When to replace step
- Thread starter taterkc
- Start date
maddiesmum
Cathlete
For me it was the enormous bubbles forming on the top rubber stuff that I kept catching my feet on during step routines. I tried plying them back down with duck tape but after a while I just wore through that and it was back to bubbles. Enough! If your step is asymptomatic, carry on!
As far as spring is concerned, I didn't really notice the difference in this respect between my old step topper and the new one ... Choice of shoes made more impact on this aspect.
Clare
As far as spring is concerned, I didn't really notice the difference in this respect between my old step topper and the new one ... Choice of shoes made more impact on this aspect.
Clare
TurquoiseEyes
Cathlete
I've done aerobics for about 20 years. I've had a TransFirmer for about 12 of those years, and it still seems perfectly okay to me- and I say that as a bigger woman who is testing it to the max, LOL. The only thing I have ever had to do with that one is crazy glue the rubber "feet" around the base of the 6-inch portion back on, because they started to fall off over time every time I lifted up the step. I knew it'd be dangerous if the rubber slipped out of place or fell off while I was actually using it.
It would depend on how much you've used your step over the years, the floor it's been used on, the weight load put on it, if there's been a lot of jumping done on the step, and of course how good it was to begin with in quality. Generally, the higher a weight load it was designed to handle, the better (even if the person using it is very trim, it just indicates that it was made more sturdily). If it was a name brand like what Cathe sells (The Step brand, I think), so much the better. It's time to replace a step if it starts bowing in the center, if it's rectangular and feels more unstable on one side than the other, if it loses it's rubber feet completely, starts flipping over on you (which is more of a problem with square, small steps as opposed to the rectangular ones), is suddenly shifting around a lot more on the floor than it did before when you use it (meaning it's getting slippery underneath), or if the area on top that's designed to give you a non-slip surface is wearing or peeling off. Otherwise, I would say you're probably just fine in keeping what you've got. Good steps, especially the ones designed for commercial use, were made to withstand lots and lots of daily activity on them and provide a maximum amount of safety for the user for years worth of use. Home usage from just one person would generally be even easier on the life of the product, so it stands to reason one could use the same step at home for many years without having to replace it at all.
One note about recent quality control problems: I've read quite a few reviews of various steps made in very recent years online which state that the quality or some important aspect of the step is NOT the same as the exact same product they bought say, 20 years ago. This is even for some of the major brand-name ones that cost a lot of money. Problems with a step saying it's good for someone up to 275 lbs., yet a 125 lb. woman finds that it bows under her weight and feels as if it will snap if she isn't careful. Or that the non-slip covering wasn't adhered properly and comes up in the corners...stuff like that. I do generally notice a lot of manufacturing and production standards have gone down, especially anything with plastic or rubber parts, as most consumers have noticed. I haven't bought a step in recent years and so this is not firsthand knowledge or absolute proof I'm correct, but it's come up enough in my reading that I thought I'd mention it. So unless your step absolutely must be replaced, you might want to hold onto it in case what's being made today isn't quite up to the same standard as years ago. Kind of like good step aerobics sneakers!
Beth-B-Fit
Cathlete
I was just looking at my original step the other day...I've had it since I was single-back in 1988 when I got it. I got it during my Firm days and video fitness days and heard about this dynamo named Cathe that would make it fun to work out at home! I paid $99 for it and believe it's the best money ever spent! From there it was Step Heat, Step Max, and then MIS. MIS was the beginning of my love of weight training. Thanks for bringing back the memories!
Beth
Beth
TurquoiseEyes
Cathlete
Yep, working out at home with The FIRM led me to Cathe, too! LOL, I think there should be a club formed of the many of us which came to Cathe via that route! I will always have a warm and fuzzy feeling for my FIRM stuff, but for serious weight-lifting plus cardio that takes my breath away (literally), I must turn to Cathe.
Glad I brought back some good memories for you! You know what I'd love to see? Cathe doing Step Max all over again, just refreshing it cosmetically with those awesome outfits and sets that she has today. That is just a great classic workout, so motivating to me. I simply want to resurrect step aerobics for the masses. I don't get why more people aren't into it anymore, as I've always found step to be an incredible cardio workout...
Lucia A
Cathlete
Another Firmie here,
I got really lucky and a fitness center that was getting rid of their steps had them on sale for $5.00 each, so I bought 3 and gave away one.
I still have and use the other two. They both have air bubbles,
so I've been considering taking them to a shoe store to get them professionally reglued.
Only thing is I need to part with them while they're getting reglued. And worried that what if it doesn't come out as good?
I got really lucky and a fitness center that was getting rid of their steps had them on sale for $5.00 each, so I bought 3 and gave away one.
I still have and use the other two. They both have air bubbles,
so I've been considering taking them to a shoe store to get them professionally reglued.
Only thing is I need to part with them while they're getting reglued. And worried that what if it doesn't come out as good?