The Stairmaster Will Have Your Soul

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening! Whenever you read my blog. And thank you by the way! I’m always shocked each day that so many people are reading this and look forward to reading it everyday. I really expected it to be my mom and dad only. So thank you so much šŸ™‚ Especially my Instagram followers! (username SkinnyMinnieMoves). You guys are always SO sweet and supportive! I love updating it daily.

Morning update: I am Fit Bloggers featured fitness blogger of the day! Check me out here: FIT BLOGGER

Anyway, in case you missed Tuesday’s blog, I wore my heart rate monitor for almost 24 hours straight and burned 2,465 calories! I was happy to ditch it, but it was a fun experiment!

Yesterday was a decent day at work, nothing too crazy and I had a fabulous lunch

Baby romaine, broccoli, sprouts, and chicken! Topped with my homemade dijon dressing. Mmmmm
Baby romaine, broccoli, sprouts, and chicken! Topped with my homemade dijon dressing. Mmmmm

The day always zooms by after lunch and I love changing for the gym!

No excuses! It's cardio power hour day
No excuses! It’s cardio power hour day

I hit the stairmaster for… wait for it folks. 62 MINUTES! Yes you read correctly, an hour and 2 minutes straight. Do I recommend doing this all the time? Absolutely not. Did it feel amazing when I finished? YES! Although I looked like I jumped in a swimming pool. People were staring… But it could have been because I maxed the machine out. I SPRINTED up this machine at 162 steps per minute (not the whole time of course). That’s as fast as it’ll go. My “normal” speed is 111 steps/min which is fast anyway, but I’ve been doing the stairmaster for a year now and anything below this is too slow.

Holy Moly
Holy Moly
That's a lot of floors
That’s a lot of floors
I slow down and skip steps too, so my average was 107. usually an average for me is around 100, but since I sprinted it was upped some!
I slow down and skip steps too, so my average was 107. usually an average for me is around 100, but since I sprinted it was upped some!
Yes, I stair stepped for 8.62 miles.
Yes, I stair stepped for 8.62 miles.

That 2 minute cool down matters!

THIS is a cool down? I look dead!
THIS is a cool down? I look dead!

Here is a little outline for those that want to do the stairmaster routine I do (I’ll do 20 minutes and you can repeat as needed if you do it for longer)

  • 3 minute warmup
  • 2 minute faster speed, stepping wide
  • 2 minute side stepping to the right
  • 1 minute normal step
  • 2 minute side stepping to the left
  • 1 minute normal step
  • 3 minute normal step alternating with 20-30 second sprints (I like to pick a song and sprint on the chorus!)
  • 1 minute skip steps normal stance (slow machine down here)
  • 1 minute skip steps wide stance
  • 1 minute skip steps normal stance
  • 1 minute stepping normal without holding on
  • 1 minute faster speed alternating normal stance step and wide (I usually do a 4 count of normal, 4 count of wide, repeat)
  • 1 minute faster speed step holding over the top of the machine
  • 2 minute cool down!

That’s 20 minutes + the 2 minute cool down. Pretty great workout. And variety helps make the time go by faster!




After my power hour this is what I looked like…

Still barely alive over here
Still barely alive over here

I am posting these pictures to show you guys you don’t need to look pretty in the gym! I am not there to impress, I am there to do a job! Real beasts sweat it out!

And as if I wasn’t crazy enough, I decided to end with squats on the Smith Machine! 4 sets of 12, with 60 lbs added to the bar, then Plie squats, 4 sets of 12 with 80 added lbs.

Squats! I managed to make it down the gym staircase to the Smith machine...
Squats! I managed to make it down the gym staircase to the Smith machine…

Of course I stretched too! I NEEDED IT!

I think a part of my soul was left on the stairmaster today. I definitely left my mark. I hope I get it back soon!

I felt so accomplished when I left. But also super gross

Real women sweat!
Real women sweat!

I walked out without my coat on. Couldn’t bear to put it on! I needed a cold breeze to hit me

When I came home I made a yummy dinner, JUMBO shrimp, (J for Jumbo!), zucchini, peppers, and peach salsa on the side.

I love zucchini! These were extremely sweet
I love zucchini! These were extremely sweet

I also took some beautiful Phoebe pics while I worked on a new recipe! Valentines Day is tomorrow! So I wanted to bring you something SWEET and festive!

Minnie's Muffin Truffles. Happy Valentines Day!
Minnie’s Muffin Truffles. Happy Valentines Day!

These little beauties are Minnie’s Muffin Truffles! I am actually super proud of them. Just one is only 27 calories and a half gram of fat! WOW!

Minnie's Muffin Truffles! Pretty!
Minnie’s Muffin Truffles! Pretty!

When you click the recipe, the step by step instructions are so easy, but the appearance of them along the way might make you think twice. DON’T! They are so tasty! And of course figure friendly! I’m not going to do all that work on the stairmaster and then blow it am I? Of course not! PLUS they are made using a J- food (I doubled up!) J for Jell-O šŸ˜‰

Here are the pics of my girl!

She was mid yawn
She was mid yawn
She has grown so much! Makes me sad she's not a baby anymore
She has grown so much! Makes me sad she’s not a baby anymore- sorry she decided to take a bath in her water dish. It’s her new thing and Mommy is NOT happy about it!
She's ready for her closeup
She’s ready for her closeup

Phoebe really is the happiest little dog. Too bad she has an attitude on her! šŸ˜‰

Hope you have a wonderful Wednesday! And remember to SWEAT IT OUT!

XOXO With a Cherry On Top,

-Minnie

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15 Comments

  1. Allison

    Holy crap girl! I can barely go 10 minutes on that thing. I’m seriously impressed.

    1. Katie

      Ha thanks, it’s just practice!

  2. Chelsea @ LittleOneRuns

    nice!!! i can’t do more than 5 minutes on that thing lol for some reason my shins will start to hurt then i get a sharp pain in them when i do it. those mini muffin truffles look great!!

    1. Katie

      It takes time to get used to it. The first time I did it I could barely make it 10 minutes

  3. Debbie

    You are an inspiration! I just increased my StairMaster routine to 30 mins twice a day. I have my own StairMaster so I can do this without going to a gym. You have inspired me to go farther. I listen to fast dance tunes and keep my pace fast. I hope I won’t die! Ha ha. It feels good to be fit. I’m 59.

    Debbie

    1. Ann C

      Thanks for the inspiration! I am 48 and coming back after ACL reconstruction surgery. I injured my knee doing martial arts classes and must now transition to exercise that keeps the knee in forward alignment. The StairMaster is my go-to for a real workout when I must pay close close attention to form.

  4. mike

    Nice i do 9o minutes but im wiped sum days from it

  5. Andrea Adan

    Hi Katie, do you hold onto the rail on the Stairmaster? I’ve read that it’s no a true workout if you’re holding onto the rail the entire time, so I just go as fast as I can without holding onto the rail. What are your thoughts?

    1. Katie

      Yes, I hold on most of the time, but it’s not a death grip. Walking on the treadmill if you hold on it really doesn’t keep your heart rate up, so I never hold on with that piece of equipment. However, if you are on the stair master and you take your heart rate holding on for balance, it’s way up there!

      I do intervals where I won’t hold on for 5 minutes at all at a slower pace, then I hold for a break and some balance. As long as you’re not pulling yourself up the machine you’re fine. šŸ™‚

  6. Larry

    I’m 78. I do an hour a day on the StairMaster. I hold on because of balance concerns. I set the speed at Level 3. I burn about 350 calories in an hour at this speed. I’ve been doing this routine for about a year. It goes without saying that I feel great. My resting pulse rate is 40.

  7. Rod

    Very impressive indeed as I know just how hard it can be and always refer to the StairMaster as the real McCoy. I’m just coming up to 70 years of age and use the older StairMaster PT 4000 set at lever 4 or 5 and am happy to survive after just 15 minutes but still feel as though I’ve has a good cardio workout. I follow this with Goblet squats which I also find very good for my core.

  8. Cameron Hamill

    Excellent results! You must be super fit. I’m a 39 year old male. I’ve been doing the stair stepper for about 2 months. I hope after 12 months or so I will be as fit as you are (for my age group).

  9. Pete

    I am inspired. Am a 40 yr old male (6’3, 225 lbs). Can do 360 floors in 59 min, 215 in 30 min, and 160 in 20.

    But 414 in 62?

    Wow. How can I catch you?

    Inspired. Keep up the great work!

  10. Anne

    Hi have u noticed a difference in your thighs whilst doing this?

  11. Jp

    Wow that is amazing. What is your heart rate though. Is it maxed out

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