Choosing whether to run on a road or on a treadmill is an important decision you'll have to make when beginning a running exercise program. Running on a road and running on a treadmill are different in a number of ways and these differences can profoundly affect how successful you are at achieving your objectives. A treadmill offers a number of advantages for burning calories with reduced injury risk.
Speed
The intensity of a running session can be manipulated by changing the speed at which you run. You can precisely control this variable on a motorized treadmill because the motor will turn the belt at whatever speed you enter into the computer console. Conversely, when you are running on a road, you must set the pace by approximating how fast you are traveling. This is difficult and even if you are experienced, there is bound to be some variance. A treadmill is well-suited for interval running, which intersperses short periods of challenging sprinting into a long, sustainable run. If your goal is to maintain the sprint for as long as possible, this is more feasible on a treadmill because to do so, you simply have to keep up with the belt. If you are running on a road, there will be a natural tendency to slow down as it gets more difficult, even if you are capable of sustaining the pace for a little while longer.
Grade
The intensity of a running session also depends on the amount you vertically displace your body mass. When you are running on a road, this is arbitrarily determined by the terrain. If you end your run where you started, your net vertical displacement will be zero. On a treadmill, you can adjust the machine such that it is angled upward. This would be equivalent to running up a hill that remained constant and never having to come back down. Inclined running increases the intensity of the exercise session without causing you to run at faster speeds that might be more prone to cause injury. In an article published in the "European Journal of Applied Physiology" in December 2002, researchers from Manchester University found that at the same relative running intensity, there is a greater additional rise in oxygen consumption during uphill compared to horizontal running. This means that more calories are burned during this form of exercise. This is probably because running uphill requires greater muscle tension development and provides for reduced facilitation from elastic elements that are present in muscle.
Air Flow
When running indoors on a treadmill, the lack of air resistance results in lower energy expenditure compared to running outdoors at the same velocity. For running speeds between 6.5 and 11 mph, this difference can be offset by running at a 1-percent grade. The lack of air flow due to the stationary body position on a treadmill also affects thermo-regulation. Movement of air past the body aids convective heat loss, which means that less blood needs to be diverted to the skin to dissipate heat. Sparing blood in this manner results in more being available to flow to working muscles during road running. To compensate for this difference, an electrical fan can be used to circulate air around you when you're running on a treadmill.
Injury
Running is a high-impact activity, which means that injuries are common. There is less impact when running on a treadmill because the machine's running deck is not as hard as the pavement. Higher quality treadmills like those you'll find in a health club are even better in this regard because a shock absorbing suspension system is built into the frame. When you run on a treadmill, you also don't have to worry about stepping in potholes or overuse injuries related to the fact that your feet will be angled due to the pitch of the road.
References
- "Journal of Sports Sciences"; A 1% treadmill grade most accurately reflects the energetic cost of outdoor running; A.M. Jones and J.H. Doust; 2011.
- "European Journal of Applied Physiology"; Oxygen uptake kinetics during horizontal and uphill treadmill running in humans; J.S.M. Pringle et al.; Dec. 2002.
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