Treadmill vs running outside to boost PNF STRETCHING
It has become common knowledge that cardiovascular exercise is extraordinarily beneficial, no matter if you’re interested in improving your appearance or just want to reap the health benefits of it. That said, not all forms are cardio are born equal to each other.
Some people will tell you that gardening, doing house work, yoga, or a leisurely game of tennis are all good forms of cardio exercise. While doing these things are certainly better than sitting at home on the couch, they’re not effective forms of exercise to burn significant amounts of fat, or have a noticeable improvement in cardiovascular health.
In order to burn fat, you need to do surpass a minimum threshold of intensity, and maintain that intensity for at least 20-25 minutes, 3 or more times per week. Gardening, no matter how vigorous, is not going to get your heart beating enough to pass this minimum threshold of intensity. To meet the require level of intensity, you’re going to have to do something, well, vigorous. It’s got to get your heart beating, and you got to get your sweat rolling down your face. The best ways to do this, biking, the elliptical machine, the rowing machine (or rowing), cross-country skiing, the Stepmaster machine, jumping rope, and swimming. But, by far, the most efficient fat burner has always been running.
When it comes to running, you can do one of two things. You can strap on your running shoes and go for a jog out in the great outdoors, or you can hop on a treadmill and sweat off the pounds. That said, running on the treadmill and running outside is not the same thing, in fact, they’re much different then most people think.
At first glance, it’s hard to understand how these two things differ. After all, no matter which one you’re doing, you’re still running. The difference is as follows; when you’re running outside, you’re using your hamstrings a lot to pull your body forward across the ground. When you’re on a treadmill, the ground is moving for you, so you don’t need to use your hamstrings to pull your forward. Your quads are used to lift your leg forward, but your hamstrings don’t get worked at all.
If you only run on a treadmill, your quads will become incredibly over-built, and your hamstrings will be left in the dust. This will result in a serious muscle imbalance. If you predominantly run on a treadmill, you’re going to have to take a couple of precautions. First, work out your hamstring muscles independently, to prevent muscle imbalances. Second, make sure you start a PNF stretching routine, to help prevent injury by possible muscle imbalances.
