Is there any difference between treadmill running and outdoor running and which one’s better. Does one of them get you fitter than the other. There’s a decent chance you’re burning more calories if you’re out in the open air. Running outside actually uses up more energy than running at the same speed on a treadmill, largely due to wind resistance.
You can easily compensate for this in the gym simply by setting your treadmill to a 1% gradient.
What method is safest for our bodies when it comes to injuries. Treadmill running is safer but there are also some surprising drawbacks. Repetition of the same movement is a greater risk of wearing out joints or ligaments and ending up with an injury.
When we’ve run you hit the ground about a thousand times per mile leading to a lot of wear and tear. If you use a treadmill where you’re performing the same action again and again it’s a good idea to mix it up a bit by varying the speed and incline.
This is less of an issue in the great outdoors when you run outdoors especially if you go off-road each step is likely to be different because of the uneven and varied terrain and this can actually strengthen the ligaments and activate a variety of muscles and even teach the body better balance.
Studies have also shown that exercising outdoors is good for the mind and for lowering stress and blood pressure plus there are the advantages of exposure to the sunshine and therefore to vitamin D.
Running has the edge and it costs nothing but if you prefer the treadmill make sure you take advantage of all its features.