I was wrong about the treadmill

[JRT6]

A few weeks ago I got into a debate about the treadmill being as good as the road. My point was that if used with the incline setting and such the tradmill was good enough and only a few road runs would be needed.

Well I was wrong. I admit it, flame away I got my flame resistant suit on. Turns out the orthopedic treamill I run on is simply to soft(easy) and I weigh too much and knees hurt too much to raise the incline more than 2 degrees. My road time in the mile and half was about 15 seconds off and after running the course I thought I was going to die.

I'm still stuck on the mill for health reasons but I'll now keep it in better persective. My gym does have a race treadmill that better equates on the road but it's a harder pounding than a sidewalk.

<small>[ 04-15-2003, 10:47 AM: Message edited by: JRT6 ]</small>

[Xanthorius]

I'm still heavy (all those college tater tots!), so I use the treadmill. But speaking as a former cross country runner (4 years), I can say that you're right, it's not the same at ALL. But if you're heavy or have some joint problems, the treadmill is great because you can get the running in without as much potential damage.

[Delta_V]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by Xanthorius:
<strong> But if you're heavy or have some joint problems, the treadmill is great because you can get the running in without as much potential damage.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Exactly. Treadmill running is NOT the same as road running, yet it does have its own benefits. You still get good cardio exercise and it's not as bad on your knees. What you sacrifice in time and realism you will gain years down the road when you don't have the joint problems that most runners get.

[CodeZeroOn1]

A lot of the runners from my gym like to train indoors on the Stairmast StepMill(the row of stairs) for whatever reason. I've tried it, but it makes my legs feel like lead after 15mins on the thing.
I mostly switch off between the bike, treadmill and elliptical when I do cardio. I usually grab which ever one is available at that moment.

[kirch]

I'm no excercise physiologist, but it would seem to me that the actual activity (i.e. running outside) is always going to be more advantageous than the facsimile activity (i.e. treadmill).

The strongest people I've ever met never set foot in a gym or (god forbid!) health club. They were farmers who got their excercise throwing 100-lb. bales of hay around; roofers that lugged 75-lb. stacks of shingles up and down ladders all day long; movers who strapped 400-lb. boxes to their backs and walked up and down stairs for 10 hours.

Such labor-intensive work excercises the whole body as one unit, increasing overall strength and/or fitness. The machines and weights in a health club seemed primarily designed to work a specific muscle or, at best, a specific group of muscles. Even equipment designed to recreate the actual activity (i.e. the stationary bike) still can't completely copy the effect of going up and down hills, pushing against the wind or struggling to stay upright in the wake of a passing tractor-trailer rig.

[Delta_V]

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by kirch:
<strong>I'm no excercise physiologist, but it would seem to me that the actual activity (i.e. running outside) is always going to be more advantageous than the facsimile activity (i.e. treadmill).</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Facsimle activity?? Running is running, no matter where you do it. Treadmill running just doesn't give you a clear picture of what your times would be on the street since you run at a controlled pace. Still, you get the exact same cardiovascular benefits as road running with less of a cost to your joints.

Any type of aerobic activity that gets your heart rate in the target range is beneficial. Your body doesn't know the difference between a treadmill or a road.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Originally posted by kirch:
<strong>The strongest people I've ever met never set foot in a gym or (god forbid!) health club. They were farmers who got their excercise throwing 100-lb. bales of hay around; roofers that lugged 75-lb. stacks of shingles up and down ladders all day long; movers who strapped 400-lb. boxes to their backs and walked up and down stairs for 10 hours.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">While all of these activities would help to increase strength, they also give a very high chance for injury. There's a reason you don't see people strapping 400 lb. boxes to their back and walking up stairs to get fit...it's not safe. How many of the people you described will have long-term back injuries because of the activities they engaged in?

A properly planned workout that targets specific body groups on different days has been proven to be the most beneficial for both strength gain and injury prevention.

[Locker22]

I'll go for this one. I am a runner. I use to be a jogger but getting from point A to B is no longer my function. It all comes down to time. I use to run a 8 minute mile (way back last summer) I got tired of running in winter because of the elements. I got a treadmill. If you think this is easier than running outdoors let me enlighten you. Inclines of 10 degrees for any amount of time will make you so sore you won't want to get out of bed the next morning. You can always monitor your exact speed because it's constant. You can't slow down like you would running on the elements. On my dread mill (I call it that) you can adjust the cushion of the ground I'm running on and finally the scenery never changes.

[FLLawdog]

I think I'm gonna send this over the the brand new Health and Fitness section. Kinda fill it up some more!

[Joseph]

The only good part I find about the treadmill is we have a lot of rain down here in the summer and the winter. If I didn't have the treadmill I'd have a good excuse to not do anything on the rainy days. Other than that we have some good coures to run on in Metaire which is the suburbs of New Orleans where I live.