Re: [Phys-l] treadmill vs open road

[Rick Tarara <rtarara@saintmarys.edu>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Hugh Haskell" <hhaskell@mindspring.com>
> I'm not a runner of any sort, but I have used a treadmill on occasion
> for walking exercise, and I find that I can sustain a considerably
> higher rate of "motion" on a treadmill than I can when walking, even
> on a level path. On a treadmill, the "normal" walking speed of about
> 2.5 mph seems quite slow, and I can easily maintain a speed of close
> to 4 mph--one that would leave me panting and exhausted after a short
> time on a walking trail.

Strange...I have the opposite experience with a home elliptical.  We walk 
extensively (100 km during a 10 day trip to Florida at Xmas, and average at 
least 3 miles a day in decent weather at home).  But on my elliptical (if I 
believe the calibrations at all--which I don't), I can be panting and 
'exhausted' doing a mile at a 3 mph rate.    I think the elliptical is 
measuring the distance from the rotation of the resistance drum or from the 
linear motion of the foot pads, but this doesn't seem to correlate well with 
actual walking.  Anyway--doing a mile on the elliptical seems equivalent to 
2-3 miles walking--to me!

Rick