How much easier is a treadmill?

Interesting thread...I can't say I have an answer, but I do know this:

I'm a 17min 5ker, 36 min 10ker. In the winter, I lift weights with my buddy, and then I run on the treadmill while he rides the exercise bike.

We lift every other day, so on off days, i'm outside, and typically only run 3-5 miles.

On the treadmill, I almost always end up going faster than 10 miles per hour. In fact, one week I set out to run the fastest possible 5k on the 'mill.

I set it at 2%, and was able to run 16:30 for the 5k, and 22:00 for four miles. The fitness center we work out at has an older clientele, so it is very hot, and I was dripping with sweat.

My point is this, In mid-February when i've been doing less than 25 miles a week since December, I'm in no way shape or form able to run a true 16:30 5k, or 22:15 for four miles.

I've checked this result against other treadmills, and it seems they are similarily calibrateds. So I figure that treadmill running truly is easier.

I do think you are actually running at the same rate as on the roads. However, the assistance of the machine keeping a perfect pace makes a huge difference. In a typical road 5k, I'm sure my speed varies from just under 10mph all the way to 12 mph. Keeping a constant pace has to be beneficial, especially if you don't have to do it. I would say it is similar to using weight machines versus free weights.

So in other words, you really have no idea what the true speeds of the treadmills are, only that they similar throughout the gym. That does not constitute "calibrated".

Second item, I'm not trying to be snide, but if your 5k paces really are varying from 10 to 12 MPH (6:00/mile to 5:00/mile) and the course is flat, it doesn't surprise me that you run 17:00 on the road vs. 16:30 on a TM at a constant pace. Constant pace, as you say, IS very beneficial.

Exactly!

Sure there's a difference, but it is a lot better to run on the mill than not at all.

This is absolutely correct.

There is no force causing deceleration of forward momentum (gravity pulls in one direction only), so therefore to use the "poruing a drink in a car" analogy, even if the car were 10 stories tall, wind resistance aside, there would be no loss of forward momentum and the beverage would hit the cup no matter how far away the bottle was.

Similarly, from the point of pushoff to foot strike, there is no loss of forward momentum, EXCEPT FOR WIND RESISTANCE. The 1% grade can compensate for any and all discrepancies.

This has been a very helpful discussion thread for simple-minded folk such as myself. Many thanx

Closet Treadmiller wrote:

This is absolutely correct.

There is no force causing deceleration of forward momentum (gravity pulls in one direction only), so therefore to use the "poruing a drink in a car" analogy, even if the car were 10 stories tall, wind resistance aside, there would be no loss of forward momentum and the beverage would hit the cup no matter how far away the bottle was.

Similarly, from the point of pushoff to foot strike, there is no loss of forward momentum, EXCEPT FOR WIND RESISTANCE. The 1% grade can compensate for any and all discrepancies.

This has been a very helpful discussion thread for simple-minded folk such as myself. Many thanx

he's right

so in lieu of the snow today, i had to back to the basement and hit up the treadmill again, this time with a 1% incline of course. i'm now a firm believer it's almost exactly the same as running outside, save the near dehydration from it being about 80 degrees and no air circulation...

I'm a loser.

I'm a bigger loser.

No I'm a bigger loser.

No, I'm a bigger loser.

NO, I'm the biggest loser.

How about your all a bunch of losers.

padma wrote:

I'm a loser.

I'm a bigger loser.

No I'm a bigger loser.

No, I'm a bigger loser.

NO, I'm the biggest loser.

How about your all a bunch of losers.

....it must be really cool to be as smart as you are..

Can't be that smart...he spelled "you're" wrong.

I apologize for the incorrect spelling of "you're"

It is funny to have such a discussion on treadmills. (I have to stop posting after I've been drinking)

what is a "treadmill"? serious question. thanks!

bring it up for dave.

i find it much harder to run on the treadmill and maintain the paces I can outdoors. I've tried mile repeats on the treadmill, and 5:40ish miles felt like the equivalent of under 5:20 pace. Not sure why, maybe just being inside or something, but I have an awful time running for extended periods on treadmills or running fast on them.

My treadmill goes about 1000 miles per hour. It is called planet Earth.

bump

Hi buddies!

In a nutschell, TM helps when Mother Nature has quirks; on the other hand, running on TM is boring.

The next step is how to reduce boredom. For example, varying pace every whenever? Outrunning the fat fellows in the gym, as one of you pointed out? Please provide as many tips and tricks as possible.

Bill

I'm late wandering in to this, but Jim is absolutely correct -- treadmill running is not "assisted". A number of people get confused because they are not moving relative to the gym, but the point is that they are moving relative to the treadmill belt. In fact the gym itself is moving with respect to the sun, but you don't hear anyone arguing that running in the opposite direction that the earth rotates is "assisted" (very much so, it rotates at hundreds of miles per hour)

The 1% wind resistance factor may have merit, but that's only a few seconds per mile difference. If it's warm inside the gym, that could have a much greater effect, especially when one considers the lack of cooling, hence Sam's experience. The most likely reason that some find they can run substantially faster on a treadmill is poor calibration.

The next step is how to reduce boredom. For example, varying pace every whenever? O

One way is to use an MP3 player. Another is to put it on one of the hill programs, so it varies the incline for you automatically.

I have to say that I've always thought that treadmills were easier. I am somewhat convinced that they aren't as "easy" as I once thought by the comments above. However I wonder if the emphasis is on the same muscles on a tread mill. Do the hamstrings have to provide as much power on a treadmill as they do on land?