Would a jogger burn up any more or less calories running on soft or hard ground?

Question

And would the same rules apply to walking?

Answer 1

Soft ground burns up more calories, because slightly more effort is needed, because there is less resitance in the ground. If you bounce a ball off a soft wall verses a harder wall, then you get the same result, more of the energy is involved in moving the ball off the wall - so like the jogger, more of the energy is returned in the foot leaving the ground - with soft ground, some of the energy is soaked up by the less resistance gound (as you push the ground down) - this is the same reason why sand is so difficult to run on.

Answer 2

If you keep your pace similar, you will definitely burn more calories on soft surfaces. Your legs, feet, ankles are constantly adjusting to a changing surface. There are always some small upgrades, or other factors that you need to adjust to.

Looking longterm, your running career will last longer if you spend some time on soft surfaces, such as trails. In that way, you'll burn more calories too

Answer 3

Prolonged jogging on hard ground, unless you have the correct footwear will do immense damage to joints. As for the ratio of burning calories, it makes no difference to how hard or soft the ground is.

Answer 4

he would burn more on hard ground than on soft

Answer 5

I don't really know but my brother complain when he jog on hard ground and also when he play football on hard ground.
He prefer soft ground so i'm guessing they burn more on soft.
I probably am wrong but hey :)

Answer 6

soft me thinks, especially a surface like sand! just dont fall over and get sand in your balls!

Answer 7

Quicksand, and yes.