Each with their own unique and compelling argument.

Many studies have been carried out to test the physical exertion of running indoors versus outdoors and the results are often conclusive that outdoor running provides a far better workout. However, physical exertion isn’t the only factor that comes into play when weighing up which is better for your workout needs. Here is a focus on the 3 main points for and against running on the treadmill versus running outside.

Safety & Convenience

Treadmill lovers enjoy the convenience of consistent running conditions, as well as no excuses to bail on your running plans because of challenging or potentially dangerous weather conditions, and no need to plan routes.

Outdoors the potential to land with a bad footing on uneven or slippery terrain is quite high, leading to increased risk of injury. And the terrain is not the only pitfall of outdoor running, there are visibility issues when running in the dark and the danger of a potential collision with traffic and cyclists.

Outdoor runners however, have the flexibility to throw on their running shoes and workout as soon as they set foot outside their front door if they choose. Many runners like to be able to run too and from work. No need to buy a treadmill or work around gym opening hours and outdoor running is a great way to meet likeminded people and exercise with them.

Control & Tracking Progress

The Treadmill offers runners complete control over their workout using the array of settings and premade workouts to choose from (and much much more: the in house developed coaching technology iFit offers personalized video workouts in the world’s most beautiful places and enables you to create your own running routes on Google Maps). There’s no doubt that tracking progress is much simpler when all conditions are exactly the same each time you run. You can decide on the difficulty level with different combinations of speed, incline and length of the workout. iFit does it all for you: choose an existing workout or create your own and just let your treadmill incline/decline speed up/down automatically without having to do anything.

Whereas, outdoor running depends on the route of the day and usually requires a fancy sports watch to track it on, unless you are using a running track. Depending on where you live, you might not have a great deal of choice when it comes to difficulty level, so treadmills win on having total control over your workout, especially for people who have a specific training goal: treadmill enables you to control your training metrics (speed/incline) on top of all the rest. However, we often advise to combine indoor/outdoor training for the best shape results and greatest pleasure effects.

Muscle Impact

Outdoor running enthusiasts will argue that the machine powering the treadmill belts propel the runner, altering the amount of push-off required to make each stride. Outdoor running typically relies on the quads to push off and hamstrings to finish the stride as your leg kicks back behind you. On this point running outdoors wins hands down.

On the other side of the coin however, running outdoors on uneven terrain can involve harder concentration to avoid tripping which can slow you down. This can be a hazard, but is also good for training the legs “balancing muscles” through proprioception. Running on a treadmill provides a smooth and cushioned surface to run on, meaning you can go as fast as you want and doesn’t require specialist footwear.

So WHO wins? Well, the results are in and it’s clear that whilst both have their place. Outdoor running has biomechanical and social advantages, but for a convenient workout with less chance of injury, particularly in the often inclement British weather, the treadmill is the winner and has big advantages in forming part of the mix of any training program. This is why the winning strategy is indeed to combine both and keep strength/HIIT training for indoors and endurance training for outdoors.