Owning a large piece of electronic equipment is not always easy. Most folks don’t look at their fitness equipment that way, especially treadmill owners, but really, that’s exactly what it is. And because higher-quality fitness equipment usually costs several hundred or thousands of dollars, the owner’s manual is worthy of your attention. Ouch!

Am I going to tell you that you have to read your manual? Yes. Seriously, trust me on this. Going through it just one time will make sure your baby stays humming with as little glitches as possible for a long time to come. If you let that manual collect dust without ever reading it, look out.

For example, let’s say you blow a fuse. Pretty simple fix, right? All you need to do is go out to your garage, where you store all your extra fuses for all your other equipment, and use that one. Correct? Nope. You have to use the recommended fuse for your treadmill as indicated by the owner’s manual or you risk damaging your treadmill. Of course, reading product manuals is really boring, but if you don’t take just a few minutes to plow through it and learn some basics, it could mean more money spent in the long run. Sometimes the fix is so simple, easy and super cheap, if only you had read the manual.

You also need to ground your treadmill to an AC outlet to protect the data you’ve got stored on the treadmill’s computer. With the higher quality treadmills having such a large weight (heavy steel added for stability and sturdiness) we oftentimes forget that they have very fragile computer components that are subject to damage by power spikes. Treadmills these days have features that allow you to enter your enter training routine and workout data and save them right on your treadmill dashboard. And this information can get wiped out just as easily from your treadmill board just like any PC. You need to protect the AC to your treadmill like you would with your computer by guarding against potential power surges. And this is another example of a solution that is both simple and inexpensive, but that can save you many hours of frustration and hundreds of dollars in unnecessary repairs.

Also, by reading the owner’s manual, you will learn things about your machine that the salesman or personal trainer did not tell you about. Every make and model of treadmill is slightly different and will have features that are unique, such as button functions, display layouts, etc. So don’t think that you’ll automatically learn how to find your way around the machine based on other machines that you’ve used before. If you do that, you will surely miss out on a large percentage of the machines powerful features, simply because you were not aware of them.

For more great information and advice on selecting your next piece of fitness equipment, make sure to visit FitnessArmory.com where we review and provide insider advice on home gym fitness equipment, like the new Sole F63, Sole F80 and the Sole F83 treadmills. Let our homework remove your grunt work. We invitie you to stop by or drop us a line if you have any questions or need help with your fitness equipment selections.