Anyone else feel like running on the treadmill is harder than outside?

Here's another vote for feeling harder. In fact, it just plain feels FASTER. I feel like I'm near sprinting (turnover is really cranking) at 7:15 mile pace. When I'm outside, that's pretty much a jog.

It's even harder to be on it when the weather is ideal...:) I definitely think its harder mentally and effort wise. For example, to sustain a 6:58 pace on the mill is SO much tougher than say....doing that in a race for your first mile. Yeah I know, I'm a bit slower than you guys but wanted to give you an example.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only who finds himself questioning his fitness after running on the 'mill.

linguist wrote:

The reason the "go to" explanation doesn't apply for me is I've never encountered a treadmill that felt easier than the outdoors at the same pace. If it's just a miscalibration you'd figure some treadmills would be faster and some would be slower.

But no, I've never run on one and thought to myself, "Wow, I'm crusing, I must be in awesome shape!" It's always, "holy crap, why is this so hard when I'm running so slow".

One other theory I have (which might explain two people of different abilities sharing a mill where their gap narrows on the mill) is that the mill doesn't punish shitty economy/reward good economy as much as overland running and privledges different muscles (especially de-amphasizing calf use and toe-off). I have two friends who are more midfoot strikers with good back kick and strong toe-off who say the mill doesn't feel right whereas I think my sloppy heel striking isn't penalized as much on a mill. Another thing is you tend to take longer strides on the mill than outdoors at a given pace.

I have lived in so many places and been to so many college fitness rooms and gyms and run on so many treadmills that I have been able to compare mills alot and they are just damn inconsistent from machine to machine. I have been on a few that are clearly slower than the readout says, and many that are somewhat faster than the readout says.

I

I can get my HR higher on a treadmill than I can outdoors. I find the robotic metronome of the mill easier than running outdoors. I can hang on longer and cutdown more in a "cutdown" type tempo on the mill than outdoors, which is, of course, a worthless skill.

Back when I was in decent shape, I tried to do a tempo run on a treadmill, but six minute pace felt like an all out sprint. My intention was to cut down from 6 to 5:25 or so and it never happened. It was thoroughly demoralizing. Of course, I did the same workout a week later on the track and it was a success.

Screw treadmills! Bah!

Thanks all for the responses as they've been very reassuring. I was worried something was wrong with me, that there was something in my health or training that needed to be fixed since I couldn't run well on the treadmill, but it appears this is a common experience. From now on I'm gonna say f*** the mph and go completely off of feel. I think I'm also going to buy a batter powered fan and bring it with me. Hopefully the weather will cooperate as much as possible this winter and I can suit up and run outside.

Treadmill much easier.

You lot must be better at avoiding work than I am.

Yes. I hate treadmill running. Me and my teammate run indoor track and sometimes we are forced to use the Life-fitness treadmills at anytime fitness due to inclement weather. We can usually run 6:30-6:40 pace pretty easily for around 8-10 miles outdoors. However, when we set the treadmill to 6:40 pace (9.0 MPH) it feels more like 6:20-6:25 pace and by 4 miles I'm already slightly fatigued, whereas 4 miles at that pace on the road outside is nice and relaxing. The air quality in the gym must also be a factor because I can barely breathe in there and my shirt is soaked after 5-6 miles. We felt that we were not in shape or out of fitness due to how hard it was for us to go 6:40 pace, yet we knew that the calibration must have been off. It is relieving to see that some people are experiencing the same difficulties with the treadmill. Now I know its not just all in our heads.

Recently I've been coming across articles that talk about why it's so much harder to give less effort when it comes to treadmills. It may seem like an oxymoron, but when I say effort I'm referring to the physical benefit the body has from running.

Apparently the bounce factor on a treadmill is a pretty rough thing to overcome, but at speeds over 7mph and at a 1% incline things magically become easier than running outside. Something about the physics of wind resistance and one other (I believe the most) important factor. Stride on a treadmill is vastly different than outdoors - something I've noticed in myself and others but I can't claim this is true for everyone as the articles do. On a treadmill your stride is shorter even if it feels longer because your body is compensating for that drag sensation that's propelling you forward as well as trying to accommodate the bouncier nature of a treadmill when compared to the outdoors.

There's also a theory that at the moment of impact the belt is pressed against the machine enough to halt the machine's movement - even for a miniscule amount of time. This followed by the drag of the machine resuming it's preferred method of torture causes weird things to happen with your stride, your joints, and muscles that are interrupted in their flexion patterns. Is flexion a word? I don't even know. What I'm trying to explain is that the muscles flow through a certain pattern when running, and the treadmill can supposedly disrupt this pattern with minute breaks causing the muscle to seize slightly as it attempts to adjust to the irregularity.

I don't know if the studies are accurate or not, but it makes sense with my experience. I'm not as great a runner as you all, so I won't even mention my speeds ;). All I know is treadmills make my calves cramp and my knees ache and doing even just a mile on one some days is tantamount to Hiroshima happening in my heart and soul. But, then, some days running outside is a terrible experience. Maybe people who subconsciously know it's gonna be a bad running day has for the treadmill and blame it all on the machine; and when the days feel great, people head outdoors to rejoice and run wild and free off into the sunset. Or sunrise. Or street lamp.

Tldr; treadmills can be the pits. But so can everything.

Hm, this is an interesting thread. I often run on treadmills for my easy days as a way to slow myself down. When I run outside, I find that my mind wanders and I inadvertently pick up the pace throughout the run. By the last mile or two, I'm usually moving pretty good. Of course, this defeats the purpose of an easy run. But on a treadmill, I can set my tempo, zone out, and complete a day of easy work without too much of an issue.

A Woodway treadmill will compensate for what you mentioned. They are expensive, but worth it for a true running experience. I have even used pin spikes on mine as the surface allows for it.

biscuit07 wrote:

There's also a theory that at the moment of impact the belt is pressed against the machine enough to halt the machine's movement - even for a miniscule amount of time. This followed by the drag of the machine resuming it's preferred method of torture causes weird things to happen with your stride, your joints, and muscles that are interrupted in their flexion patterns. Is flexion a word? I don't even know. What I'm trying to explain is that the muscles flow through a certain pattern when running, and the treadmill can supposedly disrupt this pattern with minute breaks causing the muscle to seize slightly as it attempts to adjust to the irregularity.

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Sorry to bump an old post, but thanks for the paragraph above. That sensation of stopping the belt at impact is exactly what I have been experiencing. It makes the muscles feel off, almost an injury waiting to happen especially at higher speeds. And this is on my wife’s expensive precor treadmill.

I saw on Strava that kyle Merber thinks his recent Achilles issue is from that impact wobble phenomenon.

I note that the ingebrigstens run a lot on the treadmill, how do they stand it??

I forgot to add, I also feel a HUGE perceived effort difference on the treadmill.

Running 6min pace on the treadmill feels like an all out sprint. As an experiment, I adjusted the treadmill speed without looking until the perceived effort matched my normal outside easy pace effort (7 to 730 miles, verified by GPS, and ya know, decades of competitive running)—the result on the treadmill was 10 min pace!

I think I’m just going to throw pace completely out the window on the treadmill from now on.

The weather is getting bad here and due to life constraints it’s gonna be treadmill or nothing —besides basing off effort only, anyone have tips on improving treadmill running?

Mill problem guy wrote:

I forgot to add, I also feel a HUGE perceived effort difference on the treadmill.

Running 6min pace on the treadmill feels like an all out sprint. As an experiment, I adjusted the treadmill speed without looking until the perceived effort matched my normal outside easy pace effort (7 to 730 miles, verified by GPS, and ya know, decades of competitive running)—the result on the treadmill was 10 min pace!

Agree with this, and for me at least, I think it's a balance issue.

My sense of balance is horrible and always has been. Which makes running on the treadmill at 10 min/mile pace or faster problematic, as I have to fully concentrate on my footplant at all times. Don't want to think about what might happen if I were to stumble while on the treadmill, so I work hard to make sure that never happens.

I'm jealous of people who can run at any sort of speed on a treadmill while reading books, watching TV, talking to a friend, or ogling girls in the gym. My eyes are firmly planted on the belt at all times!

FoghornLonghorn wrote:

linguist wrote:

The reason the "go to" explanation doesn't apply for me is I've never encountered a treadmill that felt easier than the outdoors at the same pace. If it's just a miscalibration you'd figure some treadmills would be faster and some would be slower.

But no, I've never run on one and thought to myself, "Wow, I'm crusing, I must be in awesome shape!" It's always, "holy crap, why is this so hard when I'm running so slow".

Same with me - the 'mill ALWAYS feels harder than outside running.

Always harder on the treadmill! I'm 60 years old and every winter I have a few days with no choice but to get my run done on a treadmill. I've probably been on 50 of them in various gyms. EVERY treadmill run is harder than running outside!!!

I have a very good treadmill, high end BH since 2014 and i run about 50% on trails/road and 50% treadmill.

First i have to say, if i run 1 week all treadmill runs when back on the roads it feels harder but also when i do 1 week all in the road treadmill feels harder too!

About pace, i found that treadmill and road feel about the same, you just need to calibrate it well. The HUGE difference which has already been posted here is the amount of heat you produce that cant be lost due to no wind whatsoever, plus being in a closed space with probably less O2 and greater humidity as time goes by in your run, all of this makes perceived effort harder on the treadmill than outside.

What ive noticed that cant be compared and you cant simulate on treadmills is hill climbing and mountain running, no matter the incline running up a hill outaide will always feel way harder than 15% grade on a treadmill.

Research has shown that treadmill running on flat setting costs about 7% less energy than the same speed on a flat surface outside. Realize that when running at 6-min mile pace outside (even with no wind blowing) you are creating a 10 MPH headwind. Often heart rate is higher on a treadmill because no wind to cool your body.

It may be harder for the head, but if I observe the speed and HR, it is easier.