Cardio Machines Are Inferior To Natural Outdoor Exercise
Today’s Topic Highlights:
Our addiction to technology and penchant for indoor convenience is steadily eroding our humanity and ruining our health.
We have become so disconnected from the natural world that nearly every form of basic outdoor exercise has been copied and overshadowed by a clunky indoor replacement.
Indoor cardio machines provide the least ideal environment for cardiorespiratory exercise: stagnant/poorly circulated air, artificial light, unnaturally flat surfaces, and confined moving spaces.
Lateral and rotational movement are critical elements totally unaddressed by any popular cardio machine.
Find a local hiking trail near you on alltrails.com.
It’s time to bring nature back into the fitness equation. Our addiction to technology and penchant for indoor convenience is steadily eroding our humanity and ruining our health. There are more cardio machine options today than ever before, yet the aggregate American fitness level continues to decline annually. The reason is quite simple and should be rather obvious: indoor cardio machines are inferior to natural outdoor exercise.
We have become so disconnected from the natural world that nearly every form of basic outdoor exercise has been copied and overshadowed by a clunky indoor replacement. Treadmills, ellipticals, Stairmasters, and Peloton bikes have overtaken walking, hiking, stair climbs, and bike riding as top-of-mind cardio options.
To understand why this is a problem, take a look at the comparison below of cardio done in a natural outdoor setting vs indoors on a machine. You be the judge as to which makes more sense.
There is something particularly absurd about the treadmill which has somehow bypassed our collective attention. The treadmill has completely eliminated the entire purpose of walking - to move from point A to point B. We have effectively lab-ratted ourselves without realizing it. Think of the irony of someone parking at the far end of the gym parking lot in an effort to walk more, only to get onto a treadmill once they step inside. Our thought process has become so left-brain dominant that we aren’t picking up on these head scratching cultural behaviors.
The treadmill also reverses the natural way all living things tend to move. In nature the ground remains basically stationary, while the human or creature creates its own propulsion to move along. With the treadmill, the ground creates its own propulsion to move along while the person remains basically stationary. This reduces emphasis on hip extension generated by the glute muscles, which are already commonly weak from disuse. It also overuses the hip flexors during each forward stride, which are already tight from our excessive sitting habits.