Stairmaster elevation estimates?

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Ok, so I was in the gym on the stairmaster (I know, working out indoors is lame but it was my lunch break) and I was looking at the stats on the screen. How much is a floor? When I've climbed 90 floors in Stairmaster world, how many feet have I climbed? Rough estimate?

[woodchips]

9-10 feet, if you're talking about a real building. Who knows in stairmaster world?

[Sherri]

This is still real-world, but there must be some correlation.

 

"How Many Steps are in a...

• 1 mile = 2,000 – 2,500 steps

• 1 mile = 5, 280 feet

• The average step length for an adult is 2.5 feet

• Most adults walk 2 – 4 miles per hour.

• Most adults walk about about 750 – 1,500 steps in 10 minutes.

• One city block is about 200 steps.

• 10,000 steps is 4 – 5 miles.

• One flight of stairs averages 10 steps.

• Average distance, round trip, from a couch to a TV-8 steps.

• Most school tracks are _ mile=500-625 steps."

 

So, every 10 strides on the stairmaster is a story. 'bout the same as the trip from the couch to the TV, if it were uphill.

 

 

[Dechristo]

• One flight of stairs averages 10 steps.

 

This seems an arbitrary statement.

 

Steps per "story" is simply the height of "story" (total rise) divided by the height per step (riser).

[jjd]

Why not just measure the height of a step on the machine? It's probably about 7 inches.

[fern]

if you want to relate it to a real world measure of elevation gain (like hiking a steep trail) you would need to measure the vertical displacement of YOUR centre of mass per step on the machine and then multiply by the number of steps you take.

[counterfeitfake]

Does the machine not have a vertical gain stat?

 

The product manual for the Nautilus Stairmaster Stepmill 7000PT says:

 

FLOORS is the cumulative number of floors you have climbed based on an average eight-inch step and 16 steps per floor.

[jjd]

Your center of mass doesn't change on the machine.

[OlympicMtnBoy]

Finally! CFF has something useful. No, the machine at my gym does not have a vertical gain stat, and that's exactly what I was trying to figure out. It's also some version or other of the Nautilus Stairmaster so I'll assume that definition of a "floor" is the same. One floor in stairmaster world=10.66 feet, 94 floors=1000 ft. Before you go off, I KNOW it's just an estimate, it's also an indoor gym. :-p Thanks CFF.

[jjd]

That sounds close. I usually figure on 100-105 floors per 1,000, but you're right: it's a friggin' stairmaster inside a gym!

[counterfeitfake]

It also, obviously, doesn't simulate real hiking very well. But it is a good workout. Try going handrailless.

[Macson]

It also, obviously, doesn't simulate real hiking very well. But it is a good workout. Try going handrailless.

 

Is it better to use a stairmaster, or use a treadmill with a 15% incline?

[counterfeitfake]

heck if I know. probably the stairmaster.

[crackers]

stairmaster.

 

You're only level on a treadmill at "8% elevation", and there is less impact on your knees on the stairmaster to boot.

[JackY]

 

Can anyone explian the physics of how work is done on a stairmaster?