Running News Daily

Are treadmill workouts really as effective as running outside?

Regardless of your cardio credentials—beginner, intermediate, or Mo Farah himself—heading outdoors for a run isn’t always a realistic option. That’s especially true come wintertime, when guzzling mugfuls of hot chocolate sounds significantly more appealing than trudging through whipping winds and mountains of snow. But your New Year's resolution to exercise regularly doesn’t allow for breaks in the action. This is also true, by the way, in the summer, when Mother Nature double-dog dares you to step outside without instantaneously turning into a melted popsicle.

When bad weather arrives—in whatever form it takes—the treadmill is your climate-controlled friend. To properly assess how the treadmill actually stacks up against leaving the house for a run, we consulted a panel of experts who are well-acquainted with this predicament. The verdict: A treadmill doesn’t offer quite as strenuous a workout as does running in the Great Outdoors, but with a few tweaks, your body won’t know the difference.

Remember: It could be way, way worse

One of the first treadmill-like contraptions was the brainchild of a 19th-century engineer named Sir William Cubitt, and whatever your disdain for the modern version, it probably can’t match that of the earliest adopters of Cubitt's "treadwheel": British prisoners. Guards would make them run on the newfangled devices all day, an exercise so cruel and torturous that Britain literally banned them at the turn of the 20th century. (And you thought your gym’s TV perma-tuned to Fox News was bad.)

Nowadays, with a bevy of technological improvements, the experience of running on a treadmill is roughly equivalent to running outside, says RunDoyen running coach Mark Hadley. In fact, the winner of this years men’s U.S. Marathon Championship, Brogan Austin, is reported to have done many of his key training runs on the ‘mill.

Even if you live somewhere where weather isn’t an issue—good for you, I’m definitely not jealous—there are other reasons that the treadmill might be a smart option. For example, it’s worth keeping in mind how safe an outdoor run would be, particularly at night, when it’s harder to avoid dicey areas, dodge potholes, or make your presence clear to motorists. “Sure, you might not have the workout you would outdoors,” says running coach Laura Norris. “But a treadmill run is far more beneficial than no run at all.”

What you lose (and how to get it back)

There’s a reason that running outdoors can feel harder than running on a treadmill: It is. “When you run on hills or against the wind, you have to expend more energy to maintain the same pace,” says former NCAA distance coach and New York City-based running coach Sean Fortune. “As a result, the treadmill burns less calories, because the energy demand is lower.”

The boredom associated with the “dreadmill” matters physically as well as mentally: Fortune explains that you’ll have to spend additional time on the treadmill to match the benefits of going outside. “You don’t build the same strength in the musculoskeletal system, since the treadmill platform is relatively soft,” he says. Steep hills and varied outdoor surfaces are helpful for developing your legs and ankles in a way that the hamster wheel is not.

The most important thing you can do while running on a treadmill is to actually use all those fancy tools that appear on its control panel. Try simulating a few small hills at different intervals, Hadley suggests, to get more of your legs involved. Running coach Bobby McGee recommends a slight incline of 0.5 to 1.5 percent to help achieve that goal.

Those adjustments are contingent on finding a treadmill that doesn’t suck, which is its own battle, especially if you’re running on a budget. If you’re using equipment at your gym, steer clear of models that feel overly “bouncy,” says Hadley. As a general rule, McGee advises runners to be wary of older, worn-out machines, which may be in desperate need of calibration. “I have seen elite runners struggle to reproduce real-world performances predicted off of treadmill workouts,” he says. “The treadmill doesn’t require the same level of focus.”

If you elect to soldier on in the cold, great, but that won’t necessarily save you a ton money. “You don't want any excuses to miss a chance to run and ruin your continuity of training,” Fortune says. Thus, it’s a must to invest in the proper gear before committing to a winter-weather regimen, which means means a good pair of dependable shoes, and clothing that will prevent the development of frostbite without slowing you down in the process.

Whichever side of this debate you come down on, remember that as long as you’re exercising, indoors or not, you can’t really lose. And don’t forget everyone’s favorite holiday melody: When the weather outside is frightful, the treadmill can be sufficient.