The Do-It-Yourself Aerobic Stepper

Let me begin by sharing a story about how a need, the desire to save money, and my refusal to give-up turned into a great idea for an aerobic stepper. I was a baker for many years, and spent every minute of each shift on my feet. Bakers are in constant motion, whisking from one end of the bakery to the next. For me, working on my feet was another opportunity to burn calories.

After the bakery where I was employed closed, I was no longer on my feet for hours on end, and within two years, I went from about two hundred pounds to over two hundred and thirty. I was still strength training, so some of my weight gain was muscle.

Luckily for me I had a treadmill standing in the corner collecting dust, so I grabbed it and started a fat burning cardio routine. During one of my cardio sessions I heard a click, rattle, then bam! My treadmill had a weight capacity of two hundred pounds, and had collapsed under my two thirty plus.

Rats, how was I going to get my cardio in now? Believe it or not, I started running laps in our home. That lasted until my ankles began to ache, which wasn't long. Not to mention I couldn't reach my desired speed without running into something. Then my wife told me that we had an aerobic stepper in our shed.

I heard a choir of angels singing, and in no time, I was back to my cardio routine. After a few weeks, the stepper began to crack underneath my weight. I thought "no problem, I'll just purchase another."

Unfortunately, I was only able to find home steppers with a weight capacity of two hundred pounds, I was two twenty. What a letdown, I was really enjoying my aerobic stepper cardio routine, and I was getting results too.

There I was faced with my next mission, which was to come up with an idea to make my own aerobic stepper, and fast too. I decided to use an old reverse directory that I had from my days as a realtor. It was a thick book (about six inches) and turned out to be the perfect substitute for an aerobic stepper.

I have also made my own aerobic steppers with telephone books (the thick ones) which is what I suggest you use. The only thing you need to make a telephone book aerobic stepper is a roll of duct tape. The only difference between a store-bought aerobic stepper and a telephone phone book aerobic stepper is the width (yours will be smaller) and the price (yours will cost less).

You will be able to step as hard and fast as you want on your telephone book aerobic stepper without any discomfort, even in bare feet. It'll get the job done just as good as most store bought steppers. Here's how you can make your own aerobic stepper in three easy steps, followed by before and after pictures of one that I made. If you need more stepping height, just make two and stack them.

1. Cover the edges of your phone book with duct tape
2. Wrap the width of your phone book with duct tape
3. Wrap the length of your phone book with duct tape