Posted: 3/20/2008 12:27:07 PM EDT
| does the body exert more energy on a treadmill ,than walking on hard ground? you are being assisted on a treadmill,where on hard ground all the momentum is on you? |
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I don't see how a treadmill assists you. The only difference I can think of would be that you don't have to fight momentum to change your speed, but that's negligible and only applies in the first second of walking. You can adjust the treadmill to whatever speed and incline you want, so how intense of a walk/run it is is up to you. |
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I'll take a stab at this. The way I see it, the treadmill keeps you honest: steady pace/incline. Ground doesn't. And the only way I know that it "assists" is making sure the joints are well taken care of BECAUSE of that consistent surface. Walkaround your block at a steady several times...without looking at your feet. You're gonna hit a rock or something sooner or later which will make you exert ankle/knee/hip joints. |
oh today i had motivation! chickie,s from the local girls collage were in the cardio room today! 
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In my personal experience I find that I use slightly more energy running outdoors than I do on my treadmill. I made some timed 10 minute mile runs while monitoring my heart rate both outdoors and on the treadmill. In order for me to have the same heart rate on the treadmill as I do outdoors I have to set the incline to +2.5 degrees. The difference is very minor though.... |
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AZ Sky is right. If your treadmill is set at "flat", all you are doing is picking up your feet and putting them down. You are not pushing off like if you were propelling yourself forward (like if you were on pavement). The belt is moving under you so you don't really need to push forward as hard on a treadmill. I read somewhere that 2% grade on a treadmill = 0% grade on pavement. So if you run on a treadmill, make sure you dial in at least 2% to get the benefit of running outdoors. |
If I just picked my feet up and put them straight back down again, I'd fall off the back of the treadmill. 
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