
Treadmill desks: How practical are they? - drucken
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21076461
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jph00
I tracked my learning performance over two years under a range of conditions,
including trying a treadmill desk. I found at 1.2mph my error rate (compared
to sitting) was 50% less, and I could comfortably study for 2x as long. The
trick is to keep the speed quite low, and have your PC at a comfortable
position. I now do all my work this way, with an adjustable desk, which I put
in sitting position only an hour a day.

More details on my experiment are in this talk I gave last year:
[http://quantifiedself.com/2012/05/jeremy-howard-on-
language-...](http://quantifiedself.com/2012/05/jeremy-howard-on-language-
acquisition-performance/)

~~~
return0
Are you referring to studying/reading only? I wonder If I m the only one who
likes to read on a tablet while wandering around the house at similar speeds.

~~~
jph00
I only have quantified outcomes for studying flash cards, since that's a fixed
measured thing that I do for 70 minutes per day. However I now do nearly all
my work at the tread desk, and I've bought a few for some of my staff who also
wanted to try them out (everyone who has tried them has liked them and stuck
with them full time, so far).

Sometimes however for reading I'll go and relax on a recliner - it's nice to
have a break from time to time. But if I want to really focus on what I'm
reading, I'll look at it on the tread desk.

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ChuckMcM
We have a community treadmill desk at Blekko, it's not at all uncomfortable to
use. I ended up buying the same treadmill we got for home and find that
walking at home while catching up on mail and what not is pretty easy.

Some things I've found;

* Walking in socks results in less foot pain than walking in shoes did.

* If you spend an hour watching TV while you walk you can at least write it off as exercise.

* iPads are great for reading (moves with you when you are holding it) but I've got a bluetooth keyboard on the desk if I want to type.

* If Caprica had chosen some other boogie man other than God it might have made it further as a show.

~~~
heliostatic
What treadmill model did you end up using?

~~~
ChuckMcM
Horizon T101, combined benefits of being more reasonably priced and necessary
weight capacity.

~~~
heliostatic
What are you using for the desk surface? Looks like a good treadmill.

~~~
ChuckMcM
Trekdesk (amazon link: [http://www.amazon.com/Trek-TD-01-TrekDesk-Treadmill-
Desk/dp/...](http://www.amazon.com/Trek-TD-01-TrekDesk-Treadmill-
Desk/dp/B002IYRBI0/)) at home I just rest stuff on the control panel of the
treadmill (the trek desk gives the treadmill a pretty large foot print)

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kps
I have been using a treadmill desk at home for a year or so.

I find my feet get sore if I stand still for long, but not when I walk. A
speed around 2 km/h works well for me.

It is necessary to have the monitor and keyboard at proper heights, but that
is also true of sitting desks. Bad and badly placed monitors and keyboards,
and laptops in particular, are an ergonomic disaster either way.

~~~
freerobby
Same here except I've been doing it at work.

I suffer from chronic lower back pain due to a herniated disc, and never has
my back felt better since my injury in high school. Sitting is absolutely
terrible for it, and standing, while an improvement, leads to poor posture
because I found I would lean on a particular leg for too long, and muscles in
my back would get unevenly strained.

I walk between 1 and 2 MPH all day long. I find it very easy to do all
computer tasks while moving. The only time I stop is when I need to write
something down on paper, which I can't even do well at the lowest setting of
0.4 MPH.

It is a bit tiring, but in a very good way. My two "breaks" are sitting down
with my team for lunch and then sitting on the couch for a little while after
I get home. I did not work my way up slowly as some people recommend; I had
been using a standing desk for about a year and I just dove right into the
walking because I prefer it to standing even when I'm a little tired.

~~~
redwood
Out of curiosity, did you try walking in place as an alternative to treadmill?
I suppose it's hard to keep going

~~~
freerobby
I made an effort to try to bend my legs with some frequency, but I wouldn't
call it "walking in place," nor can I say I was very consistent about it. I'd
usually do it for a few minutes, then get deep into a problem, and realize I'd
been leaning on a leg for 10 minutes. Rinse and repeat.

A big part of the value of the treadmill for me is that it forces me to always
move and bend my legs, which means I never have the opportunity to default to
a bad posture. That's the reason why I walk all day every day.

A cheaper alternative I considered was getting a Bongo Board:
[http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-
alias%3D...](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-
alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bongo+board&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Abongo+board)

I went with a treadmill desk because I thought with the bongo board I could
still default into a balanced inanimate position, and because I'm fortunate
enough where I could afford a treadmill desk without it being a huge sacrifice
for me. But, if that weren't the case, I think the bongo board could be an
improvement over standing.

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zenocon
I just switched to a sit/stand desk. I'm not ready to go full-treadmill, but
it has helped my back. Getting a pad for your feet is crucial, though. I also
wrote up my research / materials here: <http://goo.gl/JxhMq>

~~~
jseliger
>I just switched to a sit/stand desk.

I did this too: [http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/the-geekdesk-
writin...](http://jseliger.wordpress.com/2012/09/23/the-geekdesk-writing-
space-post/) and went with a Geekdesk, which seemed to have the best
combination of price / features. I haven't tracked the numbers, but I estimate
that I work standing about 60% of the time.

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AlexDanger
My workstation setup isnt practical for a standup desk but I was wondering
about a compromise solution that would at least keep my legs moving.

I'm thinking of some kind of footrest that can be placed under a desk. The
footrest is weighted and has bike pedals attached. You pedal whilst in your
seat. So its sort of like an exercise bike but without the bike.

Anyone seen such a device or have other compromise solutions when a standup
desk/treadmill is not practical?

~~~
ZoFreX
Such devices exist, and are usually made / marketed as gaming accessories - so
as a bonus you could very easily wire something up to ensure you keep
pedaling!

~~~
AlexDanger
Yes a desktop odometer would be nice!

Do you know any of these particular gaming accessories? Mike's like in the
child comment has the type of 'mini exercise bike' I'm after but a gaming
accessory sounds cheaper and more fun.

~~~
ZoFreX
I'm afraid I can't give you any specific recommendations, I just remember
reading about one in PC Gamer magazine (UK) in 2006 or 2007.

------
peterarmstrong
I built my own at my office, and I liked it so much that I made another one
for my home office.

Here's the setup of my home office one:
[http://peterarmstrong.com/post/37021212588/sit-stand-
treadmi...](http://peterarmstrong.com/post/37021212588/sit-stand-treadmill-
desk)

I have made some tweaks to that setup, but the basic idea is the same. (The
tweak was to create a way to use my SteelSeries 7G along with my laptop +
monitors setup.)

Here's the adjustments: [http://peterarmstrong.com/post/41881767291/my-sit-
stand-trea...](http://peterarmstrong.com/post/41881767291/my-sit-stand-
treadmill-desk-has-gotten-one-update)

I find I walk between 4 to 10 miles a day, and that I'm more productive
walking than not walking. I don't check HN as much while walking, for example.

I started walking slowly (1.6 mph). Now I walk either 1.8 or 1.9 mph
comfortably while working. As my fitness improves even more, I'm sure the base
speed will improve more too.

I can walk between 2 and 2.5 mph with lowered productivity, but the point is
to be productive, not to walk fast, so I walk as slowly as I need to in order
to forget about the fact I'm walking and get into coding zones. That's about
1.8 mph right now.

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jchrisa
I was thinking about making one with a magnetic (manual) treadmill, so I can
amble instead of being paced by machine... has anyone tried this? Amazon has a
decent selection: [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_10?url=search-
alias...](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_10?url=search-
alias%3Dsporting&field-keywords=magnetic+treadmill)

~~~
freerobby
One thing to keep in mind is that an inclined treadmill is going to make your
head bop up and down a little bit. I'm not sure whether or not it'd be
distracting, but you might want to try just walking up a mild hill some time
and pay close attention to the movement of your head.

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figurify
I am experimenting with a standup desk these days. It seems like i move more,
leave my desk have a couple of steps every now and then. And this helps me
think. Like think out of the box, the context or the distractions attached to
it.

That's the biggest advantage of not sitting. I highly doubt that a threadmill
can provide me this huge productivity boost...

~~~
jawilson2
I am looking into getting one of these. Do you have any recommendations?

~~~
DaveChild
I made my own ( <http://imgur.com/a/BczGu#26> ) and it's great to work at. If
you're buying one, I'd recommend picking a good desk without the motorized
bits. Instead of getting something that goes up and down (so you can sit at a
normal chair when you don't want to stand), get a tall stool for when you want
to sit.

------
mamcx
Is practical to use a mechanical Treadmill? or is key to have a electric one
so it push you?

I'm close to build a standing-desk and wonder if something like
[http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-55-1610-InMotion-Elliptical-
Tr...](http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-55-1610-InMotion-Elliptical-
Trainer/dp/B000VICRO8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1359574310&sr=8-3&keywords=step+machine)
could work too...

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Codhisattva
Here's the treadmill desk I made last summer
[http://codhisattva.tumblr.com/post/37133702658/the-
walking-d...](http://codhisattva.tumblr.com/post/37133702658/the-walking-
desk). Really practical for me and productive. I find I can work at 2mph and
type and read just fine. Although I do have to slow down or stop to type on an
iPad or iPhone.

~~~
js2
Non-swipe [http://codhisattva.tumblr.com/post/37133702658/the-
walking-d...](http://codhisattva.tumblr.com/post/37133702658/the-walking-
desk?onswipe_redirect=never)

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DanBC
Anyone using a standing desk: are you using comfort matting designed for
people who stand for long times? Or just regular flooring?

~~~
hellopat
I used a standing desk for about 6 months, one with comfort matting. I didn't
notice a difference. I also think standing desks don't offer any health
benefits over sitting. I can state my reasons why if there is any interest.

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rmundo
I would love love LOVE for someone to come out with an inclined treadmill desk
that generates electricity from all that walking.

~~~
Codhisattva
Unfortunately we're not going to generate very much juice. Assuming perfect
conversion and assuming that the average person burns 100 calories per hour,
we're only talking about .12 watts.

~~~
freerobby
It's actually about 120 watts (a food calorie is actually a kCal), but those
100 calories are being spent through a lot more than your legs. Humans burn
over 1000 calories per day just by living, so the additional amount that
you're burning from walking is only a fraction of that 100 calories that get
burned in the hour (assuming 2 MPH). Some of that fraction of effort is
directed downward while some other fraction pushes back against the belt and
moves it backwards, and then of course to your point the efficiency of capture
is never 100%. The law of conservation of energy also tells us that adding a
motor to capture output will add resistance to the belt, requiring you to
expend more effort to walk the same distance. This is because you don't exert
force against a motor in place of the ground/belt, but rather in addition to
it.

