Comments on: $160 treadmill desk

By: erin jones

erin jones — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 05:48:00 +0000

As a die-hard running addict who lost the ability to run or jog, or even walk, for many years because of the recurrence of a back injury that seemed minor when I was 19 – and was entirely life-stopping when I was 33 – I understand the appeal of enjoying an intense cardio work-out every day.

I am in the process of trying to regain the ability to jog and hike after many years of physical rehabilitation. But for most people, disabled or not, walking as much as possible offers incredible benefits, both physical and mental. While I would give a pound of prime flesh, tenderloin or even quad, to be able to run or even jog again, I have found that walking 2-3 hours a day is an incredibly effective way to not only stay fit, but to rebuild or retain muscle.

I’m assuming that every BoingBoing poster is subject to the aging process. What one can do now ain’t always going to be possible. Incorporating walking into one’s day is a lifestyle change that can be pursued until death or dotage. And I find it difficult to believe that anyone with a realistic understanding of aging and injury would scoff at the benefits of treadmill desks.

OK, this topic is a sore spot for me since I’ve gone through so much effort to regain the ability to be active. So I’m being a bit bitchy. I’m done now. Different subject:

Yeah, goddamn it! When the hell are we going to see our personal batteries? Batteries that we can throw in a back pack and take to the gym. Or hook up to our home or office treadmill desks so that we can use the energy we generate. I’ve been daydreaming about this for years. Especially when I was spending a lot of time at the gym running in the midst of dozens of sweating, exerting humans.

Does anyone know? Is this a near-future possibility? BB science experts, holla?

By: Walter Dexter

Walter Dexter — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:08:00 +0000

What is the point of the linked article?”I wanted a tread-desk, so I got a used treadmill and a shelf unit from Ikea to put over it.”

By: teapot

teapot — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:52:00 +0000

Next week on Boing Boing:
DIY ceiling desk!

By: Unexploded

Unexploded — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 03:09:00 +0000

“If you are a healthy, normal human being, sitting at a desk is not a problem.”
Science says otherwise:
http://www.howtogeek.com/news/sitting-is-killing-you-infographic/4822/

By: jiminnc

jiminnc — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:51:00 +0000

I have a $3 bungee cord on the panel of my treadmill that I can slip a laptop under. Building a desk to put a 15″ monitor over your 13″ laptop doesn’t seem worth it.

By: axleworthington

axleworthington — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:48:00 +0000

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/can-exercise-keep-you-young/

By: Sarah Milstein

Sarah Milstein — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:18:00 +0000

Yikes–I don’t know why dogsandshoes.com won’t work for you. It’s just a Typepad blog…with some Typekit fonts. Anyway, the gist is: I built a cheapo tread-desk, and I love it. :)

By: Comrade7

Comrade7 — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:51:00 +0000

Actually, I’ve read that sitting a lot _is_ a problem even if you do exercise regularly…http://opinionator.blogs.nytim…

By: Brent Kirkham

Brent Kirkham — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:27:00 +0000

If you are a healthy, normal human being, sitting at a desk is not a problem. By normal, I mean someone who actually gets some exercise in their normal daily life, like walking to work, walking/running/swimming occasionally. These things have been dropped from our normal social list of things to do. For ‘normal’ healthy people, there has never been a single study conducted that shows that exercise is beneficial. Never. Strange, I know, but no proof at all. I’m not saying exercise isn’t a good thing, but let’s get things into perspective here.

Exercise, if you are already healthy is a possible/probable bonus. If you are unhealthy, possibly overweight, diabetic (me) or suffer from any of a variety of ailments, it’s a goddamn necessity. I’d suggest that exercise alone isn’t useful (and potentially harmful) in many cases, unless accompanied by a simple change in diet. Don’t buy diet books or DVDs, ask a doctor, even the fat ones who smoke and drink.

I’ve had to change my life (slightly), feel much better, and don’t (really) want to kill anyone much these days. McDonalds may go out of business locally, I’ve supported them long enough.

Next year I’ll be running the Medoc Marathon, and I’m stoked. But for you healthy folks, you could take it in your stride with very little preparation. Except maybe for cheese, wine, oysters etc.

By: Lexica

Lexica — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:50:00 +0000

If one simply wants to avoid sitting, a stand-up desk (sans treadmill) is sufficient.

As I type this, I’m standing at the sit-stand desk I’ve been working at for the past nine months. I can say from experience that a stand-up desk is not sufficient. Standing for eight hours is better than sitting, but still far from ideal.

By: wormhog

wormhog — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:31:00 +0000

http://www.staples.com/Bush-Westfied-Mobile-Desk-Table-Auburn-Maple-Graphite-Gray/product_802333?cid=PS:SBD:GS:E:N:PLA:71000000000227345:58000000007550130:802333

By: futnuh

futnuh — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:15:00 +0000

If one simply wants to avoid sitting, a stand-up desk (sans treadmill) is sufficient. Adding the treadmill offers the illusion of getting one’s exercise in while working. The author herself states as much in the above, “Because while I like walking, I always find it hard to carve out time for exercise. A tread-desk, it seemed, might magically solve my exercise scheduling prob.”

By: flarktobble

flarktobble — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 22:04:00 +0000

@Martin (and anyone else who’s tried this) — how was the adjustment to typing while walking?

By: Cj Hayes

Cj Hayes — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:59:00 +0000

I want a pedal bike desk that powers the computer on it.

By: Martin Yu

Martin Yu — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:45:00 +0000

I spent $140 on my treadmill desk and it changed my life. I work more efficiently, I’ve lost a little weight and my back is so much stronger. It took a couple weeks of adjustment getting my back and walking muscles into shape – even though I run regularly, my legs were not used to walking so much. Good walking shoes help, too. I can’t see going back to sitting.

By: Sterno Dare

Sterno Dare — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:15:00 +0000

dogsandshoes.com is making my OfficeScan thingy go nuts. It won’t let me open the link, or any page on the site. I’ve been trying to get my office to approve one of these for a long time now.

But aside from that, Lexica is right on. Turns out sitting on your bum all day is bad for you even if you do get a real cardio workout in at some point during the day.

http://blogs.plos.org/obesitypanacea/2010/12/06/sedentary-physiology-part-1-not-just-the-lack-of-physical-activity/

By: Donald Petersen

Donald Petersen — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:05:00 +0000

Yes indeed. I can think of a whole lotta “very poor” substitutes that would be immeasurably worse. Obviously one needs to elevate one’s heart rate to get a real cardio workout, but is it really true that a several-hour “mosey” is actually a genuinely poor substitute for a half-hour skip-a-dee-doo-dah? Especially if you do it several hours a day, five days a week?

By: Sarah Milstein

Sarah Milstein — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 19:50:00 +0000

Well put, @Lexica.

By: Lexica

Lexica — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:55:00 +0000

It's not meant to be an alternative to a brisk walk, it's meant to be an alternative to sitting for 8 hours a day.

By: UnnecessaryUmlaut

UnnecessaryUmlaut — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Is there a Hamster Wheel version for the full cubicle-rat experience?

By: futnuh

futnuh — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:41:00 +0000

Sure X hours per day shuffling along on a tread-desk can help burn some extra calories and is no doubt better than sitting all day … but it is a very poor substitute for a brisk walk. You need a sustained elevated heart-rate to improve one’s cardio-vascular fitness. You’ve got to “break a sweat”, something I bet many tread-deskers aren’t doing.