We’ve seen people try to combine furniture and fitness equipment before, but it’s traditionally been for aesthetic purposes or to hide the equipment. The treadmill desk however, is a simple idea that allows you to turn your treadmill into a fully functional workspace–one where you can burn calories and burn through some paperwork at the same time.
It’s not clear who actually invented the treadmill desk, but many sources cite Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic as the first worker/walker. Dr. Levine claimed that if a person spent their normal 8 hour work day walking on a treadmill instead of sitting at a desk–all other factors being consistent–that person would lose 57 lbs. per year. Yikes! 8 hourse of walking per day seems a tad extreme. But if you tone down Dr. Levine’s idea to maybe one hour per day, just think of the extra calories you could burn without dedicating a single second of your spare time to exercise.
Currently there are limited options for simply going out and purchasing a treadmill desk. But if you must have one this instant, Steelcase manufactures a FitWork™ category of products that includes an adjustable height work station with a built-in treadmill. It’ll cost you though–this puppy sells for about $4000. But don’t despair. We’ve seen countless websites that provide plans to build something similar for under a hundred bucks (minus the cost of the treadmill of course).
So if you have a home office, or if your boss will let you get away with installing one in your cube, the treadmill desk just might be the solution you’ve been looking for to help you fit a quality workout into your busy schedule.
May 13th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
You can also look at the TrekDesk treadmill desk. Same surface area of the Walkstation but 1/10 the price.