treadmill and outside running: does anyone know... - Couch to 5K

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treadmill and outside running

carerof profile image
carerofGraduate
8 Replies

does anyone know why when running on a treadmill you do not burn as many calories as outside. I feel that i run faster on a treadmill as it is stable and you can adjust the speed you can go, whereas outside you have to stop to cross roads avoid people and dogs yet i always burn more calories!!!

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carerof profile image
carerof
Graduate
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8 Replies

Hmm - I can't say either way whether that's the case or not, but I can imagine it's true. When you run on a treadmill, isn't there a certain amount of 'suspension' which helps bounce you up and therefore you actually put slightly less effort in, for the same pace/elevation outside ? :-)

beatricerose profile image
beatriceroseGraduate

I think the stopping and starting, and having to cope with different inclines and weather conditions probably make the whole thing just more of an effort. I find dodging dogs and cyclists in the path always makes my run harder than just a steady straight run.. at least it gets more difficult at the end of an exhausting one haha. I suspect though you would need to take into account changing inclines to get the same calorie burn. What are you using to measure in each? How different are the amounts for equivalent runs? They might just use different calculating methods?

Irishprincess profile image
IrishprincessGraduate

running.about.com/od/treadm...

rmnsuk profile image
rmnsukGraduate

The treadmill and outside are different. They use subtly different muscles etc. One big difference is wind resistance. If you try putting the incline at 1 you'll probably be close to the same effort. Outside you tend to run faster or at least I did.

John_W profile image
John_WAmbassador

With a treadmill, the ground is moving underneath you and actually propelling you forward - it's doing some of the work for you, hence less calorie burn.

IannodaTruffe profile image
IannodaTruffeMentor

How do you know you are burning more calories?

baronblaze profile image
baronblaze

Not sure that you can measure which burns off the most calories accurately. I would be surprised if it was running on a treadmill as you certainly use more muscle groups when running outside so you would be burning up more energy. Does it really matter ? The further or faster you run the more calories you burn. The harder the session the higher your metabolic rate - so you will continue to burn calories at a higher rate once you have stopped running - even the next day.

Coddfish profile image
CoddfishGraduate

I have no idea about calories. Running outside Is probably going to be harder - wind, changes of direction, pavements, interruptions, uneven surfaces etc. But it's so much nicer than running on a treadmill.

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