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As the countdown to summer begins, the fitness community on social media has rolled out yet another viral trend. This time it's about achieving a "snatched waist" by summer. The goal: Burning calories effectively and steadily in a few weeks.
The tool: The stair climber. Getting your heart rate up by climbing steps has its proven benefits. Whether you're using the machine or taking the stairs, propelling your body upward on steps is a reliable cardio and strength training workout, experts say.
Climbing a staircase is a great and cost-effective option, while the stair climber machine encourages steady speed and momentum. On the stair climber, “the pressure is mostly on the forefoot and mid-foot, which loads the lower leg, quad and hip muscles,” Chris Barucci, a physical therapist and certified strength and condition specialist at the Boston University Physical Therapy Center, . It requires you to stay upright while using your legs to launch your body upward.
This is encourages balance, forcing you to engage your core throughout the entire workout. While stair climber workout trends are far from new — after all, it was only a few short years ago that the was making the rounds — this newest one has a summer deadline and TikTok users are promising that if you're motivated, you can meet it and your goals. The workout recipe for a snatched waist, according to social media, calls for a stair climber, 20 minutes of your time (or less) and consistency.
Most of the videos offer an easy formula using numbers. For example, in , a TikTok user said "the ultimate summer fat loss cardio (routine) to get snatched by summer" requires the 10-8-4 method. Use the stair climber for 10 minutes while it's set to speed 8 and do this 4 times per week.
formula. Workout on the machine for 10 minutes at speed 8 and repeat three times per week. And "if you want a flat stomach all summer long," , which calls for working out on the stair climber for 30 minutes total.
For the first 20 minutes, climb at speed 9 for 2 minutes, then at speed 6 for another 2 minutes and then switch back and forth between them. For the final 10 minutes, finish off with a steady climb anywhere between speeds 3 and 5. Her final rule: No holding on to the handle bars.
The stair climber is a cardio and strength workout that uses your full body, Dr. Jordan Metzl, a sports medicine physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, tells TODAY.com.
And engaging all of your muscles at once like that can really improve your physical fitness. His final verdict on the stair climber being an effective abdominal workout? Drum roll please ..
. “I think it actually can be true,” Metzl says. By removing your hands from the stair climber, the exercise requires you to use all of your core muscles to stabilize yourself, Metzl explains.
“Just think about basically doing a 25-minute plank, with walking, it’s a huge amount of exercise,” he says. If you don’t remove your hands from the railing, the results are likely to be different. When you lean on the handlebars, you put force on the machine and take pressure off of your core, Metzl says.
And without that additional need for balance, your core does not experience as much of a workout. For getting the sculpted ab look, Metzl cautions that there are additional factors beyond exercise that can play a role in someone’s ability to “get abs.” For one, there is diet.
And genetics also play a role. “Just be the best you you can be, don’t look at anybody else,” Metzl says. Above all, Metzl said that the best exercise programs are ones that are fun.
Some people may enjoy the uphill walk of the stair climber. “If you’re smiling when you’re doing it, I’m fine with that,” Metzl said. But for others, the stair climber may feel like a “forced march,” he said.
If that's what it feels like to you, or if you don’t have access to the machine, never fear, there are alternatives. In general, s will activate the core, much like the stair climber. Here are a few Metzl recommends: Maddie Ellis is a weekend editor at TODAY Digital.
Health Reporter/Editor.
