Finding a Cheap Treadmill Desk

Lately I have been wanting to somehow find more way to be active during the day when I work 10-12 hours from my computer sitting down.  I do take breaks, walk while on conference calls, and hit the gym a few times per week plus do my stepper once in a while at home but I have read that just by sitting for any length of time can decrease your lifespan by up to 6 years even if you exercise 1 hour a day weekly.

I also was reading that if you walked 6+ hours per day at a slow pace instead of sitting your body would burn about 56 pounds of calories per year.  Now, I am young enough and healthy enough that I could walk at a comfortable pace for at least 2-3 hours at a time without sitting and probably 4-5 hours which I have done before on rare occasions (Theme parks…etc).

I was looking into Treadmill Desks and there were some very impressive ones online, that basically build a desk into a treadmill where you have full access to desktop surface while walking at a casual pace.  This is a great option and a space saver, but they were prohibitively expensive from my point of view.

An example is the Walkstation Height-Adjustable Desk and Treadmill seen here:

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I have even seen a Pedal Desk, which is for casual cycling while working from a laptop, nice for light work but still in sitting position.

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The TrekDesk Treadmill Desk is basically a folding/adjustable desk that you put together over an existing separate Treadmill and is a great option as well.  It is cheaper to buy a treadmill + this desk than the combination and you can simply remove the desk when you want to do vigorous running on your treadmill.

 

This would probably be my preferred option as it is compatible with most treadmills (just have to check product compatibility chart) and you can even use incline to get more impact and burn more calories than a treadmill stuck in completely 0% incline mode.

So, I probably would take a tape measure to a Treadmill or make sure I knew the height measurements of the arm rests and front of a treadmill to make sure it was completely compatible.  The company mentioned there were millions of different treadmill models so it is hard to certify every single one and I am sure it is with that many existing.

If I did get a treadmill desk, the only place it could go is where my weight bench is now in my office, and I would probably have to move my weight bench into the garage.

My body is always in motion, even when sitting I am constantly tapping my legs up and down and moving my arms, I tested walking and typing and don’t see it interfering with my touch typing at all so I am pretty sure I can accomplish everything I need while walking.

Is it worth the investment?  Say around $900 – $1000 for the Treadmill + TrekDesk Treadmill Desk?  Maybe, it depends on how committed one would be to walking for hours while working or on conference calls, if you can do these things without issue then the health benefits would probably be advantageous for sure.

I would have to do some serious consolidation of equipment though as I have too much equipment on my desk now to fit on a Treadmill desk.

-Justin Germino

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