The best kind of walking is the kind you can do on a regular basis. If you are able to walk with or without a treadmill, choose whichever option is most appropriate for your circumstances. Both methods of walking are beneficial for your health. All other things being equal, however, choose walking outdoors for the extra physical and mental boost it can provide.
Terrain
Walking outdoors and walking on a treadmill have advantages and disadvantages when it comes to terrain. Walking outdoors in a hilly area provides a more challenging workout, unless you are constantly adjusting the incline on the treadmill up and down as you walk. If you go on a hike, you will find opportunities to improve your balance, since you likely will be climbing up embankments, walking across logs or crossing a stream by leaping from stone to stone. A treadmill, while useful, simply cannot provide your body and mind with these challenges. If the only outdoor areas you have access to have very flat terrain, or if you walk on an indoor track or inside a shopping mall, a treadmill can provide a more challenging workout.
Benefits of the Outdoors
When you walk outdoors, you reap benefits that you simply cannot receive by plodding away on a treadmill inside your home or gym. When you are outside, even on cloudy days, your skin absorbs vitamin D from the sun. This vitamin is essential for good health, as it benefits your bones and can enhance your immune system. Walking outside also offers a chance to relax in a natural environment. A 2009 study published in the "Journal of Environmental Psychology" found that being outdoors increased the vitality of study participants more than staying inside. When you have increased vitality, you have more energy to exercise. Walking outdoors can also increase interconnectedness; for example, when you walk in your neighborhood, you have the opportunity to connect with your neighbors and make new friends and acquaintances.
Calorie Burn
Walking on a treadmill on a flat incline burns slightly fewer calories than walking outdoors. The variations in incline that you experience outside increase your chances of burning more calories. When you walk outside, you may also encounter wind resistance that cannot be replicated on a treadmill. You can burn an approximately equal number of calories, however, by setting the treadmill to a 1-percent incline. If you normally walk in a hilly area, you will need to increase the incline accordingly on your treadmill to get the same benefits.
Your Decision
Whether you choose to walk outdoors or on a treadmill is an individual choice. Both activities will help you to increase your level of fitness. Factors to consider are the weather in your area as well as the safety of your neighborhood. If either is undesirable, the treadmill may be the better choice. On the other hand, if you are an outdoors-oriented person, you may find the treadmill routine too monotonous. The best solution may be to use a treadmill when the weather is poor and walk outdoors in a safe area when the weather is nice.
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