Anybody know the pro’s / con’s of treadmill running vs. running outside (road/trail/etc). Somewhat by necessity, the treadmill accounts for 80%+ of my miles and am curious as to what I’m “missing” by not running outside. I realize that the treadmill is boring for most, but looking for info beyond that. I fully understand the benefits of being able to hit your intervals perfectly and the countless hill running options of the treadmill, but what else? Am I more/less prone to injury on one vs the other? Does the jarring of the road make the body stronger or just increase the chances of injury? etc. etc.
Do you live out at sea on a small boat/submarine?
Otherwise you should run outside more. Much more. If “80%” of my running was on a treadmill I would choose another form of exercise.
I am really not trying to be flippant.
Other than avoiding torturous boredom can’t see any special benefit to running outside.
Other than avoiding torturous boredom can’t see any special benefit to running outside.
Probably the best takeaway from what you said. Treadmills are great, if you can stand them. Although, good luck trying to convince some people on here that treadmills CAN be better than running outside; it ain’t gonna happen.
I didn’t want this to be a treadmill boredom bashing thread as not everyone hates the treadmill. I actually enjoy it, but am forced to use it typicaly due to babysitter issues. I’m looking for real benefits I may receive or limitations that the treadmill puts on me. I can easily handle the mental aspect of it, but that’s not what I’m after here.
For me, the benefit is the following
- I can run at 5:30 am or 8:00 pm no problem.
- I can catch up on TV
- It’s much easier for me to figure out if I’ve recovered
- Long runs outside are AMAZING
Advantages:
Pacing, you can set the exact pace you want
Intervals, at the above forced pacing
Variable incline grades (on any but the cheapest models)
It never rains or snows on a treadmill
Never get frozen feet / hands / other parts
Safe to run at night, or to watch TV, or whatever
Bathroom and water are always close
Disadvantage
Heat buildup so get fans of course
Can’t have toddlers around that might hurt themselves
Some people say it is mechanically slightly different, i have no idea
Might be tough to do running drills safely if you do those like running sideways, backwards, skipping, high knees, strides, whatever.
Hard to impress the neighbors since they won’t see you unless it is near the windows.
I wasn’t treadmill bashing, I was extolling its virtues. I’d be perfectly confident in my racing ability if 100% of my miles were on the treadmill. No empirical data to back it up, but I’d say there are no physiological benefits (other than some limited heat adaptation) to running outside vs treadmill.
They are good for working on form (i.e. specific cadence), dialing in a specific pace (especially useful for Tempo/Threshold runs), doing hill repeats (going up anyways), and catching up on Buffy re-runs. They suck for long runs and for doing striders. Make sure to use a 1% or 2% elevation. A 1% grade would be the closest representation effort-wise to running outside.
Putting any personal preference aside the only con is that you are not getting whatever training stress is associated with running outside v the mill such as hills, wind, the camber of the road, whatever. I often have heard people mention that the motion is different as the belt moves under you vs you moving over the ground. Whatever, I have gone through periods where I have done the majority of my running on a treadmill and others where I do everything outside. I feel I often get better runs in during the winter on the treadmill as the footing is always good and I am not dealing with layers, ice, snow, whatever. Also, I can get off the trainer and be running in seconds rather than taking the time to bundle up. As you mentioned, a major pro is that I can run when the kids are sleeping or doing something else in the house. The last but no least is that it is a time saver as there are no considerations about weather or required clothing.
Running is running. Run lots and you will do well in triathlons regardless of whether you run inside or out.
A few things. First, the treadmill grade needs to be adjust to be equivalent to outside running. It may depend on the pace you run, but I use 1%. Second, the treadmill is usually more forgiving than asphalt so it doesn’t beat you up as much. Lastly, treadmills are great for holding a pace (i.e. tempo runs) or progression runs in which you get progressively faster. While I’m a proponent of using the treadmill (especially in the winter offseason), it tends to work the same muscles. You never run on the slant, probably won’t do enough hills, and will be underprepared for the muscle fatigue associated with the roads. Prior to a race, you have to mix things up and get outside to better acclimate to racing conditions.
If you are not used to them and suddenly switched to them, that might put you at more risk for injury but otherwise I’d say no. I’ve had weeks in the winter when I did 50-60 of my weekly miles on a treadmill and I didn’t notice any problems. Nor did I notice that the running motion of a treadmill really made me any stronger. I did feel I maintained better form on the treadmill, however and that seemed to seep into my road running. I have no idea if that’s just a personal experience or more universal.
I think losing the opportunity to run downhill – which you do lose on most treadmills – is a big minus. Otherwise I love mine.
Just my $0.02 and n=1 experience …
From 2001-04, I did probably 80% of my running on an indoor treadmill, mostly for convenience and also because of the cold climate and short days of much of the year in western New England (US). During that time, I did 1 stand-alone marathon, 3 half-marathons, 2 IMs and 4 HIMs, plus other tris.
Outside of heat management and boredom issues mentioned, the only potential issue that I found was that the treadmill running did not replicate the pounding of running on roads. While this is in many ways a good thing and frankly probably allowed me to run 10-20% more volume than I would have been able to stand otherwise w/o injury or over-use issues, it also poses a bit of a challenge on race day, since your legs and particularly feet and joints may really react to the surface over time, either through increased fatigue during the event or increased soreness after - or both.
I can also validate the 1-2% grade closely mimicking outdoor conditions, flat road and wind resistance of moving along at a given speed.
because of 2 compression fractures in my back in January, i was forced to train for Boston on a treadmill (and an alter g at that). there were 3 problems–
- overheating (maybe not an issue if it is your house and you can just put in a fan–mine was in a rehab area, no fan);
- mind numbing i could not get over 2 hrs on it (sure, poor mental toughness or wrong song choices in my ipod); and finally, and this is the kicker,
- no DOWNHILLS. I am sure boston would hurt regardless, but it really hurt
anyway, if i was rich i’d get an alter -g–as you can do crazy speedwork and cadence without the pounding it would take to do it on a regular treadmill (or outside)
Putting any personal preference aside the only con is that you are not getting whatever training stress is associated with running outside v the mill such as hills, wind, the camber of the road, whatever. I often have heard people mention that the motion is different as the belt moves under you vs you moving over the ground. Whatever, I have gone through periods where I have done the majority of my running on a treadmill and others where I do everything outside. I feel I often get better runs in during the winter on the treadmill as the footing is always good and I am not dealing with layers, ice, snow, whatever. Also, I can get off the trainer and be running in seconds rather than taking the time to bundle up. As you mentioned, a major pro is that I can run when the kids are sleeping or doing something else in the house. The last but no least is that it is a time saver as there are no considerations about weather or required clothing.
Running is running. Run lots and you will do well in triathlons regardless of whether you run inside or out.
THIS - and my knees don’t hurt when I get off the treadmill, the only downside is that it is easier to quit a run early on the treadmill.
I’m another person that used to do almost all my runs on the treadmill, and I made massive improvemetns by being able to run to a pace - intervals especially. Then after a very bad ankle injury my rehab was 100% treadmill based, and I became too scared to run outside in case I went over on my ankle again. However, after a few track sessions where I was working on technique then it’s swapped the other way where I can’t run on a treadmill. Now part of that is that the treadmills I have available aren’t the best, and being a 100kg strider then they struggle to keep the even belt speed. Given the absolute choice of 10 hours running a week on a treadmill or 10 outside then I think you would be faster from teh time outside as I don’t beleive that it is possible to get the right forward drive off from the back foot when on a treadmill. However, if the choice is 4 hours outside or 10 on the treadmill, then I’m sure the extra time will more than offset the technique issues.
As mentioned though, before the race then you need to be doing your long runs outside or the camber will kill you on race day. And that’s a risk you’re taking in how quickly you build up that outside running - leave it too late and you risk an injury towards the end of your training.
n=1,
Cheap “home quality” treadmills can bounce you around too much and cause knee pain. don’t skimp. I can run on a good precor at the gym with no problems during the winter.
After running indoors all winter, I find some muscles sore when going out for the first time in the spring so i try to have a step back/easier week when adjusting. Maybe a couple days inside,couple outside. This sorness is short lived.
I run 5-7 days a week. During the warm months with long days I run outside because I am lucky enough to have a looped 6 mile bike/walking trail 1/4 of a block from my house. Unfortunately, that course gets deep snow in the winter, and I no longer like to run outside when it’s freezing, dark, wet, etc. So during those months I run inside on my threadmill. To be honest, I love treadmill running. I bought one that has extra cushion and bounce. I actually push my pace higher on the threadmill than I do outside, and I always end up the winter/spring season in really good aerobic shape.
Treadmill (dreadmill :p) running is obviously good for much of the reasons posted above, so I will summarize as briefly as possible…explanations pending request (haha):
- = Both pro/con simultaneously
Treadmill Pros (/Road “Cons”):
-Pacing* - hold specific/set pace
-Temperature/No Adverse Conditions* - cold/hot extremes stress the body and may cause discomfort 
…note this won’t allow you to adapt to races that may be in sub-optimal conditions (i.e: not 60degF and cloudy)
-Convenience - especially job/kids…depends on where you live. In Maine I just throw on 1 (or 2) headlamp(s) at 1AM - second lamp for flashing backwards/safety
-**Softness/Unvarying Terrain - easier on legs, excellent for injury recovery. Also, good for injury prevention.
-Accessibility of H2O, etc - Only downfall is you may not have these accommodations every time you race/train…and may result in more pauses than intended
Treadmill Cons (/Road “Pros”):
-Pacing* - doesn’t train you to mentally work on proper pacing
-Can force you to run too fast when you would otherwise naturally run slower (i.e. recovery days)
-“**Unrealistic” Surface **- This one is THE BIG one. So it gets a sub-heading. Note: you should use a treadmill at 0.5%-1.5% grade to account for wind, imperfect surface, etc. And the slight grade helps a treadmill feel less unrealistic compared to road.
You get used to a softer surface and may struggle come race day…even if you’re only doing an HMCrowning of the road feels weird if you never train on it, and can throw you off (many races don’t give you center of road or option to run on either side)Because real roads are by no means nice and clean/level, you may lose some level of stabilizer muscle/tendon strength. Also, uneven surfaces can aid in building of smaller muscles (ex: popliteus & and lower leg finer control muscles)-Feels different than road - this is a subjective one. But I have talked to very few individuals who experience anything but rather noticeable differences between road and treadmill. And, if you’re training for races that happen on roads (i.e. any race I know of), then you’re getting used to a feel that is different than what you will be racing.
Overall, I believe running on roads is more beneficial. It forces an athlete to learn how to run off of feel (**even if ** you use a GPS to help pacing). You have to be aware of everything when outdoors, whereas treadmills can be “set it and forget it”. Now, there are cases when treadmills will be much better: 1) Really bad conditions - especially those in which you are at risk of being run over by a car (I live in Maine haha - but note that I still don’t hit treadmills in rain/lightning/snow). 2) Injury recovery - whether it be for softness or for ensuring you don’t get excessive stress due to downhills, running too fast, etc. 3) Very specific workouts: for pacing (tempo/race simulation), hills (length or grade). 4) Forcing extra easy pace for PURE recovery runs (so long as you don’t get bored and increase pace).
Now, for my subjective and personal plug! Running outside can’t be matched. Even in the snow - I think this actually makes you run with a more balanced, active, “natural” gait. If you overstride on snow, you fall…if you land with your foot under your body, you are much better off (I’m not trying to push the natural running/midfoot debate…but we all accept and know that overstriding is not good). I also think it is more enjoyable (extremely subjective). Varied terrain that you just have to deal with; there is an aspect to training and racing where you just have to sack up and take on the hill you don’t want to run today, treadmills you trigger the hill…roads you simply take the hill (and love it!).
Note: ALTER-G TREADMILLS ARE B.A. If you have one, please be my friend. If you don’t, find me said friend(s).
During two snowy winters in Rochester, NY, I did 100% of my running on my treadmill. I intentionally didn’t run outdoors a single time for a 4 month period, as I wanted to test how fast I’d be after such a training regimen. Tried to run similar speed/volume as I do outdoors typically, but what ended up happening is that I probably only got in about 85% of what I’d normally run outside, mainly due to boredom running day in and day out on that TM.
My results weren’t bad but weren’t great either. I trained to a point where I could ‘PR’ my treadmill 5k, but I was a whole minute off my PR in a flat road 5k coming back. The road pounding really surprised me - after 4 months on the TM and with a 1-2% incline to simulate wind resistance, you get a shock coming back to the road. On the bright side, it only took 2 weeks of light intermittent outdoor running to get used to the pounding, and then I was pretty near my PRs (not quite there, but that may have been due to the overall reduced training volume.)
The next year I did probably 75% indoor, 25% outdoor during the winter, reserving outdoor runs on weekends where it was ‘nice’ for a snowy climate. That worked pretty well, although I had the same problem with reduced training volume on TM due to boredom after a lot of miles on it. My first 5k back was pretty close to what I would do had I been only road training.
I’m pretty convinced that if you can actually keep your training volume up on the TM, and put in a sprinkling of outdoor running to keep legs used to the road pounding, you can definitely get faster on the TM. A running program/schedule would be huge here - I’d definitely put myself on one, as running a lot of TM miles without a plan will inevitably lead to reduced overall volume as you’ll get bored at some point. But TMs are 100% legit, and in fact, in the summer I still will intermittently prefer it for fast intervals or a fixed pace training - it’s definitely gotten me faster.