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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Conn chapter.

Cardio is an amazing form of exercise that can help you burn some calories, break a sweat, and feel overall refreshed. There are plenty of ways to get your cardio in, but more recently the StairMaster has been an extremely popular form. The stairs are a great way to get some cardio in, but they are brutal when you’re first starting out. As someone who was the worst at stairs, and now can last an hour on the StairMaster, I am here to tell you some ways you can improve your stamina on the stairs.  

1. Wear flat shoes  

Wearing flat shoes was a game changer for me when I first started doing cardio on the stairs. Originally, I would wear chunky HOKAs that looked cute and could be used for running, but on the stairs, it’s way easier if you’re wearing a flat shoe. You won’t have to worry about tripping, and a thicker sneaker could cause you to miss the next step and trip if you aren’t careful. The HOKAs I originally wore would even add an extra inch to each step up, which made the exercise harder. I recommend wearing flat shoes, like Converse, when walking on the StairMaster. Especially if you are a beginner, the type of shoe you wear can affect how hard it is to first get started.  

2. Bring a towel  

Bringing a hand towel when doing cardio on the stairs also made the cardio more enjoyable for me. You can dab your face the whole time so you’re not sweating as much when you’ve completed the workout, but you can also use the towel to cover the time. If you have the time covered, you won’t be so distracted watching the second tick away. Instead, you are oblivious and just enjoying your time on the stairs. Before you know it, ten minutes will have passed, and you won’t even know it.  

3. Do a circuit (Start Slow) 

You might notice some people on the stairs stay at a consistently high speed for a long period. If you want to eventually be able to do this too, it is important to start slow. Starting with a circuit I found was a great way for me to build my endurance on the stairs. Here’s a circuit that I used to get better at staying at a consistent speed for a longer time:  

Level 6 – 5 Minutes  

Level 7 – 2 Minutes  

Level 8 – 2 Minutes  

Level 10 – 1 Minute 

This circuit looks intimidating, but it’s a great way to slowly get better at staying at a consistently fast speed for long periods. Everyone improves at different paces!  

4. Bring a Drink with a Straw  

This might sound funny, but bringing a drink with a straw actually made accomplishing my goals on the stairs way easier. With a twist-top bottle, you have to bend your head back to take a sip. This makes me lose my balance a lot of the time and makes me feel like I might fall. With a drink with a straw, you don’t have to move your head back to take a sip. This made walking on the stairs way easier, and I wasn’t worried about falling.  

The StairMaster is a great way to get your cardio in. By trying these five stair hacks, you too can master the stairs.  

Tabitha Baker

U Conn '25

Tabitha Baker is a senior Journalism major at the University of Connecticut from Norwalk, CT. When she’s not writing, she’s listening to music, going to the gym, or spending time with friends.