Last spring Susan Lewandowski decided to break out of her usual routine.
“I was mostly an indoor athlete,” said Lewandowski, a 27-year-old corporate-events planner who lives in Chicago. “I worked out a lot at the health club. My cardio routine was an hour on a treadmill, elliptical trainer or stair climber.”
Then Lewandowski enrolled in a triathlon training class at the Lakeshore Athletic Club in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. She didn’t know what to expect on the bike and swim portions, because she had never pursued either activity for fitness. But Lewandowski figured the run segment would be easy enough based on logging plenty of treadmill miles.
The open road turned her thinking inside-out. Like many exercisers who venture back outside this time of year, Lewandowski found what she could do on a machine didn’t exactly match up with nature.
“Your feet feel heavier,” Lewandowski said. “The knees and joints take a pounding.”
Even as a seasoned triathlete–she finished impressively in her age group at last summer’s Mrs. T’s Triathlon in Chicago–Lewandowski said the indoors-to-outside transition remains difficult this spring.
“It still surprises me now,” she said. “It really takes a lot more effort to run outdoors.”
Same goes for biking and swimming in the open water. There is no one scientific formula to calculate the equivalent of your indoor workout out in nature. Most experts and recreational athletes estimate that going two to three miles inside translates to about a mile outdoors.
“Class members have told me, ‘Gosh, I tried to run two miles outside and I could barely make it,’ ” said Libby Hurley, triathlon instructor at the Lakeshore Athletic Club and founder of Together We Tri coaching service (www.togetherwetri.com). “They’re disappointed because they were doing five miles on the treadmill.”
Karyn Esser is an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago and an avid recreational athlete who has completed marathons. She knows enough to identify treadmills as more valuable than no workout but not up to the gold standard of outdoor running.
“During a recent business trip I used the fitness center in my hotel,” she recalled. “I know my own pace [roughly eight-minute miles]. I finished my run, looked at the mileage and thought to myself, ‘No way I went that far.’ “
Nonetheless, Esser said, there is “no biomechanical data” to support thinking that running outside is more difficult than treadmill workouts. One hypothesis is that the treadmill is easier on the body because the hip-flexor muscles are less taxed, getting help from the rotating motorized belt. But research shows running form is typically consistent indoors or out, Esser said.
The biomechanics usually are different when comparing indoor and outdoor cycling. When riding a stationary bike, exercisers might read or watch TV. They don’t keep their hands on the handlebar or stay in proper riding alignment. Riding outdoors requires more work to stay balanced and safe.
“People have to know their joint angles for the most efficient riding position,” Esser said.
Checking revolutions per minute is a must for serious fitness cyclists, Hurley said, while indoor exercisers “don’t look at RPM too much.”
Most of all, environmental factors make the outdoors more challenging.
The more obvious contributors, including hard surfaces and strong winds, are joined by more subtle changes, such as slowing down to avoid another person.
Some outdoor factors are indisputable, such as taking safety precautions on your bike. Wear a properly fitted helmet, of course, and do your best to see who is in your way. Even with that, Lewandowski’s straning was delayed last summer when she broke her arm in a biking accident.
There is no question that risk of injury is much lower for indoor workouts, especially on bikes and treadmills. Stationary-bike rides eliminate the threat of other cyclists, runners, pedestrians, cars, dogs, you name it. Treadmills are easier on the knees, which often are vulnerable joints among runners and exercise walkers.
There are simply more things to handle during outside workouts. Any one of us who has navigated Chicago’s lakefront or a busy suburban bike path can empathize.
“The body has to make corrections for differences in surface, especially in the legs and torso,” said Cedric Bryant, chief exercise scientist for the American Council on Exercise. “There are a number of `terrain coefficients’ that researchers have calculated to show the extra work for muscles. Another difference is there is much less of what we call `ground reaction or impact force’ when you are running on a treadmill or cushioned track.”
Bryant said that although “indoors is thermally neutral,” the challenges of wind and temperature are tangible. For example, running, biking or rowing into a crosswind can make your body feel like it is carrying four times its weight. On hot days, you will be sending blood and oxygen not only to muscles but also the skin.
Pay attention
Blending science with reality, Bryant said, attention span is one of the best explanations for why outdoor workouts trump indoor training.
“You are more engaged in feedback outside,” he said. “It fights the boredom on a treadmill, stationary bike or pool. That’s a good thing, but because a major deterrent to long-term exercise adherence is lack of variety in your routine.”
Bill Leach is a local fitness coach who teaches Peak Performance classes with the Chicago Area Runners Association (CARA). He said many “treadmill runners” sign up for his weekly lecture/workouts this time of year.
“People get bored on the treadmill or steppers,” said Leach, who runs several corporate fitness programs along with his CARA duties. “They reach a point where they need more from a workout. Plus, some people also enjoy the social aspects of group runs and workouts.”
Not to say you should junk cardio-machine workouts. Leach said that even the most hard-core runners use treadmills when squeezed for time or limited by poor weather.
Interestingly, Lewandowski said, she frequently goes back indoors on particularly hot and humid days because the outdoor weather causes her to have headaches.
What’s more, research clearly shows the mental benefits of exercise are apparent whether you cover two to three miles across town or in your spare bedroom.
One study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, for example, showed 30 minutes on a treadmill every day can relieve depression more quickly than many drugs used for the same purpose.
`Functional fitness’
Passing up the cardiovascular machine for what’s out your front door is a choice that encourages more “functional fitness,” as recommended by many of today’s cutting-edge trainers.
You develop more agility, balance and coordination on the open road. Outdoor workouts enhance neuromuscular function, which can literally help you catch the bus or run errands on your bike.
The same concept of what exercise scientists call “proprioception” applies to strength training when you move from machines to free weights.
Proprioception is a neuromuscular process that allows the body to stabilize and stay oriented to movement. The mind sends messages to the central nervous system–maybe you are stepping off a curb or avoiding a pothole on your bike–which then are relayed to the rest of your body about how to react and with what amount of muscle tension.
This mind-body “training” is automatic with every movement from walking down stairs to zipping around an in-line skating park. It is an unconscious movement but can be improved with exercise. That’s why trainers and coaches recommend outdoor workouts for recreational athletes or at least getting off the indoor machines.
“The muscles do have memory,” said Libby Hurley, who took a sabbatical from her career as a physician’s assistant specializing in neurosurgery to start her triathlon coaching business. “Proprioception is basically an exchange of chemicals in the body. You want to encourage the connection between mind and body.”
Go out and get refreshed
Maybe the best reason to come out from indoors is self-confidence. Last spring and summer, Libby Hurley, triathlon instructor at the Lakeshore Athletic Club, guided 16 women to finish their first triathlon. Many were self-professed and committed “indoor athletes.” They all learned such practical matters as fixing a flat tire, the best running for busy weekends and “spotting” their position in open water every third or fifth stroke. But the resonance of accomplishment stood out most.
“My workouts [outdoors] were so much more rewarding last year,” said Susan Lewandowski, one of the class participants. “I really didn’t start out thinking I could actually finish the triathlon.”
Lewandowski said she never rode a stationary bike much (“it’s no fun working all day, then sitting for a workout”) and wasn’t inclined to jump in the health club pool. She now plans to run outdoors twice each week this season along with one long bike ride and two Lake Michigan swims (once the water warms up enough by early June). She is a regular at Ohio Street Beach, which features a walk-in start and waist- to chest-high water depth for open-water swimmers.
“I really like the open-water swims, even with the currents and not being guided by any pool lines or markings,” Lewandowski said. “I enjoy the training rides on my bike, but I recommend getting out there early in the morning before the crowds of runners, dogs and baby strollers.”
Lewandowski is quick to suggest “not to forget your sunscreen,” hinting at yet another motivation to get outside for some workouts.
“It’s an opportunity to enjoy our good weather days,” she said with a laugh. “You never know how many we will get. I always feel better when I have been outside to enjoy them.”
— Bob Condor
