“Question

There are advantages and disadvantages to running outdoors and on treadmills — it really depends on your preferences and what suits your lifestyle, but the overall health benefits of running, whether indoors or out, are exactly the same!”

[Read on]

Sure, health benefits are present in both scenarios, but running on a track is generally a better workout, or a more efficient one. So yes, you would have to work harder on a treadmill and even then, you may not see the same benefits as running without the aid of a moving belt under your feet.

I did a personal experiment with this years ago… I found after training on a treadmill, I could run easily for 20mins… on a treadmill, but my performance only marginally improved running on a track (after a few minutes I was struggling).
But in saying that I would like to add that there are many many factors effecting running performance, factors like running style, gradient training, the type of treadmill used, the running track used, etc are all influences on performance measure.

So if you want a simple answer, here it is…

If you can run (or walk) outside, do so, and only use a treadmill if you have no other option. Also, try to vary the exercises you do eg do not spend an hour on a treadmill every night, instead do a spin class one night, walk the next, weights, aerobics, swim, etc. Ahhh, the world is your oyster :)

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 18th, 2007 at 12:01 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.