爲什麼在跑步機上鍛鍊更累人大綱

Question: Why do I find it more difficult and tiring when I take my walk on a treadmill?

問：爲什麼我發現在跑步機上走會覺得更吃力、更累？

Answer: Many people, including me, find a treadmill workout more draining than the same activity on a sidewalk or track. In a 2012 experiment, runners were asked to jog on a track while rating how difficult the exercise felt. Then they hopped on treadmills without speed displays and were told to set the machine to a pace that felt the same as what they had just run. Almost all chose a speed that was much slower. On the treadmill, this gentle pace felt as difficult as swifter running on the track.

答：很多人，包括我自己，發現在跑步機上比在人行道或跑道上進行同樣的鍛鍊更累。在2012年的一項實驗中，研究者要求跑步者在跑道上慢跑，同時評估這項鍛鍊的難度感受。然後他們跳到沒有速度顯示器的跑步機上，把速度設定爲剛纔慢跑時感覺的速度。幾乎所有人選擇的速度都慢得多。在跑步機上以較慢速度跑步與在跑道上以較快速度跑步的難度感覺是一樣的。

But scientists are unsure why treadmill exercise feels harder. Most people’s biomechanics are the same, whether they are on a treadmill or the ground, studies show. And where there are differences, the advantage would seem to reside with the machine. Treadmill jogging is less jarring than running on the ground, for instance. A 2014 study shows that we strike the ground with about 200 percent of our body weight while running on the track and only 175 percent of our body weight when we are on a treadmill.

但是科學家們不確定爲什麼在跑步機鍛鍊感覺更吃力。多項研究表明，不管在跑步機上還是在地面上，大多數人的生物力學是一樣的。如果說有區別的話，跑步機似乎更有優勢。比如，在跑步機上慢跑比在地面上的震動更小。2014年的一項研究表明，我們在跑道上跑步時，撞擊地面的力量相當於體重的約200%，而在跑步機上，撞擊力量只有體重的175%。

So the most likely explanation for any drudgery associated with treadmill exercise is psychological. Treadmills are indoor machines, and many studies show that people generally prefer outdoor workouts. In various experiments, people have reported experiencing less fatigue, more vitality and greater pleasure after walking outside compared with on an indoor treadmill.

所以用跑步機鍛鍊更累人的原因很可能是心理方面的。跑步機是室內機器，而很多研究表明，人們總體來說更喜歡戶外鍛鍊。人們在不同的實驗中報告稱，與在室內跑步機上鍛鍊後相比，在戶外散步後感覺不那麼累，更有活力，更愉悅。

Also, treadmills typically provide a walk to nowhere, which may be demoralizing. In a study published last year, volunteers who set out to walk a course that had no clear finish line felt more fatigued afterward than when they covered the same distance with an obvious finish line ahead on which to focus.

另外，跑步機通常沒有目的地，這可能令人氣餒。在去年發表的一項研究中，志願者們走過兩段同樣長度的路程，一個沒有明確的終點線，另一個有明確的終點線。完成之後，志願者們發現，如果沒有一個明確的終點線可以關注，感覺會更累人。

So the lesson may be that, if you can, find a treadmill with a monitor and video programing showing an outdoor walking course with a beginning and, most important, an end.

所以，我們可以得出這樣的經驗：如果可以的話，找一個帶監視器和視頻節目的跑步機。視頻節目可以展示戶外行走路程，它有起點，更重要的是，它有終點。