StairMaster at Fitness Supply

StairMaster invented an entire category of cardio equipment when Lanny Potts, Jim Walker, and George Schupp launched the original StairMaster 5000 rotating-staircase machine in 1983, drawing on Potts' U.S. Air Force experience with stair-climbing conditioning drills. The StairMaster name became so synonymous with stepping cardio that it entered everyday vocabulary, and the brand's Gauntlet stepmill design — a true rotating staircase rather than a pedal simulator — remains the gold standard for stair-climbing workouts in commercial gyms, firehouses, and athletic training facilities.

StairMaster has since expanded well beyond the stepmill, repositioning much of its lineup around high-intensity interval training with the Throwdown by StairMaster HIITMill self-powered treadmill, HIIT Bike, and HIIT Rower, alongside the FreeClimber and 8/10 Series Gauntlet stepmills used in strength and conditioning programs nationwide. Because StairMaster equipment is engineered for the punishing demands of high-traffic commercial gyms, it also holds up exceptionally well in serious home training setups where durability and workout intensity matter as much as they do on a gym floor.