Re: [Phys-l] treadmill vs open road

[Roger Haar <haar@physics.arizona.edu>]

Hi,

	Does not air resistance make a difference?

	But the lack of air movement can result in less cooling.  I have read 
that without a fan, a good cyclist on a stationary bicycle will overheat 
rather quickly.

Thanks
 Roger Haar

Brian Whatcott wrote:
> At 07:31 AM 5/9/2008, you wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > I just started running for exercise, and was chatting with some long-
> > time runners about it, and they had some interesting comments about
> > treadmills.  Most of them felt that running on a treadmill was very
> > different than normal running, and noted that they felt that they
> > could run faster on a treadmill.  There was one who said it was
> > basically the same amount of exercise, but felt that he ran slower on
> > a treadmill.  Assuming that we have a completely flat road and a flat
> > treadmill, I can think of no difference in the physics between the
> > two systems which would give rise to the different experiences.  My
> > first thoughts were that the difference in experience comes from the
> > slight irregularities in the open road, which cause balance muscles
> > to work, ones that wouldn't be needed on a treadmill, but none-the-
> > less contribute to the workout.
> >
> > Any thoughts or additional physics that you think comes into play here?
> >
> >
> >
> >                                 Brian Blais
> > --
> > Brian Blais
> > bblais@bryant.edu
> > http://web.bryant.edu/~bblais
>
>
> The treadmills that I use have springy bases and no adverse wind - two
>   leading causes of energy exchanges - so that one would run somewhat
> faster to  expend energy at quite the same rate.
>
>
> Brian Whatcott    Altus OK    Eureka! 
>
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