Fitness experts explain whether the 'StairMaster hacks' that are going viral on TikTok will actually give you abs

TikTokers say that performing certain routines on a stepping machine can help you develop abs and glutes at a rapid speed.

• On TikTok, "StairMaster hacks" are going viral due to rumors that they can help you develop abs.
• Creators have shared their favorite stair-stepper tips, from going hands-free to jumping on them.
• Experts said these exercises have benefits, but aren't effective for gaining muscle or revealing abs.

Of all the fads and tips circulating online about how to stay fit, using a stair-climbing exercise machine is one of the tactics currently receiving the most attention from fitness influencers on TikTok. 

Stair-steppers are a type of gym equipment that consist of sets of moving steps that rotate like a treadmill. They are often referred to as "StairMasters" — the name of a brand which helped popularize the product.

The hashtag #StairMaster has 149 million views, and individual videos using stair-steppers frequently go viral as TikTokers claim that performing certain routines can help you develop abs and glute muscles at a rapid speed. Hundreds more people have made videos saying they've started using the machine because they heard about its purported effects from TikTok. 

While using a stair-stepper is good cardio exercise, it isn't always effective for building muscle. For sculpted, visible abs — which many TikTok videos promise to help achieve — fitness experts say focusing on diet is more important.

A challenge where you walk on a stair-stepper for 90 minutes straight is more likely to cause injuries than results

One of the most popular hacks on TikTok is a challenge where creators claim they walked on a stair-stepper for 90 minutes straight.  

A TikTok about the challenge posted on February 2 by @allison.flood has 1.4 million views. The creator wrote in the video that she "felt like death" after one hour on the stair-stepper, but carried on for the full 90 minutes. 

Of the 3,500 comments on the video, many were concerned about how safe the challenge was. One top comment with 10,000 likes said, "Guys I don't know if she's alive," and another with 20,000 likes said, "Why would you willingly put yourself through this?" 

Another similar video with 1.1 million views posted by @chasembyrd received several comments asking how anyone could possibly have the endurance to keep going throughout the challenge. "How do y'all do more than 5 minutes I just can't imagine," a comment with 13,000 likes asked. 

Some viral TikToks have suggested alternate stair-stepper challenges that don't involve such a long workout. One video with 2.6 million views posted by @sharonxxx set a challenge that involved walking on a stair-stepper at level seven for 20 minutes every day for 10 days. The TikToker said she saw "so many" changes in her body after completing the challenge. 

Results from stair-stepper workouts are likely a combination of some resistance work through the stepping motion, combined with an intense calorie burn, according to Noam Tamir, founder and CEO of TS Fitness in New York City.

"If people are losing body fat all over, they'll be seeing their abs, and high-intensity cardio does burn some calories," he told Insider. 

To get defined abs, you need to have an overall low body fat percentage, since you can't spot-reduce fat by exercising specific body parts. Losing fat requires a calorie deficit, or burning more calories than you eat. 

But 90 minutes on a stair-stepper could stress your joints with few benefits, according to strength coach Michael Boyle. 

"If you're really trying to give yourself a knee problem, that's a good way to do it," he told Insider. 

While exercise burns calories, it's rarely enough for major weight loss results without changing your diet, evidence suggests. 

"It's incredibly ineffective. You don't get abs in the gym," Boyle said. 

Going no-hands on a stair-stepper is 'no more effective' than walking, despite the viral TikTok hack

While most stair-steppers, like treadmills, have handles to hold onto, one TikToker went viral when she shared that she was featured on the Today Show website saying not holding on to the handles helped her develop abs.  

In a video posted on February 15, @shutupcamilla said using the stair-stepper with "no hands" for 25 minutes at level seven can "give you abs" because it "requires you to use all your core muscles" to stabilize yourself, strengthening this part of your body. 

In another Tiktok, she said she "worked out and ate clean" for years, but this trick made the "most difference" to her physique. 

While using a stair-stepper hands-free is great exercise, the idea that it will force your core to work harder, and thereby reveal abs, just isn't evidence-based, according to Boyle. 

"I would put that in the 'total bullshit' category. I have no idea what magical effect it's supposed to have. It's no more effective for abs than walking or running," he said.

TikTokers' trick to deal with boredom on stair-steppers may avoid injury, but isn't the best way to build muscle

Many comments on "StairMaster" TikToks ask the influencers how they don't get bored walking on a stair-stepper for such long periods when the exercise seems so repetitive. 

In response, TikTokers have shared their favorite exercises that involve more than just walking, such as lunging and kicking back, walking sideways, and even jumping between steps with both feet, to add more variety to a workout.

Changing up movements can help avoid injury from repetitive motion, and challenge specific muscles like hamstrings, glutes, and calves, according to Tamir.

But elaborate routines carry a risk of falling or misstepping and getting hurt, and too much stair-stepping can actually burn muscle instead of building it, he said. 

"You have to weigh the risk and reward," he said. "It doesn't take a lot of skill to use and you can get a lot of reps in, but it's just one tool."

If your goal is building muscle in the glutes or anywhere else, resistance training using weights, bands, or your own body, may be better options.  

"The tool for the job is probably a barbell or a dumbbell and the ground," Boyle said.