How Do I Use an Edge 500 Treadmill?

Everyone who is serious about cardiovascular fitness should have a treadmill or access to one. Cardiovascular performance is the measuring stick for fitness. Health professionals don't ask how much weight you can lift or how far you can throw or kick a ball. They measure heart rate and blood pressure to give them an idea of your overall fitness. A well-designed treadmill workout on the Edge 500 can dramatically improve your fitness profile and help you achieve a new level of fitness.

Instructions

    • 1

      Familiarize yourself with the Edge 500 features. Get on it and examine the console. Learn where to glance quickly for information while you are working out. The 500 gives you all the information needed to design a workout and measure its physical impact as you complete it.

    • 2
      Treadmill readouts are a great help in measuring fitness efforts.

      Take special note of the speedometer, distance traveled, elapsed time and calories burned during the workout. Leave the 500 flat at first, walk slowly to get used to it and study the console readouts. Then raise the treadmill to incline and get the feel of the manual adjuster and the natural, non-motorized double flywheel motion. Repeat the process at incline position.

    • 3

      Set aside a certain time and certain days for a treadmill workout. Do not burden yourself with a daily commitment. Avoid the burnout syndrome that goes from gung ho to "oh, no." Opt instead for an alternate-day routine, building in a reward day for your hard work the previous day.

    • 4
      Cycle training is one of the most effective fitness builders.

      Develop a structured, cyclical treadmill routine. For instance, start out walking slowly for a specified time or distance, on alternate days, for a week or two. Plan deliberate increases in your physical challenge level each week or two.

    • 5

      Start to cycle the treadmill workouts as you gradually get more physically fit. Begin a cycle like walk, jog, sprint to increase intensity. This is a non-stop, three-phase routine repeated two, three or more times as your cardiovascular fitness improves. For example: Start off walking for one minute. Without stopping, speed up to a jog for one minute. Without stopping, speed up again to a sprint for one minute. Drop back to a jog, without stopping, after one minute of sprinting, then drop back to a walk, without stopping, after one minute of jogging, for a total of a five-minute cycle. Take a 30-second or a 60-second rest and repeat. Use your console to adjust this cycle in terms of speed or time.

    • 6
      Workouts that are regularly scheduled at the same time are easiest to incorporate into your routine.

      Structure your workout to stretch, walk, jog and sprint so that you spend two minutes stretching, two minutes walking, two minutes jogging and one minute sprinting. Go from sprinting to jogging, and from jogging to walking, for the same intervals. Repeat this cycle say once per workout to start with, then twice after a week or two, then three times after another week or two.

    • 7

      Use the above routine to get into good enough shape to start over at the first incline position, then the second. Start increasing time and speed to continue to add variety and intensity while steadily improving your fitness level.