amalgam-an alloy of mercury with another metal (usually silver) used by dentists to fill cavities in teeth; except for iron and platinum all metals dissolve in mercury and chemists refer to the resulting mercury mixtures as amalgams.
Stepper Calories Burned. Using a mini stepper is comparable to walking, given that with the machine, you're essentially walking on the spot. The chief difference is that you can adjust the stepper to increase its resistance, which helps you burn calories at a faster rate than walking. A 175-pound person who uses a stepper for 90 minutes will burn 834 calories, which makes this type of workout slightly more beneficial than walking. References (4)
Climbing stairs on a stair treadmill for an hour burns about 660 calories for a 160-pound person, according to Mayo Clinic. For comparison, that's 350 more calories than you would burn walking in one hour, but you would burn about 200 more if you were running or jumping rope instead. Running upstairs instead of walking multiplies the caloric burn and the cardiovascular benefit, according to Dr. Bryant.