Stairmaster?

[Minnja]

So at the gym I go to there is a machine which I think is clled a stairmaster. After doing a mile on the treadmill I decided to use this machine for 5 minutes. I got extremely tired from this and realized that just 5 minutes on this was a lot more tiring than a 2 mile run. I was wondering if the stairmaster is a better choice for conditioning for wrestlers than just running. I plan to do some hill running once the spring comes, but for now it seems to me that the stairmaster is alot like running up hills.

[UR_King]

My college wrestling team used the stairmaster and aerodyne as their primary conditioning machines. The stairmaster is definitely harder than any bike or treadmill.

I still have nightmares of my conditioning coach yelling "LET GO OF THE DAMN BAR!!"

[DrBdan]

The Stairmaster is awesome, assuming it's the kind that has the revolving steps, like an escalator, not the steps that simply move up and down. Personally I like to do intervals on it. For some reason I find it more interesting than doing intervals on the treadmill.

[Minnja]

How long should I stay on it to improve conditioning? Is 1 mile on a treadmill then 5 minutes on the stair case alright or should I just stick to one of them? What I noticed about doing the stairmaster is that it makes my legs feel like they're on fire while doing 2 miles on the tread makes me just tired with not really any pain.