Track vs. Treadmill

• Treadmills are softer. You are going to take more of a pounding on asphalt than you would on a treadmill. If you jump into it too fast, you could hurt yourself. However, running on a grass or dirt trail could be even less impact than on the treadmill while still allowing yourself to stretch out a bit and avoid the boredom.
• Running outdoors encourages stronger bone growth. Because there is more of an impact, there is more pressure on your muscles and bones which will lead to faster results when you are training.
• You don’t have to break the wind on a treadmill. While you will not spend as much energy pushing air out of the way as you might on a bicycle, it still constitutes a large percentage of the energy that you are using.
• Running outdoors gets you somewhere. Running is meant as a means of transportation from one place to another by moving over the surface. Running on a treadmill is having the surface move beneath you. It is not quite natural.
• Treadmills allow more opportunity to learn something new while working out. While you could listen to an educational podcast no matter where you run, you don’t have to worry as much about your environment and your safety when you are on a treadmill.
• Most treadmills do not allow you to run downhill. There are very few treadmills that allow for a negative incline when you are running. For proper working out of the muscles, you need to work downhill and uphill workouts into your training. Always going along a flat or slight incline is not a natural way to move or to train.
• The 5 most common treadmill mistakes do not apply outdoors:
1. Taking it too easy
2. Stepping off of a moving treadmill
3. Using the handrails
4. Unnatural stride length
5. Not realizing how much easier it is
• It can sometimes be easier to fit in a workout on a treadmill than it is outside. Inclement weather, health concerns, or having to stay home to watch young children can make it difficult to get outside to run. Often times, a treadmill workout can still be fit in under the circumstances as long as one is available.