While I'm more of a fan of running, walking and swimming rather than doing lunges or standing in one place and repeatedly stepping up and down I decided to buy this when I started the thirty day shred exercise plan last month so that I could follow all of the exercise routines properly. I was quite suprised by the amount of different brands available and after a little browsing I bought this one which is from Davina Mcalls sports brand.

I mainly bought it because it was one of the cheapest, to be honest! I bought it from Argos and I paid around £20.00 for it which for a good quality & sturdy piece of exercise equiptment that will last pretty much forever is a bargain in my opinion. Obviously the cheaper (well, free) option would be to just use the stairs but I like to do things properly. Plus, this can be adjusted so that it's jus the right height and I find my house steps too low. This step has a much better grip as well so I don't feel like I'm going to slip or anything.

The step is only available in one colour - blue. I am usually quite fussy with the colour and aesthetics of most items that I buy but as this is such a basic product the lack of colour options and basic design didn't bother me at all. The design is unisex and it is quite cool looking while still being very basic. The step comes fully assembled so I was able to use it straight away. Unfortunately there is no way of collapsing it or making it smaller which considering how bulky it is is a bit of a disadvantage as it takes quite a bit of room up.

It is 67cm wide and the step part where my feet go is 27cm which is a good size and plenty big enough for my feet rather than my toes hanging over the side or anything! I usually use this in the living room while in front of the tv doing my fitness dvd but when I'm not using it I just stick it in the garage. Luckily it is really lightweight and easy to transport from room to room but despite this it's still very sturdy and it holds my weight well. I'm quite light at eight stone but the maximum user weight is 200kg which I think is around 31 stone so it is definitely very strong!! My boyfriend weighs around twelve stone and he very ocassionally uses it and it doesn't creak or anything!

I use this mainly in my living room which has wooden flooring but I always put it on our living room mat just to be on the safe side! It stays in place and doesn't budge even with very fast paced movement such as when I'm doing jumping jacks, jump steps etc. Since getting this I've been using it around three times a week. It is not my favourite way to exercise I must admit and after 10 minutes or so it can start getting a little boring however the leaflet that comes with it helped me learn some new 'moves' to do on this as there is a list of 8 different exercises.

It comes with diagrams but I just typed the name of the exercise into youtube and then just copied the video. The step's height is easy to adjust by removing the leg inserts and I find the highest height best for me. I'm quite active and reasonably fit so haven't noticed a dramatic difference but my leg muscles do feel a little tighter and I feel better in myself for upping my exercise even more. Overall this is a durable, affordable, good quality aerobic step. It is a little bulky but nevertheless I highly recommend it - four out of five stars.