on these machines] is a great way to increase intensity and force the core to engage a bit more,” says Wells Sutton. A rucking sack or ankle weights are suitable selections, too.

Don’t forget to recover. “Active recovery days and rest days are important parts of any exercise program, as they ensure that your body has ample time to recover and reap the benefits of your hard work,” says Shelby. How many of these down days you need per week will depend on how often you’re exercising, the duration and intensity of the exercise, and the demands of your life outside of the gym, she says. But most people with cardiovascular or strength goals would benefit from one of each.

So, who comes out with gold in the StairMaster vs. treadmill debate? It’s a draw. Both can aid your weight loss journey and help you achieve better endurance or heart health. Hopefully, this feels freeing because it means your preferences—not some machine prescription—dictate your pick.

Gabrielle Kassel (she/her) is a sex and wellness journalist who writes at the intersection of queerness, sexual health, and pleasure. In addition to Women’s Health, her work has appeared in publications such as Shape, Cosmopolitan, Well+Good, Health, Self, Men’s Health, Greatist, and more! In her free time, Gabrielle can be found coaching CrossFit, reviewing pleasure products, hiking with her border collie, or recording episodes of the podcast she co-hosts called