Treadmill Vs Outdoor Running

Running outside feels great when you have the breeze cooling you down and the amazing scenery, but what if you just want to listen to music and go for a more organized run? Are there really any differences between running outside and running indoors on a treadmill? The answer is most definitely yes. This article will outline a few reasons that running on a treadmill is different than running outside.

Difficulty

Running outside is generally seen as more difficult than running on a treadmill, but why? Well, when you’re running outside you have to learn to pace yourself, and not have a machine setting your pace for you. This leads into a lengthy process of getting comfortable with a set pace so you can run for longer distances without getting worn out. Also, the terrain outdoors is much more unforgiving as there are hills and dips in the ground. This can be partially made up by the effect a treadmill is able to make by adding a slight incline. Still, nothing compares to the difficulty of running up and down hills outdoors.

Entertainment

Entertainment is very subjective when it comes to if running outdoors or indoors is better. Outdoor running offers more of a natural feel, and provides good scenery and perhaps a high level of socializing depending on where you go. If you go to a park it’s very likely that you will talk to a few people during the course of your workout. Working indoors provides an interesting entertainment value as there are usually TV’s near treadmills and some gyms even offer a personal TV for each person so that you can customize your experience even further. Music is a great form of entertainment that can be used for both forms of exercising. With new technology such as the iPod and the Zune, mobile MP3 players are becoming even more a part of exercise routines.

Try it!

Don’t make your decision solely because one exercise is more challenging than the other. If one is more challenging, simply run for a longer distance when you do the other, there are many ways to counteract the different imbalances between the two exercises. Try both options and you will better understand which one is for you.

The correct answer to which is better? Neither, it’s completely up to your individual needs and what you’re trying accomplish by running. If you take nothing else away from this article, at least try both ways of running before you make your final decision.

Photo Credits: Ed Yourdon

Originally posted 2009-09-28 03:24:43.

This post involves:

dips, distances, entertainment entertainment, entertainment value, exercise routines, further music, gyms, ipod, mobile mp3, mp3 players, new technology, personal tv, running on a treadmill, scenery, treadmills, workout

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Running

Posted by Bike Swim Run on June 30, 2010 in Running. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.