Treadmill vs Running Outdoor ! What is better ?

Most of the technology loving people around the world prefer treadmill as a good option to enjoy running at the comfort of your home. Various modern treadmills are equipped with features like speed control, elevation control, calorie count and numerous features on a touch screen that can connect to your smartphone to show your daily report. These eye-catching features make people spend thousands of dollars to get this luxury in your home. But are these treadmills better than running outdoor ? Lets analyze.

Every step is new while running outdoor : This is one of the major drawbacks of treadmill and one of the major benefits of running outdoor. The terrain where you are running matters a lot. Running on treadmill is repetition of same steps, except that you can adjust the elevation. While running outdoor every step is on a new surface, especially when you are not running on road. You take a lot of twists and turns which provide a complete workout for your complete body, while it is not so in a treadmill.

You push lesser on a treadmill : Most of you might not be aware of the fact that running on a treadmill require lesser push compared to an actual running. While running outdoor ground never moves backwards, while the surface of the treadmill starts moving backwards as soon as you start running on it. Even if you do a spot-point running on the floor, you will exert lesser pressure. So actual running is a better exercise than treadmill.

Your eyes and brain : Your eyes and brain don't do much of a work on a treadmill. At most you just look at the touch screen to know your speed and calorie count. But in actual running your eyes constantly scan to upcoming ground and your brain adjusts you steps accordingly. Even saving your foot from a stone on ground is an exercise of your eyes and brain. It improves reaction time and your decision making ability.

You can't go downhill on a treadmill: You may go uphill using the inclined treadmill, but there is no option to go downhill on a treadmill which is equally important. Downwards movement exercises our anterior tibialis muscles at the front of your legs. So using treadmill avoids the proper exercise of all leg muscles.

Outdoor fresh air : Some people think that outdoor air pollution can be avoided by using treadmill, but reality is that such conditions arise only for a few weeks during a whole year, otherwise outdoor air quality remains much better than indoor closed rooms. Better air quality while running provides better health results.

Mistakes are repeated in treadmill : If due to some reason your leg movement is not proper on a treadmill, then most probably you will keep repeating the same mistake. Outdoor running saves you from such mistakes as every step is new in outdoor running, so chances of repeating the same mistake is greatly reduced.

Running on treadmill is a lot easier and gives you more speed with lessor effort, but it is a good training tool. At least it is better than not running at all. Most of the people make false excuses like bad air quality, waking up late, bad weather and a lot more to avoid outdoor running. Treadmills can at least give those people a reason to run. One of the best things about treadmill is that you don't need to worry about your clothing and sunscreen.

BetterHealthFacts.com would suggest you to prefer outdoor running to get proper overall exercise. If you are preparing for half-marathon then it is better to run outside to let you experience the real effort in advance, otherwise directly jumping into half-marathon from a treadmill can put you in extreme discomfort. If you want to be high-tech then you may use smart wrist bands that can track your pulse rate, blood pressure, step count and a lot more. Choice is yours, but keep running and improving your health.

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