Treadmill Jogging Vs Road Jogging

Question
Mile for mile, do you get the same workout running on a treadmill vs road or trail jogging?  I typically run 4 miles daily but on a treadmill I do it much quicker, reducing my time by 3-4 minutes.  Am I getting more or less out of a treadmill workout?

Answer
You'll get more real-world benefit from running outdoors, than you would with a treadmill.  One of the reasons you can do it faster on a TM is that you aren't facing any wind resistance, and the belt is slightly pulling your leg back, instead of you pushing & propelling directly from the ground.  

TM's are fine for temporary runs, but as a stand-alone method, TM's can lead to cause issues with your running.  This occurs if people run too long, such as 6-8 months on a TM alone, and then try to run outdoors at the same speeds and at different conditions (windy, rainy, slopes of roads, etc).  Their body is too used to the flat landings, versus the slightly slanted landings on a road or sidewalk, or an un-even trail.  

I would notice this during my fitness center days as a trainer, when I'd try to run indoors on a TM during the winter months, and adjust to outdoor running in the spring.  I would generally run about 1/2 the distance of what I'd do on a TM and gradually build up my mileage for each run over the course of a few weeks.

I used to train athletes on a very high speed treadmill (top speed over 28mph on this thing), plus at various inclines, which went up to 40% grade.  This was okay and offered some benefit due to the high inclines, but it was more short-distance speed based efforts (long distance runners would run at more realistic inclines and more at their speeds close to race pace levels, much like an effort equal to a fast 200, 300, or 400m repeat run).  However, once I went into private training with kettlebells, and some of the athletes who I trained on the Hi-speed treadmill and also trained with the KB's with me, they noticed a big difference in the benefits of the KB training over the treadmill alone training.  I did the simple kettlebell swing as my 'staple' of choice for high intensity training & conditioning for athletes.  This exercise helps you develop power by absorbing & re-directing the force of the KB on a consistent level.  I also had it tested with a calorimeter and it showed on my testing to be equal to that of a 7 minute mile pace for my calories/minute rating of the KB swing.  Since then, I have stuck with KB swing training as my winter workout option for cardio, and its helped me transition very smoothly into spring running workouts.

I have a YouTube video on my YouTube channel with the KB swing in action, as well as the Dumbbell variation.  Go here: http://youtube.com/speeddialcoach to view the Power & Control for Sports video to see this demo, mixed in with jump rope training.  Its about 10 minutes, just to let you know.

I hope this helps you well,

Rick Karboviak
http://speeddialcoach.com/minimax.pdf (My free fitness guide)