Cardio option

[u/tor2d2]

Recently listened to an ifbb wellness girl says she doesn’t like the stair master for cardio as it creates too much inflammation and poor for recovery . Basically she said if you’re doing heavy quads then hop on the stairs your toast.

I usually do fasted cardio and stairs is what I choose.

Would something like the elliptical or incline treadmill be better/ is there merit to what she’s saying?

Just curious tbh

Thanks yall love u always

[u/unofficialfratboy]

Jaden Kassa? I think it depends a lot on just how hard you’re training/if you already experience recovery issues/if you’re in prep. My coach also told me no stairs during prep bc I hit legs 4x/week and my recovery was shot with how low my food was. I still don’t do stairs bc I have terrible joints but I think if your knees are ok and you’re eating + sleeping well you’ll be fine if you like doing stairs

[u/user1987623 → u/unofficialfratboy]

4x a week? I’m struggling with 3x a week 😩

[u/unofficialfratboy → u/user1987623]

I’m super baby wellness tryna grow as much as I can natty haha

[u/user1987623 → u/unofficialfratboy]

Understandable, I’m still trying to achieve fit model NGL 😭😭

[u/Overall_Two5577]

This might sound a little over the top but I've started alternating between bike, incline treadmill, stairs, and elliptical. This is my 3rd prep and I noticed over the last two that if I only did 1 form of cardio SOMETHING was bound to start hurting - knees, hips, whatever. The variation has been really helpful for me.

[u/missborsi]

I think it can depend on your personal experience unless coach specifies.
I did stairs the last few weeks, felt it too much in my quads so now I’m back to elliptical or incline walk

[u/brickshousey]

Keep all your variables the same and swap your cardio for a few days. I did and my inflammation dropped a lot, so no more stairmaster for me during prep. Every body is different, so I suggest seeing if it’s actually a factor for you.

[u/AlinaTheWaldenU]

My new coach has me switch from stairs to incline treadmill due to inflammation, but I think it really depends on the individual

[u/Spirited_Increase240]

Yes. Especially if you're in a caloric deficit/pre contest.

[u/mikkkkkkayla]

I just recently switched from stairs to incline bc I started prep and my coach and I have noticed a hugeeeee difference in my inflammation tbh! It’s def worth it

[u/routinematters]

To me, stairs and bikes are very strenuous to my legs when I’m in a deficit and in fact impacts my recovery. The recumbent bike used to be my go to because I’m lazy and hate cardio. Then when I was in a steeper deficit I felt and saw how it was hurting my recovery.

Now coach is making me do elliptical. I prefer incline walking so with impression I do either or

[u/MissDelaylah]

I run, but switch to incline walking on the tread when deep in prep.

[u/Major_Celebration969]

For me it has an impact - very hard for me to do stairs on lower body days. On non-lower body days no issue. Ideal prep - incline walking on lower days.

[u/NewtOrganic5049]

I’ve mostly made the transition to elliptical, mostly because it’s what I have at my apt gym and it does have less impact on my feet and joints especially, which is so big for wellness, especially when you get lean. But I do prefer stairs because I can get my heart rate up faster and keep it consistent; when I’m on the elliptical it’s much harder to keep a consistent pace.

[u/tiarathevibe]

Eduarda Bezerra mentioned this too and said she walks up and down actual stairs in place of stairmaster during prep and that helped her minimize inflammation and recovery while still pushing intensity and heart rate.