How different is the treadmill to the street?

[irish_street]

I run on a treadmill at my gym all the time and i always hear how running on the street youll lose more weight. Is it that big of a difference?

[bacon]

Running requires more energy on the street,sidewalk,dirt path/whatever because you have to overcome the stopping force of your front foot hitting the ground over and over and over.....On a treadmill, part of this work is done for you. You can make the treadmill more difficult by using the incline function, or you can run longer or faster on the treadmill than you normally would on the street.

[Girljock]

I would run on the street when possible. I run on the treddie when it's raining or something like that. It requires more effort to run outside....as was stated above...the treadmill is moving.....the ground is not.

[mixicus]

There's some discussion on this over at the Cool Running site. From what I gather, it depends on how fast you're running. Running 6-9 mph on a quality treadmill, the difference is minimal at most. Some studies mentioned show no difference between treadmill and outdoor running; others research shows outdoor running burns 3-5 percent more calories. This assumes flat even terrain not trail running. One of the ideas central to the difference is overcoming wind resistance, which may explain the small difference in calorie burn. If you're running faster than about 10 mph (6 minute/mile) pace, outdoor running may burn up to 10% more calories than running on a treadmill due to increased wind resistance.

To keep perspective, running 3 miles at a 10min/mile pace burns about 540 cals (depending on the person). So the difference between indoor and outdoor running at this mark is ~50 cals or less across 30 min of exerecise. In the grand scheme of weight loss...if you like the treadmill, keep banging away.

[irish_street]

Thanks alot guys

[supmaynnn]

i would definitely think on the street u would have higher impact like vilo said

[Fighter ex]

On the street you are propelling your weight which takes alot more energy. Treadmill obviously you stay in one spot

[Tristram Shandy]

I suppose this is off-topic but one thing about running *alot* on the street is that everyone in your neighborhood will know you.

Places that I've heard: "Hey, aren't you that guy who runs all the time?"

1)Work
2)Italian Restaurant
3)Strip Club

[CelebritySexist]

Well, when running outside, your core has to work to keep you stable ie working against wind resistance and keeping your torso upright.

[GoRiders]

Outside is more entertaining as you can go places and see stuff.