Are gym treadmills in km/h or mph?
Written by Jamie Miller, Founder & EditorLast checked
Either: it is a console setting. All 5 brands below can show miles or kilometres.
Which unit does a gym treadmill use?
There is no single answer, because the unit is a console setting rather than a property of the machine. Every manual we opened for the five brands below describes a way to switch between miles and kilometres. Three of them state a factory default, and all three of those are US-market documents, so none of them tells you what a machine sold into the UK arrives set to.
On the machine in front of you, start by looking for a unit label beside the speed figure rather than reading the figure itself. Where there is no label, the method further down covers what to do instead.
Matrix treadmill speed units
Matrix machines carry the setting on console parameter P6 UNITS, which the T3x series owner's manual describes as changing "from Standard (Miles) to Metric (Kilometers)". It is reached through engineering mode, by holding the ELEVATION up and SPEED plus buttons for three seconds. The manual adds that changing the unit forces unit-dependent settings back to their defaults.
The same manual's engineering variable table, whose columns are address, description, default value, minimum and maximum, gives the P6 row as units, MPH, MPH, KPH. So the documented default is MPH, with KPH the alternative. That is what the manual says about the product as built; it is not evidence about how a UK club has since set its machines up.
Worth flagging: some sources quote the setting as "P13 SPEED MODE". In the manual we read, P13 is the software version display and the units parameter is P6.
Life Fitness, Technogym, Precor and Star Trac
| Brand | What the manual says is shown | How it is changed | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matrix | Either. P6 switches Standard (miles) to Metric (kilometres). The manual gives the P6 default as MPH | Hold ELEVATION up and SPEED plus for three seconds to reach engineering mode, then P6 | Changing it resets unit-dependent settings to their defaults |
| Life Fitness | Either. One Units setting covers speed and distance together | Press SETTINGS at the Select Workout screen, then scroll to Units. No password is mentioned | The manual states no default |
| Precor | Either. The P30 manual gives the default as U.S. | From the Welcome banner press OPTIONS twice to reach UNITS, or in the club parameters | Documents both a user route and a club one |
| Technogym | Either. European (kg and km) or Imperial (pounds and miles). No default stated | Changed with the plus and minus GOAL keys on the units screen | Documented in a service manual, so on this range it is an engineer setting |
| Star Trac | Either. The manager settings table gives the default as English | In the manager and maintenance settings, not on the workout screen | A US document, so its default says nothing about UK clubs |
- Manufacturer statedMatrix: Matrix T3x Series Treadmill Owner’s Manual, section 3.2 Engineering Mode
- Manufacturer statedLife Fitness: TRACK+ Console Owner’s Manual, 9414701 REV A-1, section 5.6
- Manufacturer statedPrecor: Operating and Maintaining the P30 Console
- Manufacturer statedTechnogym: RUN EXCITE-2008 Service & Maintenance Manual rev. 1.3, section 9.1.2
- Manufacturer statedStar Trac: Star Trac 8-TRx/8-TR Treadmills Owner’s Manual, manager settings table
Are PureGym treadmills in km or miles?
PureGym's own treadmill guide states that "PureGym treadmills have the option to toggle between displaying the distance in km or miles". That answers the distance display and nothing else: the same page does not say which unit speed is shown in, and it does not name the treadmill brand PureGym uses.
We have not filled either gap. A gym chain can run more than one brand and change supplier at a refit, so a brand named without a source would be a guess dressed as a fact.
What we could not establish
Three things a reader might reasonably want, which no source we opened supports. Not established
- Which treadmill brand any UK gym chain uses. No chain we checked publishes it, and PureGym’s own treadmill guide does not name its supplier.
- What a UK-market machine actually ships with. Matrix, Precor and Star Trac each state a default in their manual — MPH, U.S. and English respectively — but all three are US-market documents and none of them says what a machine sold into the UK arrives set to. Life Fitness and Technogym state no default at all.
- Whether the speed display and the distance display can be set independently. Life Fitness states that its one Units setting covers both; no other manual we read says either way.
How to check your own treadmill
First, read the label beside the speed. Consoles that offer both units print the active one next to the number, and that settles it in a second without touching any menu.
If there is no label, a rule of thumb, and it is ours rather than any manual's. A treadmill topping out around 20 is almost certainly in km/h, because 20 mph is far beyond what a treadmill does; one topping out around 12 is in mph. A comfortable walk sits near 5 in km/h and near 3 in mph. No source states this; it follows from the speeds machines offer.
There is also an arithmetic check, if you want one: speed in km/h is the belt loop length in metres, multiplied by the belt revolutions a minute, multiplied by 0.06. Mark the belt, count the marks passing in a minute at a slow setting, and compare. We have not tried this on a machine and we are not claiming it as a tested method, only as the arithmetic.
Once you know the unit, the speed converter turns it into the other one, the pace chart turns it into a pace per kilometre or mile, and how fast 10 is on a treadmill covers the one number that causes the most confusion.
How this is calculated
Nothing on this page is calculated. Every row in the brand table is a statement read in that manufacturer's own manual, quoted or paraphrased closely, with the document named in Sources below and the date we opened it.
The belt-speed check is arithmetic rather than a measurement we have made: km/h = belt loop length in metres x revolutions per minute x 0.06, the 0.06 being 60 minutes an hour divided by 1,000 metres a kilometre.
Where a manual states something only for one console or one series, the table says which. A brand is not a single machine, and a setting documented for one range is not evidence about another.
Sources
- Manufacturer stated, Product manual
- Matrix treadmills switch units on console parameter P6, which defaults to MPHJohnson Health Tech (Matrix Fitness)Matrix T3x Series Treadmill Owner’s Manual, section 3.2 Engineering ModeOpened 19 September 2026The manual states: "P6 UNITS (EDIT) Changes from Standard (Miles) to Metric (Kilometers). Unit change will force unit dependent variables to revert to their default values." Engineering mode is reached by holding the ELEVATION up and SPEED plus buttons for three seconds. Its engineering variable table (ADDRESS / DESCRIPTION / DEFAULT VALUE / MIN VALUE / MAX VALUE) gives the P6 row as "units MPH MPH KPH", so the DEFAULT IS MPH.
- Manufacturer stated, Product manual
- Life Fitness consoles carry a Units setting for speed and distanceLife FitnessTRACK+ Console Owner’s Manual, 9414701 REV A-1, section 5.6Opened 19 September 2026The manual states: "Units - Changes the unit of measure for speed and distance. Displays ‘Units’. Selection options are: English and Metric." The Settings Menu is reached by pressing the SETTINGS key at the Select Workout screen, and the manual mentions no password for it. It states no default. Note that its one Units setting covers speed AND distance together.
- Manufacturer stated, Product manual
- Precor P30 consoles default to U.S. units, changeable by the user or in club parametersPrecor IncorporatedOperating and Maintaining the P30 ConsoleOpened 19 September 2026States a default: "Set Units (All Equipment) Value Range: U.S. or Metric (Default: U.S.)". It documents TWO routes, a club parameter and a user one: "From the Welcome banner, press OPTIONS. Press OPTIONS twice to go to UNITS." The manual is a US document, so its default is not evidence about a UK club.
- Manufacturer stated, Product manual
- Technogym Excite treadmills switch between European and Imperial unitsTechnogymRUN EXCITE-2008 Service & Maintenance Manual rev. 1.3, section 9.1.2Opened 19 September 2026The manual states: "It is possible to choose between EUROPEAN units (kg and km) or IMPERIAL units (pounds and miles)", changed with the +/- GOAL keys. It sits in a SERVICE and maintenance manual rather than a user guide, so on this range it is an engineer’s setting. NO DEFAULT IS RECORDED HERE: other parameters in the same manual are given in metric with a note about what they become "if the unit of measurement is setted to IMPERIAL units", which hints at a European default but never states one, and a hint is not a source.
- Manufacturer stated, Product manual
- Star Trac 8-TR manager settings carry a units parameter defaulting to EnglishStar Trac (Core Health & Fitness)Star Trac 8-TRx/8-TR Treadmills Owner’s Manual, manager settings tableOpened 19 September 2026The manager settings table lists a units parameter with a default of "english" and the note "English = pounds, feet; Metric = kilograms, meters". Like the Precor document this is a US-oriented manual, so its default is not evidence about UK clubs.
- Manufacturer stated, Manufacturer spec
- PureGym treadmills can toggle the distance display between km and milesPureGymThe beginner’s guide to the treadmillOpened 19 September 2026PureGym’s own blog states: "PureGym treadmills have the option to toggle between displaying the distance in km or miles, so you can choose which metric you want to display." It covers DISTANCE only, says nothing about the speed display, and does not name the treadmill brand. We do not fill either gap.
- Not established
- Which treadmill brand each UK gym chain usesNo source we could openWidely asserted; we found no statement from anyone in a position to know. PureGym’s own treadmill guide does not name its supplier, and no chain we checked publishes an equipment list. Since a gym can run several brands and change supplier at refit, this page names no brand for any chain.
Limits
Every manual we could open is for a specific console or series, and the brands all sell several. A club's machine may be older or newer than the document, and a club can change the setting at any time, so treat the table as what the manufacturer documents rather than as what is in front of you today.
We have not used any of these machines. Nothing here was checked on a gym floor, and the one thing a reader most often wants, which brand their own gym runs, is the thing we could not source for any chain.
Related tools
Looking for a machine rather than a number? See our guide to treadmills for home, and how their specifications compare. Every specification there carries its source and the date it was checked.