“A hamster wheel with e-mail”: the treadmill desk

May 7, 2008 by Corinne McKay

As one of those translators who’s always said, “I love everything about my job except sitting at a desk all day,” I’ve been intrigued for a while by the idea of the treadmill desk. Exercising while you work has been in the news of late, ever since Dr. James Levine, an obesity researcher at the Mayo Clinic, posited the idea that most desk-based workers would lose about 50 pounds a year if they walked at a very slow (1 mile per hour or less) speed while working, rather than sitting in a chair. Levine’s research also showed that most people can do normal office work such as reading off a computer screen, typing and talking on the phone while walking slowly on a treadmill. Here is an article about it from USA Today.

Here in Boulder we’re always looking for new ways to exercise; not surprisingly the Treadmill Desk blog is written by a guy in Boulder, and after reading it I got inspired. I fall into the category that fits many home-based office workers; the flexible schedule allows me to exercise enough to stay in decent shape, but on many days, my run or bike ride gets pushed from before lunch to after lunch to the end of the work day to “now it’s time for dinner” and either never happens or is radically abbreviated.

Since I don’t have $6,000 burning a hole in my pocket, the commercially produced Steelcase WalkStation wasn’t an option. Based on the advice from the Treadmill Desk blog, I bought a used treadmill for $125 off Craigslist and with the help of two old shelving boards we had in the basement (one to hold my monitors at treadmill eye level, one to put across the treadmill’s arms to hold my keyboard, mouse and day planner), I was in business in about half an hour.

So far, I like it. Although the treadmill I bought, a ProForm Crosswalk LS, doesn’t get high ratings for snazziness, it is constructed really well for use with the treadmill desk. For me at least (5′7″), the treadmill’s arm rails are exactly the right height for use with the keyboard, and the treadmill works well at a very slow speed, 0.7 or 0.8 mph, which I turn up when I’m talking on the phone and don’t have to look at the computer screen. On the Crosswalk, I can put my cordless phone in the MP3 player holder and a cup with pens and pencils in the water bottle slot, and it has wide side rails that I can stand on if I need to stop walking for a minute. And it’s amazing how the distance adds up; even at 0.8 miles per hour, if you do that 5 hours a day, you’re already at 4 miles.

Anyone else out there using one? Here’s a photo:

Posted in Technology, Treadmill desks | 18 Comments

18 Responses to ““A hamster wheel with e-mail”: the treadmill desk”

on May 7, 2008 at 7:39 pm1 Dr. Andi O'Conor

Corinne,
This is briliiant! You’ve inspired me to look into this more closely. Thanks for the information and the photos.
- Andi O’Conor
on May 7, 2008 at 7:40 pm2 Melanie Mulhall

Corinne,

That is a picture of a woman going places if I ever saw one!

Corinne, you are an inspiration to us all. I am about to post a new piece on my living the dream blog–another piece on living in harmony. I know there are folks who will say they don’t have time to exercise (a part of the “body” part of living in harmony) and I will send them to this post. The picture tells the story!

Melanie
on May 7, 2008 at 7:48 pm3 Corinne McKay

Thanks so much, I’m so glad you liked it! And I should have said that I typed the blog post while I was walking 0.8 miles per hour!
on May 7, 2008 at 7:53 pm4 Jody Berman

Way cool, Corinne! Good for you. I, too, will be sending on the picture of you as an inspiration to others who struggle finding time to get out of the chair!–Jody
on May 7, 2008 at 7:53 pm5 Jill

What an excellent idea! I’m going to have to look into something like this as well.
on May 7, 2008 at 7:58 pm6 Corinne McKay

A couple of answers to questions that people e-mailed:
-If you go 1 mile per hour or less (and I think you have to have pretty stable eyes and hands to go faster than that while working), you don’t break a sweat at all. People who have to wear nice clothes to work could definitely do this, although I find my treadmill much more comfortable with sneakers than with regular shoes.
-I think my typing accuracy and speed are about the same as when I’m sitting down, I don’t notice a big difference at all.
on May 7, 2008 at 10:23 pm7 Courtney

So neat!
I wish I could find a summer job that allowed me to work like this!
on May 8, 2008 at 1:34 am8 Mary

Thanks, Corinne. I forwarded this to a couple of relatives with back problems.

Mary
on May 8, 2008 at 2:27 am9 sibylle

VEry cool!
on May 8, 2008 at 2:59 am10 blueVicar

Corrine,

This is wonderful! I’ve heard of this sort of thing, but never actually saw someone in action. Boulder women are on a the fest track…Please, please keep us posted!

Meilleurs voeux!!
on May 8, 2008 at 7:58 am11 metamorphallic

I need one of those… actually, after my contract is up, I’m going to try to never work a desk job again… but this is a solid plan B.
on May 8, 2008 at 12:18 pm12 andrea

I’m so impressed at how quickly you put this together (half an hour!) and are making it work! I’d never have imagined it would work for someone who has to read and write a lot. I’ll be following your progress. And I’m curious to see if it makes you more productive by getting those creative juices going in the brain better through improved circulation.
on May 8, 2008 at 8:01 pm13 Brad Rhoads

I’d like to invite you and everyone else to join our social network of treadmill desk users at http://officewalkers.ning.com/.
on June 30, 2008 at 4:47 am14 Treadmill desk update « Thoughts On Translation

[...] 30, 2008 by Corinne McKay I’ve now been using my treadmill desk for about six weeks, and the concise update is that I love it. I find it easy to work at and much [...]
on July 2, 2008 at 7:08 am15 Ed

What an excellent idea! Congratulations!

However, I’m worried about the long-term ramifications of losing 50 pounds per year. (My current weight is only 170 pounds, and I’m still about 20 years away from retirement.)
on July 2, 2008 at 7:52 pm16 Lucy Williams

I absolutely love this idea! I am forever feeling guilty about not making use of my gym membership, but I think I may as well drop the membership and invest in a treadmill for my home office! I guess it’s not so much about losing weight, but staying healthy and active. Excellent idea Corinne!
on July 2, 2008 at 8:53 pm17 R

thank you so much!

i’m gonna look into this!
on July 2, 2008 at 10:34 pm18 Corinne McKay

@Lucy, I completely agree with you. At least here in Boulder, decent quality treadmills pop up on Craigslist fairly regularly and are usually in the $100-$150 range. Even the city recreation centers cost about $40 a month for a membership, so it’s a good deal!