Is Outdoor Running or Treadmill Running More Effective for Weight Loss? Trainers Weigh In
The health benefits of running are well-known: It improves heart health, boosts immunity, aids in weight loss and the list goes on. While there’s no denying running is good for you, there’s a popular question among running enthusiasts that leaves room for debate: When it comes to weight loss, is running on a treadmill or running outside more effective?
We asked a few trainers to share their insights.
Pros and Cons of Indoor and Outdoor Running
First, it’s important to compare the advantages and disadvantages of treadmill running and outdoor running in general. John Gardner, a NASM-certified personal trainer and the CEO and co-founder of Kickoff, breaks it down:
Outdoor running
Pros:
Offers a change of scenery which makes it more exciting.
Fresh air makes it more enjoyable and refreshing as well as exciting to actually go for a run.
Change of terrains and roads can get the heartbeat pumping making it more effective for weight loss.
Completely free of charge and can be done at any time of the day.
Cons:
Weather conditions can affect your consistency.
Difficult to plan intensity and inclination.
Related: 10 Actually Fun Outdoor Activities to Get You Up and Moving—and Improve Your Mental Health, Too
Treadmill running
Pros:
Ability to follow a strict workout that suits your exact needs.
Ability to control inclination and speed to ensure a specific amount of calories will be burnt.
Can be done in front of the TV or at the gym, making it unaffected by weather conditions and easy to stay consistent.
Can use interval training to help spike your heart rate and get the most out of your workout to reach weight loss faster.
Cons:
Being indoors and running in place can make a workout seem really long and boring, which could heavily impact a person's consistency.
More expensive than running outdoors.
Matt Claes, founder of Weight Loss Made Practical, also weighs in, saying that the first benefit of running on a treadmill is that you can do it inside, at home, or in the gym. "This makes it so you are less dependent on the weather for your workouts," he says. "Even if there's a storm outside, you can just do your workout as usual."
On the flip side, outdoor running makes it so you also get some extra sunlight which offers a variety of benefits like getting more vitamin D, improving sleep, mood and more.
Running outside also usually involves uneven surfaces. A downside is that this involves a higher injury risk but the upside is that you work a variety of stabilizing muscles to a larger extent. "Having stronger stabilizing muscles around your ankles, knees and core, in turn, leads to reduced injury risk in your daily activities," Claes says.
Another potential downside of outdoor running? It becomes easier to skip your workouts when the weather isn't great.
Outdoor Running vs. Treadmill Running for Weight Loss
The effectiveness of these different workouts depends on the running workout you have in place.
If you're running at the same pace and don't add challenges to your treadmill workout, then running outdoors will help burn calories. There is a weather factor to consider, as your body burns more calories in the heat as a result of sweat and also burns more calories in the winter to keep your body warm, Gardner states.
However, the treadmill offers an excellent advantage and a faster way to lose weight as it allows you to control what you do to achieve the results you're looking for.
This can be done by using interval training to spike up the heart rate and maximize fat burning as well as increasing speed and inclination to add more resistance and cardio to burn more calories.
“How effective each type of running is for weight loss depends a lot on the speed you implement,” Claes states. “If you would do both at the same speeds, outdoor running will generally be slightly better for weight loss due to the secondary positive effects of sunlight and the more challenging surface. However, it is definitely possible that you have to slow down a bit outside to avoid injuries.”
Something else to keep in mind when running for weight loss is consistency. If you really don't like running in rain, cold weather or warm weather, chances are you're going to skip a decent amount of outside running workouts.
On the flip side, these factors will not hold you back when running on a treadmill somewhere inside.
Since consistency is so important in a weight loss plan, you can argue that running on a treadmill performs better in this area, Claes adds. So, it really depends on your personal preferences, how much sunlight you get throughout the rest of the day and how fast you do each version.
How Long You Need to Run to Lose Weight
It’s important to note that weight loss depends on factors such as age, gender, pace, body weight, resistance and the workout routine you do, Gardner adds. However, as a general guideline, it is recommended that you run for at least 45 minutes three to five times a week to lose weight.
Claes shares that the amount of running someone could have to do to lose weight can range significantly from a very short amount of time "to basically never being able to compensate for their habits in other lifestyle habits."
To lose weight, you have to make it so your movements require more energy than what's coming in from food. In a situation like this, your body starts getting its energy from stores like body fat.
Running can help with this by making it so that you move more intensely and in turn, use up more energy, Claes explains.
For example, a 155-pound person can burn around 330 calories (equivalent to around 0.1 pounds of body fat) when running 5.2 miles per hour for 30 minutes. However, to make sure this amount of calories comes from body fat, this person has to have good habits in other lifestyle habits, like their diet.
An exercise beginner can start with something like three 20-minute running sessions a week, wait for the results, and then decide whether they want to implement more or faster running or take a look at other lifestyle areas such as eating habits.
Next up: Here's How Much Cardio You Actually Need To Do Every Week To Lose Weight
Sources
John Gardner, a NASM-certified personal trainer and the CEO and Co-Founder of Kickoff
Matt Claes, founder of Weight Loss Made Practical
