The StairMaster is one of the best tools a mountain athlete has for building vertical fitness indoors. But it speaks its own language - floors, steps, levels - while a mountain objective is measured in metres and feet of climbing. If your summit day demands 1,200 m (3,900 ft) of ascent, you need to know what that looks like in StairMaster terms. This calculator does the conversion: enter the floors or steps you climbed and how long it took, and it returns your total vertical gain in both metres and feet, plus your rate of climb.
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How the calculation works
The maths is simple. Every step you climb on a StairMaster lifts your body by a fixed height, so your total vertical gain is just the number of steps multiplied by the step height. The StairMaster simulates a step rise of roughly 8 inches, or about 20 centimetres - the same as a typical building stair.
If your machine reports floors rather than steps, there is one extra conversion: a StairMaster floor is conventionally counted as 16 steps. So one floor is about 16 steps times 8 inches, which comes to roughly 3.25 metres or 10.7 feet of climbing. These figures are close estimates - the exact step height and floor definition vary between machine models, which is why this calculator lets you adjust the step height. Dividing your total vertical gain by your session time gives your rate of climb, a useful number to compare against the demand of a real summit day.
Using it for mountain training
Vertical gain is the currency of mountaineering, so it is the figure to train against. Find the climbing your objective demands - a peak page in the Train for a Peak hub lists the summit-day vertical - and use this calculator to see how your StairMaster sessions stack up against it over a week or a build.
The StairMaster is excellent for accumulating steady vertical, but it is one tool among several, and it has a real limitation: like every indoor climbing machine, it never trains the descent. For how it compares with the incline treadmill, read StairMaster vs incline treadmill for mountaineering, and if you train on a treadmill too, the treadmill incline calculator does the same job for that machine. For where machine work fits in a complete plan, see the best exercises for mountaineering guide.
StairMaster floors to miles calculator
A common conversion question: how many floors equal a mile of vertical gain? On the standard 8 inch (20 cm) step rise with 16 steps per floor, one StairMaster floor is roughly 10.7 ft (3.25 m). A mile is 5,280 feet, so a mile of vertical gain is about 495 floors, or 7,920 steps. The calculator above will do the conversion instantly for any input, and lets you override the default step height if your machine specifies one. 100 floors is roughly 0.2 miles, or about 1,070 ft (326 m) of climbing.
How many steps per floor on a StairMaster?
Most StairMaster machines use the industry convention of 16 steps per floor, with each step simulating about 8 inches (20 cm) of rise. That means one floor is roughly 10.7 ft (3.25 m) of vertical, and 100 floors is about 1,600 steps and 1,070 ft (326 m) of climbing. Individual machine models vary by half an inch or so, so if you train on a specific machine and want exact numbers, the calculator above lets you override the step height and recalculate. The default assumes the standard.
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Common questions
How many steps are in a flight of stairs on a StairMaster?
A StairMaster counts one floor as 16 steps, which is the machine's own convention and close to a typical building flight. A real flight of stairs in a house or office is usually 12 to 16 steps, so the machine's floor and a building's flight are roughly interchangeable. At the standard 8 inch (20 cm) step rise, 16 steps is about 10.7 ft (3.25 m) of vertical gain per floor. If your machine specifies a different step height, enter it in the calculator above and the conversion adjusts.
How many steps is 110 floors on a StairMaster?
At the StairMaster standard of 16 steps per floor, 110 floors is 1,760 steps. At the standard 8 inch (20 cm) step rise that is roughly 1,173 ft (357 m) of vertical gain. The 110-floor figure comes up often because it is the height of the former World Trade Center towers, and it is the standard distance for memorial stair climbs. As a training session it is a serious effort but well short of a mountain day: a 1,200m (3,900 ft) alpine summit day is roughly three times that vertical.
How many steps are in a floor on a StairMaster?
Sixteen. The StairMaster treats 16 steps as one floor, and that is the figure its floor counter uses. At the standard 8 inch (20 cm) step rise, one floor is about 10.7 ft (3.25 m) of vertical gain. Multiply floors by 16 for total steps, or use the calculator above, which also converts the result into metres and feet of climbing so you can compare a session against the vertical your objective actually demands.
How do you convert StairMaster floors to elevation gain?
Vertical gain is the number of steps you climbed multiplied by the height of each step. A StairMaster floor is conventionally counted as 16 steps, and the machine simulates a step rise of about 8 inches, or 20 centimetres. So one floor is roughly 16 steps times 8 inches, which is about 3.25 metres or 10.7 feet of climbing. This calculator does the conversion for you and lets you adjust the step height, because it varies a little between machine models.
How many floors is 1000 steps on the StairMaster? (also: 100 floors on StairMaster in steps)
Using the standard convention of 16 steps per floor, 1,000 steps is roughly 62-63 floors on a StairMaster. Conversely, 100 floors on a StairMaster in steps works out to about 1,600 steps (with a 20 cm / 8 inch step rise per step, that is about 326 metres / 1,070 ft of vertical). Enter your own numbers into the calculator above for exact conversions if your machine specifies a different step height.
How many steps is 100 floors on a StairMaster?
On the standard convention of 16 steps per floor, 100 floors is 1,600 steps. With the simulated 8 inch (20 cm) step rise that most StairMaster machines use, that works out to roughly 325 metres (1,070 ft) of vertical gain - about a third of the vertical on a long alpine training day. The exact figure depends on your machine's step height, which is why this calculator lets you adjust it.
How many feet is one floor on a StairMaster?
One StairMaster floor is conventionally 16 steps. With the standard simulated step rise of about 8 inches, that works out to roughly 10.7 feet, or about 3.25 metres, of vertical gain per floor. The exact figure depends on the machine model, so treat it as a close estimate rather than an exact constant. This calculator lets you adjust the step height if you know your machine's specification.
What is the standard StairMaster step height?
Most StairMaster machines simulate a step rise of about 8 inches (20 cm) per step. That figure is the industry convention rather than a strict standard - individual models can vary by half an inch or so. If you train on a specific machine and want exact numbers, this calculator lets you override the default step height and recalculate vertical gain on the spot.
How do you convert StairMaster floors to miles?
To convert StairMaster floors to miles of vertical gain, multiply your floors by the height of one floor, then divide by 5,280 feet. On the standard 8 inch (20 cm) step rise with 16 steps per floor, one floor is about 10.7 ft (3.25 m), so floors to miles works out to roughly floors ÷ 495. One hundred floors is therefore about 0.2 miles (1,070 ft / 326 m) of vertical. Note this is vertical distance, not the horizontal distance you would cover walking a mile on flat ground - a StairMaster mile is all climbing, which is why it is so much harder.
How many floors is a mile on a StairMaster? (also: how many floors in a mile?)
A mile is 5,280 feet of vertical gain. With the standard 8 inch (20 cm) step rise and 16 steps per floor (about 10.7 ft per floor), one mile of vertical works out to roughly 495 floors, or about 7,920 steps. So "how many floors in a mile on a StairMaster" answers to about 495 floors. That is a hard session for any mountain athlete - useful as a once-a-week ceiling test, not a daily target. The calculator above will show the equivalent for a different step height if your machine specifies one.
How many floors is 2,000 steps on a StairMaster?
On the standard 16-steps-per-floor convention, 2,000 steps is 125 floors. With the 8 inch (20 cm) step rise that most StairMaster machines simulate, that equals roughly 1,333 feet (407 metres) of vertical gain - a strong single-session climb that fits inside a typical hour at a steady mountain-training pace.
Does the StairMaster build mountaineering fitness?
Yes. Mountaineering is paid for in vertical gain, and the StairMaster delivers a high, steady rate of climbing along with a stepping pattern close to the real movement. It is a strong tool for accumulating vertical when you cannot get to real terrain. Its one large limitation is that it only trains the uphill - it does not train the eccentric load of the descent, which has to be trained separately.
Is the StairMaster or the treadmill better for mountain training?
Neither wins outright. The StairMaster gives a high, constant rate of vertical gain; the incline treadmill offers an exact, adjustable grade and carries a weighted pack more comfortably. Most mountain athletes are best served using both. The full comparison is in our StairMaster vs incline treadmill guide.