When To Run On the Treadmill vs Outdoors
In my journey to treadmill-love, I’ve complained about treadmills my fair share. But treadmills, whether you’ve noticed or not, have been heating up in popularity among boutique fitness brands like Mile High Run Club, Peloton, Rumble Boxing, and Precision Running that offer treadmill-centric classes.
What are the treadmill benefits compared to outdoor running? Why do some elite athletes and ultrarunners choose to rack up mega treadmill miles?
Tread it Up: When to Run on a Treadmill
To Stay Safe
If you work long hours, treadmills are often the best option for your daily run. Night-time running, while exhilarating, can be dangerous. Cars are less likely to see you and going solo could make you a target for a mugging or sexual assault.
I used to run in the dark in Central Park after work, around 9 pm at night, and although nothing bad ever happened to me, I remember feeling so nervous whenever another person would emerge out of the shadows. It’s not worth it. Treadmills are your friend for runs at odd hours.
Mother Nature’s Having a Bad Day
You’re running through a snowstorm, frozen to the bone, the only runner on the road. As you fight numbness and blinding snow, you think to yourself, “I am a badass.”
Sound familiar?
Well, those cold miles might be inferior to what you could be log on a treadmill. Hitting the tread allows you to get a controlled, better-quality run. You won’t risk slipping on black ice, run slower from the freezing temps, or experience the absolute joy of numb lips and frozen eyelashes.
Same goes for those hot and humid days. If the heat impacts your pace or sends you into dehydration cold sweats, opt for the treadmill instead.
Running on the “deadmill” still makes you pretty badass in my book.
You Want to Run Faster
Your brain says run faster, but can’t seem to get your legs on board? For interval training and tempo runs, treadmills force you to groove at the right pace with the push of a button. Once it’s set, you just hang in there. It’s like having a faster running buddy, dragging you along (for safety reasons, don’t take me literally, please.)
Even Olympian Kara Goucher uses treadmills to help her hit certain paces without the brain strain. “Sometimes workouts go by quicker because the treadmill does the thinking for you,” Goucher told Runner’s World.
Treadmills are my favorite way to do interval training precisely for this reason. Yes, getting on the track or running fast on the road is also great, but the tread will undoubtedly help you test new speeds.
Get a Dose of Social Pressure (if you run at the gym)
If you run on a treadmill at home, this doesn’t apply to you. (But the next point does.) I’m talking to the treaders at the gym. If you’re competitive like me, you’ll know what I mean by this.
Rather than running solo on the streets, you hop on the tread, determined to have the best tempo run of your life. You start out and it’s not going so well. But then, lo and behold, someone gets on the tread next to you! Well you can’t slow down now. You need to prove to this stranger just how strong you are!
Kidding aside, this works. Running on the tread at a busy gym motivates you to push harder than running outdoors alone.
You Need a Babysitter (if you run at home)
If you have kids, it can be nearly impossible to find time to run. With a treadmill, you don’t need one. Just be sure the kiddos know to stay far away from the moving tread and keep their fingers and toes to themselves.
You Need a Hill
Finding the perfect hill for repeats can be tough, especially if your city or neighborhood is mostly flat. With the tread, you can replicate hill work, which is oh-so-important for building endurance and glute and leg strength.
To Build Mental Toughness
By far the biggest complaint about treadmills is that running on them is so boring. I won’t argue with you. I’ve run on treadmills for over an hour and found it to be extremely mentally painful.
But you know what? Running in general is mentally painful.
I found that when I did hit the tread for regular steady state runs, I went to a new level of zone-out. With no distractions, your mind must be that much more disciplined as you continually put one foot in front of the other.
Give Your Joints a Break
Treadmill surfaces – especially new models with rubber treads and impact cushioning – are more forgiving on your joints than pavement, reducing your chance for injury.
Treadmills are also a better option than doing laps on an indoor or outdoor track. World-class Masters miler Ken sparks said in Runner’s World: Complete Book of Running that, “on a treadmill, there’s no lateral pressure on your knees and ankles as there would be if you were running around a track, and lateral pressure can lead to injuries.”
Running on a tread doesn’t replicate road running perfectly – since the tread moves, some of the work is done for you. But if you are someone prone to injury, try logging more treadmill miles and see if your joints feel better.
To Practice Proper Running Form
If you’re coming back from injury or a running hiatus, you might need to brush up on your running technique. When you have proper running form, you are less likely to get injured. Plus, you’ll be way more efficient (aka running will feel easier!).
With all the changing variables from outdoor runs, it can be hard to practice proper running form. Ian Torrance, an ultramarathoner who has run more than 200 ultras (and won over 50!), used a treadmill almost exclusively when coming back from a hamstring and glute injury. Running on the treadmill helped Ian, “retrain and improve my cadence and form without the distractions of tripping, steep slopes, and/or navigating traffic,” he wrote in this I Run Far piece.
Galloping Free: When to Run Outside
Preparing for Race Day
If you’re training for a road race, you’ll want to run outside at least a couple of times before the big day. Breathing outside can feel different than the controlled air indoors. It also helps you prepare for potential race day conditions like wind, winding roads, hill descension, and hot or cold temperatures.
Trail Running
Oh, the joys of running free in the woods! I have found nothing compares to the thrill and diversity of trail running. Between the choice of the treadmill or the trail, choose the trail. The fresh air will do you worlds of good.
Major Long Runs
While even some ultramarathoners do long runs on the treadmill, for your own mental sanity, do your longest runs outside. It also has some physical benefits too; because running on solid ground requires you to make your own forward momentum, you’ll have greater muscle activation than you would on the treadmill.
Lateral movements like dodging bikers and pedestrians will also strengthen muscles a treadmill, with its limited forward movement, largely ignores.
Max Speed Sessions
Have a major need for speed? Time to go outside. While treadmills are a great way to push yourself to new speeds, it can be dangerous to attempt your maximum sprint speed on them. If you really want to know how fast you can go, opt for a running track or smooth paved surface.
Which one wins?
The treadmill will never replace the joys and benefits of outdoor running. Treadmills are merely a helpful supplement to a regular running routine and offer convenience for someone who primarily works out in the gym but wants to log a few miles.
The diversity of outdoor running (uphills, downhills, lateral movement from winding trails, turns) will serve your body well and make you happy. Treadmill benefits include: keeping you out of bad weather, are a great tool for interval training, and help you build mental toughness.
If you regularly run outside or on a treadmill, mix it up every now and then! Changing up your routine is one of the best ways to keep your fitness game on its toes.
