Running Training on a Treadmill vs. Outdoors

Should you be doing your running training on a treadmill? Or Outdoors?

Whilst there are sometimes personal circumstances that will prohibit you from running outdoors (unsafe at night or can’t take children with you etc) the answer is that you should ALWAYS attempt to conduct ALL of your running sessions outdoors.

Why?

Here are 8 reasons you should be running outdoors:

1. The fresh air is good for you. It’s good for your mindset to get outside and have some clarity away from the 4 walls of a gym.

2. It’s easy to go numb on the treadmill and just stare at the TV in front of you rather than experiencing the enjoyment of running. You’re literally running on the spot. When you run outside you’re able to enjoy your surroundings

3. You never challenge yourself. You stick to the safe speed you determine on the treadmill and you never make an attempt to challenge yourself.

4. You don’t get to take advantage of the undulating ground that you’d get outdoors. Hills, flat stretches, winding paths. All of these factors are chances to challenge yourself.

5. It’s not relevant or realistic. You’re never going to conduct a beep test or a 2.4km on a treadmill ever.

6. You can’t take advantage of ‘atmospherics’. You don’t get to enjoy the sun on your face, the rain, the cold air in your lungs. There’s no air-conditioning on the battlefield now… is there

7. The treadmill does the work for you. It’s YOU that needs to do the work!

8. There is a saying in the military ‘train the way you fight’. This is the same, train the way you’re going to train in the military and that is to do your running outdoors.

The bottom line here is that you need to keep your training relevant. There is no point wasting a training session on something that isn’t going to help you achieve your goals.

Run outside. Put your phone away. Get out of the air-con. Enjoy the burn. Enjoy getting sweaty and enjoy being in and around nature.

If you would like more advice on improving your running for the ADF then please feel free to get in touch with The Barracks Gym.
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