Fit Test; Manual - Life Fitness 9000 Operation Manual

FIT TEST

The Life Fitness treadmill Fit Test program is another exclusive feature of this versatile
treadmill. Think of it as a relative fitness score. The Fit Test can be used to monitor
improvement in endurance every four to six weeks.
Begin a treadmill workout (see beginning of this section).
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Use the numeric keys to enter your age from 10 to 99, then press START / ENTER.
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After entering your age, input your sex by pressing 1 for male or 2 for female followed by
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the START / ENTER button.
The message center will prompt you to select one of four speeds: 2, 3, 4 or 4.5 mph
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(3.2, 4.8, 6.4 or 7.2 kph). Consult the table below for an approximate speed based on
the perceived activity level and key in the appropriate striding belt speed. The speed
selected can not be changed once the Fit Test begins.
BEGINNER
2.0 mph / 3.2 kph
The Fit Test will last five minutes (a one-minute warm-up followed by four minutes of
consistent effort). Speed and incline cannot be changed in the Fit Test; they must be
maintained in order to ensure an accurate Fit Test score computation.
After the Fit Test is complete, you will be instructed to grasp the Lifepulse sensors (unless
wearing a heart rate chest strap) so that your heart rate can be read by the on-board computer.
Your Fit Test score and ranking will appear in the Message Center window. The Fit Test scoring
tables in this section can be used to determine rank with others in the same category.
NOTE: If your heart rate is lower than 60% of your theoretical maximum heart rate,
you will be instructed to perform the Fit Test again at a faster belt speed.
The Fit Test is also a submax test of VO 2 max, which is a measurement of how well the
heart supplies oxygenated blood to the exercising muscles and how efficiently those
muscles receive oxygen from the blood. This measurement is generally regarded by
physicians and exercise physiologists as the standard for aerobic capacity. Please note that
the VO 2 max values received will be 10% to15% higher than those achieved on a stationary
cycle. Stationary cycling offers a specific workout for the quadriceps muscles which often
reach maximum fatigue at a lower level of VO 2 max than what a person would reach on a
stairclimber or a treadmill.*
The rate of pedaling or stepping is often difficult to control. However, treadmill speed and
incline can be precisely regulated. And unlike cycling or stepping, walking is a natural,
habitual activity. Most people become accustomed to treadmill walking within two minutes.
* Ebbeling, Cara B.; Puleo, Elane M.; Ward, Ann; Widrick, Jeffrey, and Rippe, James M, "Development ff A Single Stage
Submaximal Treadmill Walking Test.: University of Massachusetts Medical Center, 1991 "Unpublished."
INTERMEDIATE
3.0, 4.0 mph / 4.8, 6.4 kph
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ADVANCED
4.5 mph / 7.2 kph