Treadmill vs street

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  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    I just recently purchased a treadmill to use during the winter time and because my 2 year old makes it super hard to enjoy a walk while he is screaming to get out and play... Gonna have to figure something out because I dont feel like Im buring enough calories when on the treadmill. Although, I do get to watch American Horror Story and I walk... :laugh:

    Kids are a HUGE reason to use a treadmill. I have one and I'll be getting on it tonight because hubby is in class and I have 3 kids. And having them out in the cold and the dark will not win me mother of the year LOL.

    As for being outside with your 2 year old, what we do with our kids (when the weather is nice enough) is we walk or bike or run for however long, and then take them to the play set afterwards. So they get to play, after we all get some exercise. When my husband is with me, I'll drop him and the kids at the play set and then continue my workout at my normal pace (instead of the slower pace I use with the kids LOL). My older kids are 8 and 9 and the baby is 2.5. The baby is in a stroller or bike trailer. The big kids will walk about 3 miles with me, or bike 4 to 7 miles. We have run too, but that varies with their moods.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    street.

    ....so i can like... go places.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Treadmill. Street is more fun, but hurts my knees more. Also, my friend who runs street has been followed before. She only runs with her dog and mace now.
    Someone got stabbed at work the other day... are you going to stop going to work too? Yes, I'm being a jerk, but only to illustrate my point: If it's unsafe, then that's one thing... but don't use 1 isolated incident as an excuse to not run outside.
  • FestusB
    FestusB Posts: 8
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    Either, as long as you are moving. Put the treadmill on an incline of 1 to be alittle closer to the workout of pavement. If you have a newborn, or small children and live in freezing temps...sometimes you just have to stay indoors because it is just too cold to take the little ones outside that long with you:) Whatever keeps you in motion :smile:
  • christinehetz80
    christinehetz80 Posts: 490 Member
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    For years I thought I hated running....nope I hated running on the treadmill. Running streets, trails, etc its like a new playground/discovery every day. LOVE IT!!!!!! Saw something on facebook today that describes my love of running now. If you want to change your body, exercise...if you want to change your life, run. True statement in my life.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    Treadmill for me. It's way too dark outside when I exercise to make me comfortable going out and doing it on the streets. I go up to the loft area of the gym, cover the panel with a towel and use the TVs and the people as my entertainment while I run.
  • CorvusCorax77
    CorvusCorax77 Posts: 2,536 Member
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    street. because you are actually moving mass through space (force = mass x distance).... on a treadmill, you are not moving your body, you are just moving your legs.

    so

    street>treadmill

    however

    treadmill> nothing

    So if weather or what not is keeping me sheepish of the street, i won't shy away from machinery. I actually will do the elliptical though becasue i have dexterity issues on a treadmill :)
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,237 Member
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    Although, in the treadmill's favor, you can use that when the weather's crummy.

    Define "crummy". I'm sure my definition differs from yours, but here in the Baltimore area, I only had 4 crummy days last year in which I was forced onto the treadmill. :smile:

    Crummy for me (although I'm not the person you're asking) is anything not between 45 and 65 degrees, any kind of precipitation, wind more than 10mph, snow/ice/mud on the roads, and/or the threat of any of the above during the time I expect to be outside. I hate nature-and i am outside more than in (although I don't have any of the normal resentful feelings towards my treadmill). I will say safety is a much bigger issue than weather where I am-and that will bring me inside faster than hurricane sandy did.

    With those parameters, you might have gotten in a dozen or so runs outside here last year. :laugh:

    I did update my post to say that I am a bit of a princess. I really am outside more than in....I'm willing to stretch the temp criteria depending on amount of sun & wind, but I'm not about to run in the rain or snow (I know-princess...). Frankly, flooding has brought me inside more than weather criteria in the last year. I am ambivalent to the treadmill vs outside-so it just doesn't bother me to be inside. I do make more of an effort to be outside if I'm planning to do a race in the near future-but otherwise, I really don't care (I know that's not normal).
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
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    I prefer my treadmill. I don't have to worry about the weather (I live in Arizona, where in the summer you scorch your lungs just by breathing outside), plus I get to watch Grey's Anatomy and yell at the screen at the drama, all while getting a workout. :)
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
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    I like both. Do what you gotta do to get it done.
  • RFGIRL
    RFGIRL Posts: 1
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    Ditto!!!!! Treadmills are death - try running in the rain and be a kid again. Nothing like it!
  • andreajp
    andreajp Posts: 52 Member
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    I prefer the street for the reasons mentioned by many already (mostly it's more interesting) but also because running on the treadmill hurts my hips. Not sure why, exactly, but running outside on the pavement or sidewalk doesn't.

    I'm also a bit phobic about running on the treadmill. I'm always sure I'm going to fly off it backwards.
  • Taes_Hunt
    Taes_Hunt Posts: 41 Member
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    I just recently purchased a treadmill to use during the winter time and because my 2 year old makes it super hard to enjoy a walk while he is screaming to get out and play... Gonna have to figure something out because I dont feel like Im buring enough calories when on the treadmill. Although, I do get to watch American Horror Story and I walk... :laugh:

    Kids are a HUGE reason to use a treadmill. I have one and I'll be getting on it tonight because hubby is in class and I have 3 kids. And having them out in the cold and the dark will not win me mother of the year LOL.

    As for being outside with your 2 year old, what we do with our kids (when the weather is nice enough) is we walk or bike or run for however long, and then take them to the play set afterwards. So they get to play, after we all get some exercise. When my husband is with me, I'll drop him and the kids at the play set and then continue my workout at my normal pace (instead of the slower pace I use with the kids LOL). My older kids are 8 and 9 and the baby is 2.5. The baby is in a stroller or bike trailer. The big kids will walk about 3 miles with me, or bike 4 to 7 miles. We have run too, but that varies with their moods.

    My 3 boys are 13, 6 and 2 and honestly after taking them to a trail with me, I am more stressed out by the time we leave than not. lol... hubby works til late so no going after he gets home. I use to take them to the park midway through a trail I walked on, but then the 6 year old would complain about his legs all the way back and slow me down considerably. That is why I decided on a treadmill. I didnt think I was burning the same amount of calories though and now that I know that I do, I am not going to worry myself about getting out on the trail if I cant.
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,247 Member
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    Trail would be my top choice, but I'm not running a trail during any kind of hunting season, because I don't trust anyone with a gun to not mistake a two legged human in a pink jacket for a white tailed deer. :grumble:

    I quit the gym earlier this year. The treadmill is no longer an option. I typically run 3x a week. The weather doesn't usually totally suck for more than a day or two in a row, so I can manage to work around it. Today, it was in the low 40s and drizzling, and I was wearing shorts.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    Although, in the treadmill's favor, you can use that when the weather's crummy.

    Define "crummy". I'm sure my definition differs from yours, but here in the Baltimore area, I only had 4 crummy days last year in which I was forced onto the treadmill. :smile:

    Crummy for me (although I'm not the person you're asking) is anything not between 45 and 65 degrees, any kind of precipitation, wind more than 10mph, snow/ice/mud on the roads, and/or the threat of any of the above during the time I expect to be outside. I hate nature-and i am outside more than in (although I don't have any of the normal resentful feelings towards my treadmill). I will say safety is a much bigger issue than weather where I am-and that will bring me inside faster than hurricane sandy did.

    With those parameters, you might have gotten in a dozen or so runs outside here last year. :laugh:

    I did update my post to say that I am a bit of a princess. I really am outside more than in....I'm willing to stretch the temp criteria depending on amount of sun & wind, but I'm not about to run in the rain or snow (I know-princess...). Frankly, flooding has brought me inside more than weather criteria in the last year. I am ambivalent to the treadmill vs outside-so it just doesn't bother me to be inside. I do make more of an effort to be outside if I'm planning to do a race in the near future-but otherwise, I really don't care (I know that's not normal).

    You really, really, really should try running in the snow if you get the chance. There really is nothing more peaceful. A trail run with about 2 inches of soft powder on the ground with snow falling overhead is poetic. The snow dampens the world and everything becomes so still and peaceful that you can feel every sound around you.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Although, in the treadmill's favor, you can use that when the weather's crummy.

    Define "crummy". I'm sure my definition differs from yours, but here in the Baltimore area, I only had 4 crummy days last year in which I was forced onto the treadmill. :smile:

    Crummy for me (although I'm not the person you're asking) is anything not between 45 and 65 degrees, any kind of precipitation, wind more than 10mph, snow/ice/mud on the roads, and/or the threat of any of the above during the time I expect to be outside. I hate nature-and i am outside more than in (although I don't have any of the normal resentful feelings towards my treadmill). I will say safety is a much bigger issue than weather where I am-and that will bring me inside faster than hurricane sandy did.

    With those parameters, you might have gotten in a dozen or so runs outside here last year. :laugh:

    I did update my post to say that I am a bit of a princess. I really am outside more than in....I'm willing to stretch the temp criteria depending on amount of sun & wind, but I'm not about to run in the rain or snow (I know-princess...). Frankly, flooding has brought me inside more than weather criteria in the last year. I am ambivalent to the treadmill vs outside-so it just doesn't bother me to be inside. I do make more of an effort to be outside if I'm planning to do a race in the near future-but otherwise, I really don't care (I know that's not normal).

    You really, really, really should try running in the snow if you get the chance. There really is nothing more peaceful. A trail run with about 2 inches of soft powder on the ground with snow falling overhead is poetic. The snow dampens the world and everything becomes so still and peaceful that you can feel every sound around you.

    Completely agree. A warm rain is really nice too... not enough to soak you, just enough to quiet the world down a bit.
  • darloeye
    darloeye Posts: 22
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    The Street all day long its the best way of getting fit beause on the dreadmill youre just jumping up and down on the spot really does nothing for the body and puts alot of pressure on the knees.
  • CarsonRuns
    CarsonRuns Posts: 3,039 Member
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    The Street all day long its the best way of getting fit beause on the dreadmill youre just jumping up and down on the spot really does nothing for the body and puts alot of pressure on the knees.

    Untrue on both accounts.
  • katsmo
    katsmo Posts: 219 Member
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    I first started running this year, and I started on my treadmill. I don't have a lot of sidewalks in my neighborhood, I live in a hilly area, and winter in Wisconsin can be rough. On occasions when I have pushed myself to run outdoors, I have enjoyed it. But I'm not as comfortable running outside as I am running on a treadmill. I enjoy the pacing and distance I can easily determine from the treadmill, and when I run outside, I feel like I am going at a pace much faster than I'm able to maintain for long. I did just purchase a heart rate monitor, which could help.
  • JenRunTriHappyGirl
    JenRunTriHappyGirl Posts: 521 Member
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    I love the street or a trail. Trails are so much fun. But, I have a 3 year old... and trying to run while pushing the jogging stroller and hearing "mommy mommy mommy whats that? mommy I have to go potty. mommy i want juice. mommy can we go faster?" is not fun or relaxing and usually I end up more stressed than before I started. If I had a treadmill, I would definitely use it just so I could get my runs in.

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