NY Times: Treadmill desks might really be worth it. Does anyone use one?

As you read the liberal failing lamestream nytimes?

Looks like a good idea. I could see that.

I have something similar, though. It is a motorized sit-stand desk that I sometimes pull a bike on a liquid trainer up to so that I can get a stationary bike workout in while on the desktop.

It's difficult to use the keyboard while on the bike trainer, but for things like watching a video and only occasionally using the keyboard, it is very good.

It's a set-up similar to this (see link):

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unless there is some type of family emergency, like someone is bleeding, i run outside. rain, snow, light, dark, sub freezing, 100 degree heat. but i grew up running in the 70's. treadmill desk. please. grow a pair.

I walk hours a day on calls for work with a 250$ treadmill desk. I run separately from this obviously. it feels much more comfortable than just standing at my standing desk. I am just a hobby jogging woman in my 30’s though that likes to stay lean so I mostly use it for that purpose along with other good lifestyle habits

Linus Torvalds uses one:

Rojo, I have some back problems and I read that sitting all day might be part of the problem so tested several mini-steppers and I've been using it for about three months now. i decided to go with a stepper instead of a treadmill because i assumed it would be quieter and I guessed that it would be easier FOR ME to type while stepping than it is to type while walking. ( i could be wrong on that, but it is definitely easy to type while stepping.)

Here's my thoughts.

The standing desk plus the mini-stepper definitely helped alleviate my back problems. It's also improved my ability to walk upstairs and my 100m speed. The downside is it took about a month to adapt to spending so many hours standing as opposed to sitting down. The mini stepper is smooth and you will definitely notice it after you stepped for a few minutes. I tried three different brands. All were quiet. One had a minor squeek that I resolved with a drop of bicycle chain lube on each piston. All make a clunk sound when the pistons change direction. It's not loud, but it's there. None of these mini-steppers have a resistance control. You can vary the resistance only by moving your foot farther back on the pedals. (A longer lever equals less resistance and faster stepping.) I weight 140. With the toe of my shoe at the front of the pedal, I can move at 72 spm. With the toe of the shoe 4" back from the front of the pedal, I can move at 86 spm.

Most of the work is done on your heels on a mini stepper so you aren't getting a great calf workout. I occasionally reverse my mini stepper so I can do more calf lifts as opposed to just pushing down with my heel.

i wear a 9.5 size running shoe and I found that only one of the steppers would work with my shoes. These things were made mostly for women with narrow feet and my foot would not fit within the sides of the pedal of the other brands. I also found that this feet weren't stable on most of the brands because the feet are cylindrical. I bought a model that has feet that fit flat on the ground.The other machines would tend to flip over and throw me off the back if I moved my foot too far back on the pedal.

I also found that there were times that I just didn't feel like standing so instead of using a standing desk, I set my laptop on a cardboard box on its side on my normal desk. When I don't feel like standing and stepping, I just set the box aside and put the laptop back on the desk and use a chair.

I bought the Sunny Health & Fitness Total Body Smart 2 in 1 Stepper Machine, Total Body Workout, Adjustable Hydraulic, LCD Monitor, Resistance Bands, Non-Slip Pedals - SF-S0978. It was only $75 so if it lasts a year, it will be worth it. The counter is junk... as in totally worthless, but the pedals don't have raised sides so my shoes fit and I can move my foot back and forth without the stepper rocking over backwards. EDITED TO ADD: Adjustable hydraulic is a misleading term. It means you can adjust the RANGE of motion of the pedal... not the resistance. Other brands claim to adjust the tension, but they don't. They adjust the RANGE of motion of the pedal up and down.

I often spend time just standing on the pedals without stepping. Since there was a tiny amount of slack in the pedals there's a tendency to rock back and forth just a tiny amount so you're constantly balancing. While this is probably good, doing it for hours a day caused piriformis problems for me. As a result I'm thinking of augmenting my stepper with a walkingtreadmill that I would probably elevate in the front to give it a slight grade.

One other point that's worth mentioning. Even though typing isn't hard, it's still harder than typing from a sitting position so I tend to dictate most of my comments. I switched to ChromebookAbout a year ago and the Chromebook is excellent for voice recognition and dictation.I dictated this entire post and only had to make some minor grammatical changes. I left most of the mistakes in place so you could see what it looks like.

I will probably buy a walking treadmill in the near future so I can alternate between walking, stepping, standing, and sitting. If I do, I'll try to remember to post what I found out on this thread.

Since when are you reading and trusting the New York Times?

It's well documented that sitting for long periods of time is not particularly healthy.

I've never used a treadmill desk, but in my home office I have an old stationary bike that I'll sometimes use while reading from the terminal or when sitting in on teleconferences. I find it difficult to type this way.

During the pandemic I set an hourly alarm and would break for a few minutes on the NordicTrak ski machine or the stationary bike. Long enough to get a bit warmed up a bit, but not enough to break a sweat.

I don't have a treadmill desk, but I do have a standing desk and don't even have a chair for sitting when I work anymore. I have a colleague who recently got a treadmill desk, but obviously just for slow walking, not running.

I spend a good chunk of my day on calls, and I have occasionally just connected my airpods to my MS Teams app on the phone and walked around outside. The two challenges with this (for me) are outside noise - sirens, people trying to say hello, lawnmowers/blowers - and the fact that I will often need to look at a screen for work-related things (I am in cre development, so designs, topo maps, site plans, etc.).

So I think I am going to splurge for the treadmill desk thing under my existing desk just to keep some movement. Running would be impossible for me during actual work, though. Plus, if I can break long enough to actually run, I am going outside.

TO anyone considering a standing desk, go ahead and do it. It is amazing and makes you feel SO MUCH better at the end of a long day. You'll notice some fatigue at first, but that goes away in like a week or two and after that you're just much more fresh for afternoon runs, etc.

Seems like you're missing the point entirely. This isn't to suggest that you replace your normal running with the desk treadmill, it is so you can walk while you work your normal desk job which is in addition to your normal training. But sure, if you can go for your normal training runs while also working a desk job, go for it.

I have a jury-rigged desk-exercise bike combo which I will move my computer over to get some zone 1 work in. It's not great for most work, but is great for meetings.

Anyone with a treadmill at their desk is not busy enough and is probably being overpaid for whatever their responsibilities are.

Lol, you clearly haven't interacted with tech or finance people. Lots of people are walking on calls.

These aren't for running. They're for walking while you work and max out at like 4 mph.

Sounds awesome to me but I'd get the add-on that moves your legs for you.

I've been working at home 3-4 days a week since 2020 and it has not been good for my health, as I will sometimes park on the couch with the laptop on my lap and slouch away. I recently got a standing desk, which helps a lot, and am trying out a walking pad treadmill. This DOES NOT replace other workouts I do, just adds to them.

PROS: Extra movement + less sitting
Better back health
Walking for 30 minutes or so is a great way to start the day as I settle in and set up my work for the day, take car of minor hanging tasks, etc.

CONS: You really can't do heavy concentration work or heavy typing. It's really only for times you are not very actively working.
Got yelled at by my VP for walking during a Zoom meeting. This was a meeting in which I was supposed to passively listen to self-justifying updates for 99% of it. I logged in early so I would not be one of the heads at the top of the screen during the presentation. However, it turns out the VP is not watching the presentation but rather watching every participant to be sure we are at our desks and have our cameras on, like a kindergarten teacher. The irony is that when she asked me to stop, I sat down and flipped over to doing actual work and barely listened to the rest of the garbage. My camera is on, I'm sitting there and looking at the screen, but I'm not listening.

What is the point of the uncomfortably narrow saddle on the bike whose only purpose seems to be to assault your caccacoochie at work?

Could Lindgren have approached 300 MPW if he had a treadmill desk at work?!