I am six months postpartum, put on 70 pounds in pregnancy and still have some lingering diastasis recti that limits me to more low intensity workouts so I was excited to see this and was hoping it would be an accessible way to get back into better shape while the baby is napping or it’s too rainy to take long strolls, etc. I can honestly say I’m impressed and REALLY sore after a few days’ use!
First off: it really does come fully assembled and all you need to do is clip on the included resistance bands if you choose to use them. I do not use them for resistance quite yet, but I do like them to hold onto to kind of make sure I’m steady and stable as I use the stepper itself. You don’t even need to put in the three AAA batteries needed for the counter, as the batteries come already loaded into the machine, so I love that. Adjusting the resistance of the machine itself is really easy, it’s just a knob at the side that adjusts how high up or low down the pedals are, and as a brand-new beginner, I use the second setting/“moderate resistance stride mode.”
The size and weight are fantastic in our cluttered, smaller space and allow for me to tote this thing into the nursery while my baby is doing tummy time in her crib or out into the living room if she’s napping. It’s super convenient and easy to store under our platform bed when it needs to be put up. The resistance bands can stay clipped to the stepper and rolled up for easy, compact storage too.
OK, so, onto the workout itself: it’s intuitive and easy to use. The digital face shows calories burned and how many steps you take, which keeps me going for the ten minutes extra that I just want to quit and be lazy. I love that I can see the progress I’m actively making and the calorie counter is a great motivator. I have never used a stepper before, so I can’t speak to the comparative quality of the “twist” function vs a regular stepper, but I DO feel a ton of aching and soreness along the sides of my legs, the tops of my ankles, backs of my calves and in my glutes, so I can definitely FEEL that I’m getting a much needed workout in and rebuilding muscle that was lost in pregnancy and early postpartum. I can’t wait to use it with the resistance bands on the higher intensity setting to see how much of a core workout this can be once I am cleared to do more core-intensive exercise. For now, this is pretty low impact but high cardio and is so easy to break up the reps throughout the day. I feel supported on the pedals, the hydraulic feels strong and is pretty quiet/not disruptive, and it doesn’t take a tutorial or a bunch of instructions to figure out or know how to use it.
The only thing that worries me is the part of the user manual that talks about the hydraulic cylinder heating up too much. I have not noticed this being an issue, but I do keep my workouts on this thing to about 20-30 minutes tops, which is definitely more than enough for my very out of shape self!
Overall, I think it’s a really easy and beginner friendly way to get back into shape and help rebuild muscle, tone down some fat, and hopefully lose this stubborn weight. The price is great for a sturdy machine that requires zero assembly and is ready to go, right out of the box. It’s easy to adjust the intensity between the three settings, there’s some grease for the hydraulic cylinder included if ever it begins to squeak, and even my 210 pound husband feels supported on this thing, so it’s definitely hefty, sturdy and stable for heavier weights, his tall height, my short one. Can be used next to a dining chair if additional balance support is needed via something to hold onto. I kinda love this thing and will return with a one month update, hoping my weight will go down and my muscle gain will be on track with what my OB would like to see!
sheri scott –
Dadri –
Jessica Martinez –
Customer Review –
Irina Sellers –
Teresa haskur –
Amazon Customer –
DiAngelo1 –