Sunny Health & Fitness Twist Stepper with Resistance Bands - Full Body Workout Machine for Home Gym, Cardio & Toning | Perfect for Small Spaces & Apartment Fitness

I have had this several days. I thought this review might help someone in a similar situation as myself. I am in my 50’s probably 15 pounds overweight. Prior to COVID I did a couple of spin classes (people my age) twice a week after work and hit the elliptical at lunch 3 times a week or so. My only other exercise was climbing the steps to the 7th floor in the building where I work every morning. That’s would be about 180 steps or so. I’d be huffing by the time I got up there, heart beating...great way to start the day. I was looking for a piece of equipment to simulate this lost activity since I am working from home. I did get a cheapie elliptical to use at lunch. I had tried going up and down my own stairs but its not the same as 7 continuous flights up. I can say that this machine does NOT provide the same workout as climbing stairs in this manner. With the stepper set on its max height/tension I was able to do 300 steps without feeling as out of breath as I did going up the 7 flights. I realized why. Climbing real stairs you must lift yourself up step by step. With this piece of equipment you essentially are pushing you weight down on the steps. Believe me it’s easier! I can find myself shifting my weight to the ‘down’ side. I guess one should try not to do that! I have come to the conclusion there is no substitute for actual stairs.But that does not mean this is bad equipment? I have used it a few times. Not enough to decide if I keeping this (twist) model, returning for a regular (non twist) model or just returning all together.Equipment:The unit appears very well made and sturdy. It is not wobbly. It has very big foot pedals. While my feet do not feel like they may slip off a bit of a higher berm might have been nice. Unless the pistons die out, I would expect it to last some time. It says you can adjust the height. You can by twisting a knob and it does make a difference in two ways. Doing so does increase the step height. It also increasing the effort it takes to step. I am not sure if that is good or bad. I like the bigger step...recall I was trying to simulate a stair case. I can see where the tension on that size step could be too great for certain people though.Workout:Its recommended 15 minutes three times a week. I can see you getting a decent workout in 15 minutes. Just doing 300 steps in 3 minutes (?) I could feel it in my legs. It’s a different feeling that climbing regular steps but nevertheless it’s doing something! The thing is I was looking to replace a 3 minute activity I did each morning with something that got me a similar cardio workout. I do not think this is it. I am not saying its bad...just not what I was looking for.TWIST or NOT!What does twisting mean? I read reviews and spoke with someone at Sunny Health before my purchase. By the way, I got a fairly knowledgeable human on the phone within a minute! Regular stairs your feet point 90 degrees in front of you and up you go. This unit is not like that. Your leg sort of fan out as you go up and down. Look at the pic and notice distance between the rear steps and the front. It sort of feels like you got Chubby Checker on in the background and you are ‘twistin’ as you step. You do seem to get used to fast. My only concern is some reviews stated it started to hurt their knees. I have not used it enough to see if that happens. I do suspect you get a better work out ‘twisting’.Arm Bands.I have not tried them. Until I know I am keeping the unit I did not want to open them. I cannot see how the arm bands could be a detriment. In fact I suspect having them gives a you a little something to hold onto as you step. I suspect I’ll get used to stepping free handed, but for now the unit is alongside my elliptical and I hold the vertical bar with one hand as I step. If no harm come to my knees over the next couple of weeks, I’ll probably keep this unit and try the bands.Computer:Again, it I still boxed. It sits down by your feet. I doubly my eyes could see it! My experience with the things in this price range is not to expect much. However, if I keep the unit I will follow-up.Bottom line:It really wasn’t what I was looking for..but that may not exist. I don’t have spin class anymore. Perhaps this little guy can fill the void. I’ll do 300 steps each morning. And perhaps try two 15 minute sessions a week after work. I will try to follow-up in a month or so. It’s a sturdy piece of equipment that should be easy enough for anyone to use and has a small footprint. Just stream your ‘Lets Twist again’ and you are ready to go!This is a great little machine, fits under my chair when not in use, really works my legs and gives me a cardio 132 bpm work out for 15 mins at a time.The only down side I guess would be that it can only be used for 15 mins a session as per manufacture instructions. Cylinders start to get hot at 15mins. After 15 mins I am ready to stop anyway.I like it, it gives a nice workout. I wish the range of motion was a bit better. And the odometer never worked.It small that you can tuck it away in your closet or slide it beside the couch. However when you are in the mood to workout it hits a powerful punch!! You will definitely feel the burn within the first 5 minutes.I set this up in front of a bookshelf to create a standing desk with my laptop and a secondary monitor. I can watch YouTube, news, movies, while stepping. I keep upping my step goal on my watch and am consistently doing 50 to 60 minute workouts, six days a week. BTW, I’m 68 years old and live in Florida! Finding the answer to summertime workout indoors is priceless! I love this thing!Compact, easy to use. Serves its purpose wellBought this to try and get some working out done in a small space. Does the job it is intended to do! Small, sturdy and easy to use. It's only been a week but can feel it already and the arm bands are a solid addition.Update Jan 1 2021: OK, so I ran into a fun situation where the Smart Guard warranty I bought for this product is not active until after 1-year as their records show a manufacturer's warranty of 1-year, but I live in Canada so Sunny Health (manufacturer) told me I am outside of their "domestic market" thus am not covered by the warranty. So neither Smart Guard nor Sunny Health would help me. BUT!!! Amazon to the rescue; I am sending the broken item back and Amazon will refund my money. Really appreciate that great service from Amazon's side, but disappointed in Sunny Health and Smart Guard. Once again, I've had two of this same product break in the same way (cable snaps out of the holder) within 6 months of purchasing; I do NOT recommend this product at all due to that (but otherwise I greatly enjoyed using it and found the motion comfortable and the resistance strong enough to build up a sweat). I am not purchasing a different style of stepper from a different company.Update Dec 23 2020: I had purchased and received a second unit (see my earlier review comments), and it just broke on me today in the same way as the first one (pics attached, cable connecting the two pedals broke out of the metal connector)). I now would NOT recommend buying this product: they do not last near a year if you use it regularly. I have submitted a claim through the 1-year warranty and will update my review upon hearing from Sunny Health & Fitness to advise of the customer service quality.Update May 11 2020: It broke :( Was on it today, normal use, heard a strange snapping noise, and BOOM! Broken. Pictures to show. So... it lasted about 6 months with using it every day for about 5000 steps average. Keep that in mind if you're thinking to buy. Now I have to get a replacement and walk outside until or arrives *shudders* lol. You can also see in the one photo another issue with this, it creates a black dust from the screws as you use it. Oh well, I'll go for better quality for my replacement.Original Review: I live in a shoe-box bachelor apt, so ellipticals and treadmills are out of the question. I tried going to the gym and running outside, but weather and time were always issues. Also, I love video games and am a bit of a homebody.For anyone like me, I HIGHLY recommend this stepper (or honestly another stepper)! I should have bought it three years ago when I first moved here. This stepper is small, sturdy, easy to balance on (I don't use the bands), has good resistance (it lightens up as you use it, but you can build up a good sweat), and has helped me get active again. I use it while I play video games, which passes an hour easily. It's very light so it's easy to move, and it's small so I can stash it easily if I need it out of the way. I really feel the workout in my thighs, and I was a bit worried it would be hard on the knees but no issues (so far) :)This is a great piece of equipment for someone with little space. Highly recommend!Sturdy well made item the only disappointment is that you can only use for a maximum of 15 mins as the hydraulics can get overheated! Would like to use for longer than 15 mins!So pleased with this stepper. It was a little more expensive than some others available online but I'm really happy I did. So far I have been using it almost daily for the past 2 weeks. It feels sturdy and safe even when I increase pace. There is a nozzle to increase resistance. I love that it is compact and can be moved easy from room to room. I would highly recommend this product.I did a search for online reviews and there were sadly very few, but this one did get recommended several times so I was happy to pay a bit more for it, despite not seeing any direct comparison to the more common ones available in the UK.It's a very nice little stepper, solidly built and fairly quiet, justifying some of the extra price in my opinion. (I paid £68.46)My only word of caution would be with the twist action - you need to learn to twist your body inline with 'front' step so that your knee and ankle stay straight otherwise you put a lot of strain on them and in my layman's opinion I suspect you'd injure them over time - but once I got the technique right my knees and ankles felt fine.I originally purchased a different brand of stepper and returned it within one week because the hydraulics on it gave out. Given that the stepper at the gym is my all time favourite piece of cardio equipment, I was committed to trying to find another so I started to research yet again. I have a couple of other pieces from the Sunny brand and normally I look at the number of reviews before seriously considering the item but for this item in particular I was very curious what the difference was between it and the lower priced one of the same brand. What I realized quickly, and had not of had I not had the first one, is in the size of the stepper itself. This unit is bigger - not in an obtrusive, too big way, but in that it provides a lot more stability. The foot pedals/plates are also substantially bigger and the weight limit is higher. For many this may not seem like a big deal, but it does make a difference in how the hydraulics work. Basically even if you are well under the weight limit, you will find that it will offer more resistance. I did not buy the machine for the computer (useless on any of these machines) or the resistance bands however I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that the resistance bands are actually short enough to use so I have been using them on occasion. The machine was beyond easy to "assemble" and it is easy to tell when I am adjusting the resistance simply by observing the cable. I have used this stepper pretty much daily for anywhere from 30-60 minutes at a time and it performs well. If it is within your budget, I would strongly recommend this particular model over others. Even if it only lasts me a few months, for $100, I will be satisfied as it is a great, small, quiet, piece of home equipment that provides a good workout. One last thing....the range of height on the pedals is impressive and does the trick. It's not the same as the fancy units at the gym, but those also come with a pricetag of upwards of $2-3K. I am so far very impressed with this brand considering the price point and keeping expectations relative to the price.