Running: Treadmill vs. Outside at He's Fit

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Running: Treadmill vs. Outside

Posted June 20, 2008 at 01:30 PM by Donnell Peavy

Section: His Fitness, Cardio Training, His Health, Physical Health, Lifestyle Health

I recently talked to a friend of mine who took up running as his primary means of getting in shape. He would run daily on the treadmill and eventually worked his way up to running a little over two miles non-stop. One eventful day, he was feeling his Wheaties and decided to run outside because the weather was nice. He told me that he was panting, drenched in sweat and did not finish the entire two miles. “But I have been running two miles easily,” he told me. He was perplexed as to why he suddenly seemed to have lost his stamina. His experience is not unique by any means; I hear this rather frequently, actually.

The main issue is that a treadmill is a flat surface – there are no bumps and no hills. Also, treadmills are used indoors. Consequently, there is no wind resistance. Yes, wind resistance is an important factor and must be accounted for. If you don’t believe me, try running into the wind on a blustery day. Or better yet, buy a parachute and run with it open and strapped to you. It’s normal for people to keep a pace which is .3 - .5 miles faster on a treadmill than while running outdoors. Can this difference be accounted for when running on a treadmill? Sure it can. For starters, you can run at a faster pace.

Next, add an incline. Quite obviously, you can’t set wind resistance on a treadmill, but you can add resistance by running uphill. Keep it even more realistic by running a course with hills as opposed to a manual flat course. This will simulate running up hills and on uneven surfaces. Keep in mind that you are indoors- with no wind, there is no breeze to dissipate the sweat via evaporation. You will remain hot longer and will dehydrate faster. Keep water with you at all times. Running on a treadmill definitely isn’t the same as running outdoors. There is no scenery, there are no hills and there is no wind, but you can enjoy yourself all the same. Lace up your shoes, turn on your mp3 player and tear up the tread.

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Tags: donnell peavy, donnellpeavy, jogging, running, running and inclines, running and wind resistance, running on a treadmill, running outdoors, treadmills

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8 Responses to “Running: Treadmill vs. Outside” (Leave a reply)

runninstrong08 said:

Interesting-I have the opposite problem. I run 10+ miles outside all the time, but trying to make it 6m on the treadmill about killed me. Am I just a freak or is there a reason it’s the reverse problem for me?
June 20, 2008 at 10:55 PM
Max said:

I think the only reason treadmill might be hard, for me, is that i have a hard time running on them. Always need to be careful, it’s not like jogging on solid ground outside :)
June 29, 2008 at 02:24 AM
Running Guy from Oregon said:

When you’re used to running outside, with all the scenery, wind blowing through your hair, and not having to pay attention to a machine that controls the exact pace you have to run so that you aren’t falling off and making a fool of yourself, running on a treadmill can seem almost treacherous. Personally I feel that treadmills are a last resort for bad weather (mostly when it’s too hot).
June 29, 2008 at 09:50 PM
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There is no question that running outside is not only more challenging, it is also much harder on the joints.

I prefer to run in doors on the treadmill for these reasons.
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I run 10+ miles outside all the time, but trying to make it 6m on the treadmill about killed me.
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