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Is it healthier to walk outside or on a treadmill? Experts reveal which has more benefits

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Is it healthier to walk outside or on a treadmill? Experts reveal which has more benefits

How to choose which type of walk is right for you.

By Sarah Jacoby

Walking is a wonderful way to stay active and comes with all kinds of health benefits, including less back pain and improved fitness and mental health.

Is it healthier to walk outside or on a treadmill? Experts reveal which has more benefits

But what if the weather is unbearably hot or cold? Or what if you don’t have easy access to a walkable area? Is walking indoors just as good for you?

While there are many unique health boosts that come from being outside, indoor walking or walking on a treadmill, can still be great exercise, says Stephanie Mansour, certified personal trainer and Start TODAY contributor.

Benefits of walking outside

Walking or running outside tends to be more challenging than inside, which may be a pro or con depending on your goals and your fitness level.

When you’re walking outside, “there’s more variation in your speed and your pace,” Dr. Jeanne Doperak, a primary care sports medicine physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told TODAY.com previously.

You’ll also be more likely to encounter different inclines and types of terrain, Mansour adds, like uneven pavement or a rocky, dirt road. “Physically, the different surfaces challenge your balance more than they would if you were on a treadmill or walking in place inside,” Mansour explains.

That means your workout will engage your leg muscles in a more “randomized” way, Mansour says. “When you walk uphill, you’re using more of your glutes and hamstrings as opposed to walking downhill, when you’re using more of your quads,” she explains.

While you can replicate some of that by adjusting the incline on a treadmill, it’s not the same as being challenged by what nature throws at you.

Simply being outdoors also comes with a ton of other sensory and mental health benefits, especially if you tend to stare at a screen while working out inside.

“There are a lot of physical benefits to being in nature, and (that’s) been shown in many studies,” Dr. Stacy Beller Stryer said on the TODAY show previously. These include reduced hypertension and risk of stroke, lower heart rate and risk of heart disease, improvement in diabetes symptoms and an increase in cancer-fighting cells in the immune system.

“It’s important for people of all ages to spend time outside regularly,” she said. Other research has shown benefits of being outside for our mental health, too, Stryer said, including reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as lower stress levels as measured by cortisol in the body.

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