SuperStride Me: Reg hack spends week working at 'treadmill desk'

I turned 45 this year, a psychological milestone that rammed home the fact I'm not in great physical shape. My diet's rubbish and my usual efforts to keep trim and fit – cycling – have been curtailed by a combination of lethargy and kids' sport commitments that keep me off the road when my bike club sets out on weekends. …

[Ralph B]

Twiddler

You could probably solve your mouse and keyboard problems with a Twiddler. (Astonished to see that they are still on the market. I had one about 15 years ago.)

[BorkedAgain]

Interesting article; I look forward to the rest.

How would you feel about reviewing standing desks as well? I've heard good things about them, and they seem to offer a good compromise between the mechanical walking apparatus and sitting slug-like for eight hours a day...

[Necronomnomnomicon]

Re: Interesting article; I look forward to the rest.

I moved to a standing desk at home a few months ago.

I say a standing desk, I mean an £8 IKEA table on top of my existing cheap IKEA desk.

I have to say, it does work fairly well. It's quite a liberating feeling, walking up to your desk and instantly being ready to do stuff with no sitting down. I find it does focus my brain a bit - I tend to get through things, rather than forgetting what I was doing and cycling through reddit and facebook until I remember.

As I'm at home I use it barefoot and if I stand too long then my feet start to ache. But, on the bright side, it forces me off the computer and into bed where in the past I'd be slouched in my chair playing games because it was less effort than actually getting out of the chair.

I really want to try it out at work, but our existing desk layouts won't work with such a simple fix as my home desk. Definitely something I'd consider in future, though.

[lee harvey osmond]

"Aresbestos"? really?

I can't help but think that's a NNSFW anagram of a portmanteau word involving fireproof trousers.

Meanwhile, Neal Stephenson's last novel "Reamde" features a character with a treadmill desk; a character who allegedly was once very very fat unfit etc etc, but who now has a PA to prevent him from overexercising.

[tony2heads]

They should have called it the "BobCratchit" as it seems more like a victorian clerk's desk.

But kudos to you for keeping on with this stuff. I only hope that business attire doesn't become Spandex. With some of my colleagues (and - truth to tell - myself) that would be an abomination.

http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/0911/what-can-be-seen-naked-fat-chick-demotivational-poster-1258664912.jpg

[Anonymous Coward]

I'd suggest a NSFW tag for that, but it's far worse than just being not suitable for work.

[Paul Webb]

Bob Cratchit isn't so far off the mark

as Dickens wrote standing up at a desk as did many others such as Churchill, Hemmingway and Lewis Carroll.

[JDX]

Walking VS Standing

I can't really see that a walking desk offers a great deal more than a standing desk, at the cost of increased bulk, lack of flexibility, and... cost. Simply standing up counters the problems of being sat on your arse all day.

I think it stretches the envelope of mainstream use a little too far. The thing with decent standing desks is they can be used as normal desks depending on user preference.

[Fred Flintstone]

Re: Walking VS Standing

I'm more looking at this from a BOFH angle - it's got great potential :)

[Dick Head]

Bad precedent.

Pretty soon our employers will be installing these with attached alternators so they can earn green funds from our labours.

[Paul Webb]

Re: Bad precedent.

They (or anyone) could install electricity-generating flooring such as that provided by Pavegen (www.pavegen.com) which converts footsteps into electricity.

[Anonymous Coward]

I seem to recall

someone hooking up an exercise bike to provide power to his computer so he could power it to allow WOW playing and getting fit at the same time. He lost a lot, apparently.

[CraPo]

Seriously? Just go out for a run at lunchtime. Far more effective and less disruptive on everyone's work. Plus the fresh air and change of scene will do you good.

[Steve Button]

RE: Seriously? Just go out for a run at lunchtime

Wrong! If you sit all day, it has a major detriment to your health ... even if you regularly exercise as well.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-19910888

I admit I have not read the study that's mentioned, just the BBC article.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Seriously? Just go out for a run at lunchtime. Far more effective and less disruptive on everyone's work. Plus the fresh air and change of scene will do you good."

Better still, commit to walking to work, or at least a part of the journey. Get your 30 mins exercise, no having to look like a joke going for a jog at work, no looking like a fool with one of these ridiculous desk.

Save fuel, save on your carbon foot print, save money, improve your health.

Flame away ladies.

[noominy.noom]

As has been added by another commentard, sitting to long is the problem. There have been numerous studies suggesting that long periods of sitting result in decreased life span and decreased health later in life regardless of exercise. Exercise certainly increases health (using the colloquial meaning of the word exercise) but apparently it doesn't increase health enough to counter the deleterious effects of sitting on your ass all day.

[frank ly]

It needs an adjustable incline

That would be interesting :)

[TWB]

Re: It needs an adjustable incline

If you ever go for a certain heart test in hospital, they do this, but it is somewhat logarithmic. The treadmill starts slow and level, then they raise the angle and speed every few minutes, which to me seemed like, 'Lets have 20 Watts, now 60, now 180, now 540 etc" * - I reached level 4 without a heart attack but simply had no power/energy to carry on and I was not that unfit at the time - the staff said it had another 3 levels to go to but I was fine.

Anyway, back to this idea, I like it but I hate the idea that the treadmill actually consumes energy - shurely you should be generating power for the pointless electrical devices we spend most of the day twiddling with?

*I've made these numbers up just to illustrate the point

[ukgnome]

OK, I want one - this IT lark is just so pedestrian, so I might as well make like one.

[Robert Carnegie]

Bananas

is the title of Woody Allen's film of 1971 that featured an "Execusisor" executive exercise workstation.

This is called LifeSpan? Really?

I think I like TrekDesk a lot better, for completely wrong reasons. That could be an order, Mr. Spock.

[Grumpy Fellow]

Wheel vs. Treadmill?

Would it be possible to make the desk more efficient by having you walk/jog inside of a big wheel instead of on a flat surface? This would greatly reduce friction and you could rock it back and forth when you stopped walking/running. Another advantage is that the wheel would clean the cedar chips off your shoes.

[Anonymous Coward]

Join the Treadmill Desking group on LinkedIn

Hi Simon,

Welcome to the wonderful world of Treadmill Desking. Please consider joining our group on LinkedIn - Treadmill Desking by clicking on the link below. The other members can help answer any questions you have as you are getting started.

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Treadmill-Desking-6518018/about

The Treadmill Desking group is a space to ask questions and share experiences about walking and working on a Treadmill Desk. Whether you are an individual, a company just getting started or seasoned veteran, we want to hear from you.

Chris Olson

WorkWhileWalking.com

[Nick Kew]

Oz or US?

Wow. Want!

But I followed your links, first to the model, then the "Lifespan" one. That's one aussie company and one US. Both are clear that the don't deliver outside their respective countries.

Since this is a .uk website, how about including a clue about availability here?