Treadmill versus non-treadmill running.

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JUDDDing
JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
http://www.runnersworld.com/treadmills/biomechanics-expert-debunks-treadmill-running-myths

Her bottom line is that it's basically the same. Don't worry about the 1% incline, motion differences, etc.

Not that I am planning on using less incline or anything... But good to know.
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  • ReadyToBeMeAt160
    ReadyToBeMeAt160 Posts: 149 Member
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    interesting. i was just thinking about this. how i can "run" for 17 minutes indoors but the idea of doing it outside scares me. and i remember seeing someone post that they were at week 7 of the C25k indoors, but only week 2 outside
  • NicoleSchimmel
    NicoleSchimmel Posts: 162 Member
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    Good article!

    When I started running, I didn't run at an incline on the treadmill. Keep in mind that I trained for my first 10K on a 0% incline for the majority of my training. It wasn't until 7 months later, that I up'ed my incline.

    On a side note, I can't wait to get my RW magazine!!
  • NicoleSchimmel
    NicoleSchimmel Posts: 162 Member
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    :bigsmile:
  • NicoleSchimmel
    NicoleSchimmel Posts: 162 Member
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    interesting. i was just thinking about this. how i can "run" for 17 minutes indoors but the idea of doing it outside scares me. and i remember seeing someone post that they were at week 7 of the C25k indoors, but only week 2 outside


    This scared me too. I had to give my lungs time to adjust to the outdoor air. It didn't take long, but it did take some time
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    It's too bad most people won't link to the abstracts of the study she refers to in the original blog.....
    Parameters measured with an adequate instrumented treadmill are comparable to but not directly equivalent to those measured for overground running. With such an instrument, it is possible to study the mechanics of running under well-controlled and reproducible conditions.

    and
    Treadmill-based analysis of running mechanics can be generalized to overground running mechanics, provided the treadmill surface is sufficiently stiff and belt speed is adequately regulated.

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18460996

    These may seem to be nit-picking but I'd be willing to suggest that the vast majority of treadmills being sold (I SMH every time I read about someone wanting to buy a $300 treadmill at Wallyworld) definitely do not meet the second criteria. We should also note that she sampled "twenty healthy young subjects" likely had reasonable running mechanics to start with whereas (I know this is completely unscientific and anecdotal) anyone visiting a gym shortly after the New Year will see no shortage of middle aged, out-of-shape people trying to run on treadmills displaying horrific mechanics which they then try to replicate outside when the weather get warmer.
  • ksuh999
    ksuh999 Posts: 543 Member
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    I find it somewhat easier to run outside (or on a track) simply because my sweat evaporates. I'm a dripping sweatstorm on a treadmill.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    I agree with her findings completely. When I first started running outside, it was slightly harder for about the first week, and that was it. However, I think it had MUCH more to do with the fact that my pace is naturally faster outside. People say they can run farther and faster on the treadmill, but for me, it's just the opposite. I do find that I push myself harder when outside because my pace is not steady like it is on the treadmill.

    Mentally, I much prefer running outside. But, this winter, I just couldn't make myself do it. It's been frigid (frequent sub-zero wind chills) and lots of snow. So, It's been two to three months since I ran outside. Hoping I can get back outdoors in March to finish up my half marathon training.
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    I am dubious about all of this report.

    All I have to go on is my own experience of running on the treadmill -v- running outside.

    A comparison as an example is, my 10k time outdoors is 56:33, on the treadmill, it is 45:41. My 5k time outdoors is 25:34, on the treadmill it is 21:40. My 10 mile time on the treadmill is 79 minutes, outside it is approximately 93 minutes.

    Quite a difference in all the times there.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    I am dubious about all of this report.

    All I have to go on is my own experience of running on the treadmill -v- running outside.

    A comparison as an example is, my 10k time outdoors is 56:33, on the treadmill, it is 45:41. My 5k time outdoors is 25:34, on the treadmill it is 21:40. My 10 mile time on the treadmill is 79 minutes, outside it is approximately 93 minutes.

    Quite a difference in all the times there.

    I would suspect a treadmill that isn't accurately recording distance. Or, perhaps you run slower outside - maybe you set the treadmill at a higher speed that pushes you more than your natural pace outdoors.
  • MB2MN
    MB2MN Posts: 334 Member
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    I agree with her findings completely. When I first started running outside, it was slightly harder for about the first week, and that was it. However, I think it had MUCH more to do with the fact that my pace is naturally faster outside. People say they can run farther and faster on the treadmill, but for me, it's just the opposite. I do find that I push myself harder when outside because my pace is not steady like it is on the treadmill.

    Mentally, I much prefer running outside. But, this winter, I just couldn't make myself do it. It's been frigid (frequent sub-zero wind chills) and lots of snow. So, It's been two to three months since I ran outside. Hoping I can get back outdoors in March to finish up my half marathon training.

    THIS. I find it MUCH easier to run outside than on a treadmill. When I first started running it was the opposite but now I hate the treadmill. I do 5 miles in 50 minutes outside fairly easily but I have a hard time sustaining a 10 minute mile pace on the treadmill for longer than 15...I have no clue why that is.
  • bluetuesday5
    bluetuesday5 Posts: 99 Member
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    I hate treadmills. They are boring and I don't like having the pace set for me. The only downside to running outside is the weather IMO, but I'd still rather run in the rain than indoors.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    I don't run...let me put that out there....lol...but...

    I ran twice on a treadmill for 5K and did it in 36.00 minutes. That was on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then on Thursday ran in my first real 5K and did it 30:10.

    All of it is a struggle so not sure what that means, but it has made my brain feel like running outdoors is easier.
  • rassha01
    rassha01 Posts: 534 Member
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    No scientific research here but I find it easier to run outside than on a treadmill. Can run 7 miles in an hour outside without hardly any fatigue and feel like I could go forever but put me on a treadmill and I feel like I am going to die after 20 minutes. Probably all psychological
    : )
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    I agree with her findings completely. When I first started running outside, it was slightly harder for about the first week, and that was it. However, I think it had MUCH more to do with the fact that my pace is naturally faster outside. People say they can run farther and faster on the treadmill, but for me, it's just the opposite. I do find that I push myself harder when outside because my pace is not steady like it is on the treadmill.

    Mentally, I much prefer running outside. But, this winter, I just couldn't make myself do it. It's been frigid (frequent sub-zero wind chills) and lots of snow. So, It's been two to three months since I ran outside. Hoping I can get back outdoors in March to finish up my half marathon training.

    Yeah, me too.

    I suspect that people with huge differences between the two are probably letting the treadmill set their pace too much.

    At least that is sort of thing that I do - I am a LOT faster outside at a much lower level of perceived exertion.

    Outside I run at exactly the pace and stride that I want - inside I tend to hit a quickset button within a mph or two of where I want to be and just stay there.

    "Nit-picking" about individual bio-mechanics and treadmill quality, IMO, is probably mostly just that. I imagine that runs outside are subject to a great number of different, additional variables too (temperature, wind, humidity, incline, surface, altitude, etc, etc). There's perhaps room for a study on the standardized mechanics of a trained athlete on an ideal surface (track) versus treadmills of various quality and expense. But the results would probably not apply particularly directly to the vast majority of runners - especially given the individual variability and lack of consensus on what constitutes proper form anyway.

    But I thought it was nice to know that the issues I have are most likely my own and not an inherent problem with a treadmill in general and that bio-mechanically they are essentially the same work (which I think most people knew deep-down anyway if they have spent any significant amount of time doing them).
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    I'm not a fan of the "treadmill acceptance movement" ;)
  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    I'm not a fan of the "treadmill acceptance movement" ;)

    But it's better than the "Couch acceptance movement" :)
  • tcat100
    tcat100 Posts: 33 Member
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    There is always an adjustment when transitioning outdoors. I even ran into hip and joint pain. Best to start on a softer trail, like a gravel path then transition to blacktop then concrete (sidewalk). Don't push, listen to your body.
  • ksuh999
    ksuh999 Posts: 543 Member
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    I am dubious about all of this report.

    All I have to go on is my own experience of running on the treadmill -v- running outside.

    A comparison as an example is, my 10k time outdoors is 56:33, on the treadmill, it is 45:41. My 5k time outdoors is 25:34, on the treadmill it is 21:40. My 10 mile time on the treadmill is 79 minutes, outside it is approximately 93 minutes.

    Quite a difference in all the times there.
    Seriously? Come on. A treadmill is perfectly flat unless you give it an incline.

    Also, and hardly anybody knows this here for whatever reason, treadmills may or may not be at the speed you specify.
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    I'm not a fan of the "treadmill acceptance movement" ;)

    But it's better than the "Couch acceptance movement" :)

    I love my couch (but I get what you're saying)
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,630 Member
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    I am dubious about all of this report.

    All I have to go on is my own experience of running on the treadmill -v- running outside.

    A comparison as an example is, my 10k time outdoors is 56:33, on the treadmill, it is 45:41. My 5k time outdoors is 25:34, on the treadmill it is 21:40. My 10 mile time on the treadmill is 79 minutes, outside it is approximately 93 minutes.

    Quite a difference in all the times there.
    Seriously? Come on. A treadmill is perfectly flat unless you give it an incline.

    Also, and hardly anybody knows this here for whatever reason, treadmills may or may not be at the speed you specify.

    I know they are perfectly flat.

    That does not mean however, that running on one is the same as running outdoors, hence why I quoted my time differences.

    The treadmill I use, is my own one and is a commercial one and yes, the speed on it is accurate.

    The reason a person can run faster on a treadmill is because the mill forces the person to run at that speed, this does not happen outdoors, the person is dictating the speed on the road and will slow down and speed up accordingly to compensate for various factors.

    The times I stated above are true.

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