As with any exercise, it’s vital to ensure your technique and form is on point to help avoid injury and to get the most out of the movement.

Nail your posture

Hinge forwards at the hips just a touch, but don’t hunch over completely when using the StairMaster. Otherwise, your back will soon start to take the slack which can lead to pain.

Try to keep your gaze forward and engage with the core muscles – essentially, if someone was to come over and give your stomach a little shove, it should be rock solid.

Wake up your glutes before you go

With any lower body exercise, prepping muscles beforehand can be really helpful. With your glutes being as important as they are, making sure they’re raring to go means they’ll help power you through your training. Try some activation work using resistance bands before jumping on the machine.

Use the handles only when you really need them

The handles are there to support you, but you don’t want to become reliant on them. To work your core stability, let go of the handles so your midsection can do more work. Plus, gripping onto the handles for dear life takes some of the pressure from your lower body muscles. As the aim is to work and strengthen the lower body muscles, we want to avoid taking this pressure off.

Drive through heels, not toes

As you push down on each step, and as you drive up from each step, make sure the majority of pressure is placed on the heels. This way the hamstrings and glutes are targeted more effectively.

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