Does A Treadmill Console Confuse You? (Explained)

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So you’ve just bought a treadmill or are in front of one at the local gym. Treadmills are like lots of other fitness equipment in that they have loads of useful features. The problem is they’re all controlled by this Star Trek looking console in front of you. But there is a way to get them working how you want.

Maybe the treadmill you’ve bought has got plenty of good reviews and there are many different preset workouts you can enjoy. There’s even a sign of a users manual somewhere. Or the treadmill at the gym is enormous and equally the console. You’re not given any help in using a home bought treadmill or one at the gym so what do you do?

The difference between a home bought treadmill and one in the gym

Apart from the size there is a difference between commercial treadmills designed for all day use and a treadmill bought for the home. Although this isn’t always the case. Usually a home bought treadmill will be the one with loads of buttons that can do all sorts of things.

A commercial treadmill in a gym may have a touch pad screen which may even need a password. Usually you’ve joined a gym to save you buying one for the home or you can’t afford a home bought treadmill. So you’re new to the treadmill at the gym. The strange thing is that usually commercial gym treadmills are the easiest to use.

A gym treadmill usually has a very large quick start button. This could be on the console or one touch away on the touch screen. Usually you press that and it all starts. Then it’s a case of finding the speed up and down and off you go. There really shouldn’t be too much anxiety in using a gym treadmill, they’re designed that way.

With a home bought treadmill you usually have a large green start button. Then you have all these numbers on it too. These are usually where you select the preset running routines. It really is best to study the users manual so you can find all the great features it has. Once you’ve studied the manual it will become second nature.

The typical home bought treadmill console

This console is a little old fashioned but it gives you an idea of what to expect. Once you’re familiar with treadmills you can look at a picture like this and can tell at a glance what all the buttons probably do. The start and stop button are always right on front and nearest you and are usually colored.

The speed up and down and the incline are the arrows above the start, stop. The numbers will all be the preset running routines. The manual will give them fancy names like “calorie burn” or “hills” but they all just change the incline to help have the desired effect. As you can see it’s not rocket science. Do have look at the manual and go from there.

A gym or commercial treadmill console

If you are familiar with commercial treadmills then you will recognize this. It is a typical home screen of a touch pad console. I can tell you that the quickstart button is on the bottom right of the screen. From here it’s case of a selection of speeding up or having some incline. That’s all you really need. These are becoming normal even in home treadmills now.

You will find some other options. Sometimes the screen has music videos or TV shows you can choose from. These are all easily selectable from the touch screen. It really is very simple to use. It’s just a case of pressing the screen in all the right places and that’s it. You’re usually presented with your stats when you’ve pressed stop and end and the run is over.

Final thoughts

So there you have it. The gym treadmill is a case of start and stop with some speed and incline buttons. It’s very easy to use, just get on and go. This is what most people do and is the same for very experienced runners. They will just be going faster than you!

With a home bought treadmill you have far more options and these will help you get some variety in your runs so take advantage of them. After assembly the last thing you want to do is look at the instructions any more but we do advise you take a peek at least. The maintenance part at least will help your treadmill have a long life.

So that’s the introduction to the console. Hopefully you don’t have anxiety about using a treadmill. That is also easy once you know how. It’s just at home you can do that in private. In a gym you have to start in front of others (no one cares really). We hope we’ve alleviate your fears and you can enjoy the treadmill and use it’s console.

Thinking of buying a treadmill? Here’s my favorite, I always recommend it when asked.