Standing desk vs treadmill desk
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Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?
Somebody in an online forum wrote:
INTJs never really joke. They make a point. The joke is just a gift wrapper.
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I keep reading articles about how sitting 8 hours a day is going to kill me, so I'm looking at alternatives. From what I've read on various blogs standing is actually more tiring than walking and comes with another set of risks. With that in mind, I'm thinking of building a desk onto a treadmill I already own (and never use). Every blog I've read about people using treadmill desks goes into detail about how they built theirs and how excited they were when they first started using it, and how much weight they lost in the first 6 weeks or so. Most of the blogs go dead silent at that point with a couple reporting back after a year. The people who report back after a year swear they are never going back to sitting desks, but I'm wondering about the others. Did they enjoy the walking desk and just get bored of talking about it? Did they begin to hate it and just not blog about they day they dragged their treadmill into the yard doused it with gasoline and threw a lit match at it? If you've used a standing or walking desk: 1. Did you like it long term, or did the shine wear off and you returned to sitting? 2. Did you notice any of the increased productivity/focus that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 3. Did you notice any of the increased energy/feelings of well being that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 4. Did you lose weight as a result of standing/walking? Did that last long term? 5. How long was it between when you say all of the time to when you walked or stood all of the time? If I don't have an easy way to raise and lower my monitors, how long am I going to need to keep moving them from my sitting desk to standing/walking desk? Obviously I'm going to New Years resolve to use a walking desk, I'm just trying to get an idea if I'm just trying it out with a slim chance of success long term (still have to try), or if it's likely to just be the way I work for years to come?
I have been using a Geekdesk[^] standing desk for about six months. It has an upside and a downside. There's also the good and the bad of it. Good: * I find standing part of the day helps me focus. I do a better job of getting things done and not wasting time. * Alternating between sitting, standing and walking feels better. * When I need to think or I lose focus, it's easier (and better) to just walk away rather than open a new browser window and start procrastinating. * I can sit or stand as the task, my energy and my back dictate. Bad: * Standing too long actually exacerbates my back pain. I have found that standing feels better than sitting when done in moderation, but is no substitute for actual exercise. * Expensive, and you could get a similar setup with a tall desk and a tall draftsman's stool for a lot less. (I already had an investment in a good desk chair. * Requires more care regarding cable length and routing for your equipment. Most days I start out with the desk down (sitting). After the morning coffee & email tradition, I move the desk up and work standing until lunch. Whether I work standing in the afternoon depends on mood and my back. Desk goes back down for the evening between 3-5 PM. I can't comment on the supposed health angle other than to say that sitting all day can't possibly be healthy, but it's also possible to hurt yourself by standing too long if you don't pay attention to other aspects of physical health and fitness. I can see the treadmill desk being helpful in this regard, but typing while walking seems like a bad idea. I'd rather take the dog for a walk (not a euphemism) and clear my head for 30 minutes. YMMV. If you're curious, I recommend setting up something temporary and seeing how it works. Don't go all standing up at once. Ease into it. Make sure your monitor is high enough that you're looking straight at it when standing. If your neck hurts, it's too low still.
Director of Content Development, The Code Project
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I keep reading articles about how sitting 8 hours a day is going to kill me, so I'm looking at alternatives. From what I've read on various blogs standing is actually more tiring than walking and comes with another set of risks. With that in mind, I'm thinking of building a desk onto a treadmill I already own (and never use). Every blog I've read about people using treadmill desks goes into detail about how they built theirs and how excited they were when they first started using it, and how much weight they lost in the first 6 weeks or so. Most of the blogs go dead silent at that point with a couple reporting back after a year. The people who report back after a year swear they are never going back to sitting desks, but I'm wondering about the others. Did they enjoy the walking desk and just get bored of talking about it? Did they begin to hate it and just not blog about they day they dragged their treadmill into the yard doused it with gasoline and threw a lit match at it? If you've used a standing or walking desk: 1. Did you like it long term, or did the shine wear off and you returned to sitting? 2. Did you notice any of the increased productivity/focus that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 3. Did you notice any of the increased energy/feelings of well being that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 4. Did you lose weight as a result of standing/walking? Did that last long term? 5. How long was it between when you say all of the time to when you walked or stood all of the time? If I don't have an easy way to raise and lower my monitors, how long am I going to need to keep moving them from my sitting desk to standing/walking desk? Obviously I'm going to New Years resolve to use a walking desk, I'm just trying to get an idea if I'm just trying it out with a slim chance of success long term (still have to try), or if it's likely to just be the way I work for years to come?
I've not tried these types of work stations, but... I like to break my work day into 2 chunks. 4 hours working, then DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) and a shower at home (over 2 hours including lunch), then 4 more hours working. I seem to be able to do this 3 days of a 5-day work week. Also, every day (that I don't play DDR) I walk to the cafeteria, which is 5 minutes in each direction. Not too long a walk, but should get a little blood flowing. I think this could be improved on a larger scale if company cultures were changed. At my company, it's not stated one way or the other that it's OK for me to take such a long lunch break, but nobody has complained so far. Nobody else I know at my company takes these types of breaks. If they did (or if the company encouraged employees to do so), I probably wouldn't feel so guilty about taking them, and would probably take these types of healthy breaks more often.
Somebody in an online forum wrote:
INTJs never really joke. They make a point. The joke is just a gift wrapper.
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I keep reading articles about how sitting 8 hours a day is going to kill me, so I'm looking at alternatives. From what I've read on various blogs standing is actually more tiring than walking and comes with another set of risks. With that in mind, I'm thinking of building a desk onto a treadmill I already own (and never use). Every blog I've read about people using treadmill desks goes into detail about how they built theirs and how excited they were when they first started using it, and how much weight they lost in the first 6 weeks or so. Most of the blogs go dead silent at that point with a couple reporting back after a year. The people who report back after a year swear they are never going back to sitting desks, but I'm wondering about the others. Did they enjoy the walking desk and just get bored of talking about it? Did they begin to hate it and just not blog about they day they dragged their treadmill into the yard doused it with gasoline and threw a lit match at it? If you've used a standing or walking desk: 1. Did you like it long term, or did the shine wear off and you returned to sitting? 2. Did you notice any of the increased productivity/focus that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 3. Did you notice any of the increased energy/feelings of well being that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 4. Did you lose weight as a result of standing/walking? Did that last long term? 5. How long was it between when you say all of the time to when you walked or stood all of the time? If I don't have an easy way to raise and lower my monitors, how long am I going to need to keep moving them from my sitting desk to standing/walking desk? Obviously I'm going to New Years resolve to use a walking desk, I'm just trying to get an idea if I'm just trying it out with a slim chance of success long term (still have to try), or if it's likely to just be the way I work for years to come?
I've been trying to find something like a balance arm that dentist's use for the overhead light. Would be great to sit for a while, swing it up and stand for a while, swing it over to recumbent bike, etc. no luck so far. all I have is a cheap drafting table that swings over the recumbent, which I use just for reading (I'm not coordinated enough to bike and type and chew gum...)
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Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?
Somebody in an online forum wrote:
INTJs never really joke. They make a point. The joke is just a gift wrapper.
I just can't see that working - the Hula Hoop desk just won't catch on.
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I'm already biking to work. It's only 3 miles, but it's uphill both ways (for at least a portion). I have really enjoyed the bike commuting. Before that I was on the bus, and it's been really nice to not have to worry about the schedule. The problem is that I live in Maine (northern US), and winter has finally started. It was ~10 degrees Fahrenheit this morning and it was painful just riding my bike to the bus stop this morning. Once the snow starts, I'm going to put the bike away for the winter. That also misses a bit of the point. Apparently even if you exercise regularly, you are much more like to die if you sit more than 6 hours/day.
How cold is that in Celcius? I cycled in -7 in Belgium a few years often, it was damn cold. A friend in Holland had -20 Celcius one day!
Jeremy Hutchinson wrote:
you are much more like to die if you sit more than 6 hours/day.
Benefit of going for a smoke every hour. Down the stairs, stand for a bit, then back up again. :)
============================== Nothing to say.
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I've been trying to find something like a balance arm that dentist's use for the overhead light. Would be great to sit for a while, swing it up and stand for a while, swing it over to recumbent bike, etc. no luck so far. all I have is a cheap drafting table that swings over the recumbent, which I use just for reading (I'm not coordinated enough to bike and type and chew gum...)
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How cold is that in Celcius? I cycled in -7 in Belgium a few years often, it was damn cold. A friend in Holland had -20 Celcius one day!
Jeremy Hutchinson wrote:
you are much more like to die if you sit more than 6 hours/day.
Benefit of going for a smoke every hour. Down the stairs, stand for a bit, then back up again. :)
============================== Nothing to say.
Erudite_Eric wrote:
How cold is that in Celcius? I cycled in -7 in Belgium a few years often, it was damn cold. A friend in Holland had -20 Celcius one day!
It's about -12 celcius. There are people who bike year round here, even when it gets below zero (-18 c), so in theory I could just but some more equipment to keep me warmer and some studded tires to make snow travel safer, but I have a feeling the fun of biking is gone for me until spring no matter what I do.
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I've got a walking desk at work, and I hardly ever use it. I find it works for simple tasks like reading email and stuff like that, but it's hard to write even moderately complex code while walking, YMMV though. I do HIIT, crossfit, and paleo to stay in shape. Over the last few months I've been watching my macro-nutrient intake and done some intermittent fasting to edge closer to 10-12% body fat, so I'm relatively healthy without it.
Curvature of the Mind now with 3D
Andy Brummer wrote:
I find it works for simple tasks like reading email and stuff like that, but it's hard to write even moderately complex code while walking
I definitely see myself having to stop and maybe even sitting while working on more complex code. At the same time, I frequently stand up and/or pace when trying to puzzle something particularly complex, so who knows.
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I keep reading articles about how sitting 8 hours a day is going to kill me, so I'm looking at alternatives. From what I've read on various blogs standing is actually more tiring than walking and comes with another set of risks. With that in mind, I'm thinking of building a desk onto a treadmill I already own (and never use). Every blog I've read about people using treadmill desks goes into detail about how they built theirs and how excited they were when they first started using it, and how much weight they lost in the first 6 weeks or so. Most of the blogs go dead silent at that point with a couple reporting back after a year. The people who report back after a year swear they are never going back to sitting desks, but I'm wondering about the others. Did they enjoy the walking desk and just get bored of talking about it? Did they begin to hate it and just not blog about they day they dragged their treadmill into the yard doused it with gasoline and threw a lit match at it? If you've used a standing or walking desk: 1. Did you like it long term, or did the shine wear off and you returned to sitting? 2. Did you notice any of the increased productivity/focus that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 3. Did you notice any of the increased energy/feelings of well being that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 4. Did you lose weight as a result of standing/walking? Did that last long term? 5. How long was it between when you say all of the time to when you walked or stood all of the time? If I don't have an easy way to raise and lower my monitors, how long am I going to need to keep moving them from my sitting desk to standing/walking desk? Obviously I'm going to New Years resolve to use a walking desk, I'm just trying to get an idea if I'm just trying it out with a slim chance of success long term (still have to try), or if it's likely to just be the way I work for years to come?
I've known about treadmill desks for years now, but never really paid them much attention. I worked out 3-4 times a week for many years but didn't think that walking was necessary to achieve my goals. Then, at an ever increasing rate, I started noticing major publications warning about the devastation caused to the body by sitting for any length of time. Irreversible damage. Higher chance of heart trouble. Higher chance of death. Not good. So about two months ago, I decided it was in my best interest to get off my butt. Literally. I've been a software developer for more than 11 years, which means it's easy for me to spend 10-12 hours a day sitting on my keister. The combined effect of those articles I had been reading, my age, my slowing metabolism, and an ever expanding gut, convinced me that standing was better than nothing. Fortunately, the modularity of my cube at work allowed me to easily raise one of the tables to a height that worked great. Most of the 60 something people that work in my office thought I was crazy, but commended my efforts. And it was a difficult effort, just standing. It took probably two weeks before I could go through an entire day without complaining much. I tried different shoes, different standing exercises, and different cushioning under my feet until standing became easy. One month into standing and I knew there was no going back. Though I have the option of working from home periodically, I'm no longer interested in sitting in my recliner all day. I would go to work simply because my environment was configured for standing. The real world benefits of standing, as opposed to sitting, came almost instantly. Somehow, I found it easier to focus and almost never got sleepy. My posture improved and my back stopped hurting. It was the best I've ever felt working! But that wasn't enough. It didn't take long to realize that, to really make a difference, I was going to need a treadmill. It helps I work for a company (Computer Software Innovations in Easley, SC) that goes to great lengths to ensure their employees are healthy. It took almost no effort getting approval for a treadmill -- the one condition being that I had to purchase it myself. No biggie. I spent a few weeks checking craigslist, ebay, and local stores until I finally scored a Livestrong LS7.9T for $399 at Dicks Sporting Goods. It had the mandatory 2.5 continuous horsepower required to keep me moving at 1-1.5 MPH, is practically silent, and has a lifetime warranty. Sold. The pictures I included (I can get higher quality p
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I've not tried these types of work stations, but... I like to break my work day into 2 chunks. 4 hours working, then DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) and a shower at home (over 2 hours including lunch), then 4 more hours working. I seem to be able to do this 3 days of a 5-day work week. Also, every day (that I don't play DDR) I walk to the cafeteria, which is 5 minutes in each direction. Not too long a walk, but should get a little blood flowing. I think this could be improved on a larger scale if company cultures were changed. At my company, it's not stated one way or the other that it's OK for me to take such a long lunch break, but nobody has complained so far. Nobody else I know at my company takes these types of breaks. If they did (or if the company encouraged employees to do so), I probably wouldn't feel so guilty about taking them, and would probably take these types of healthy breaks more often.
Somebody in an online forum wrote:
INTJs never really joke. They make a point. The joke is just a gift wrapper.
I just keep going back to read this part:
AspDotNetDev wrote:
4 hours working, then DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) and a shower at home (over 2 hours including lunch), then 4 more hours working
Love the DDR part. We're getting Just Dance 3 for my son this Christmas. I hadn't thought of that as being part of my daily work/break routine.
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I just keep going back to read this part:
AspDotNetDev wrote:
4 hours working, then DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) and a shower at home (over 2 hours including lunch), then 4 more hours working
Love the DDR part. We're getting Just Dance 3 for my son this Christmas. I hadn't thought of that as being part of my daily work/break routine.
Not sure about Just Dance, but DDR is definitely an intense workout. It's also fun, which keeps motivation high to keep it up.
Somebody in an online forum wrote:
INTJs never really joke. They make a point. The joke is just a gift wrapper.
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Jeremy Hutchinson wrote:
Most of the blogs go dead silent at that point ....
That's where the blogger has died from too much treadmill use. :)
Chris Meech I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar] In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra] posting about Crystal Reports here is like discussing gay marriage on a catholic church’s website.[Nishant Sivakumar]
Chris Meech wrote:
That's where the blogger has died
Death by treadmill. :laugh:
as if the facebook, twitter and message boards weren't enough - blogged
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Erudite_Eric wrote:
How cold is that in Celcius? I cycled in -7 in Belgium a few years often, it was damn cold. A friend in Holland had -20 Celcius one day!
It's about -12 celcius. There are people who bike year round here, even when it gets below zero (-18 c), so in theory I could just but some more equipment to keep me warmer and some studded tires to make snow travel safer, but I have a feeling the fun of biking is gone for me until spring no matter what I do.
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I just can't see that working - the Hula Hoop desk just won't catch on.
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Chris Meech wrote:
That's where the blogger has died
Death by treadmill. :laugh:
as if the facebook, twitter and message boards weren't enough - blogged
Dennis E White wrote:
Death by treadmill
Sounds like an ice cream flavour. :)
Chris Meech I am Canadian. [heard in a local bar] In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. [Yogi Berra] posting about Crystal Reports here is like discussing gay marriage on a catholic church’s website.[Nishant Sivakumar]
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Andy Brummer wrote:
I find it works for simple tasks like reading email and stuff like that, but it's hard to write even moderately complex code while walking
I definitely see myself having to stop and maybe even sitting while working on more complex code. At the same time, I frequently stand up and/or pace when trying to puzzle something particularly complex, so who knows.
I've been looking at this, too. I want to keep the treadmill in the basement, but use another one for the walking desk. Some people buy used ones off Craig's list or somewhere else. There is a company that sells the Tread treadmill specifically for walking desks. About $800. Might be able to find a used one of those online, too. The desk is the hardest part. Saw one designed for this purpose and it was about $479 or so. Had decent space. But some designed for this - like the ones at the site where the manufacturer sells the Tread - have very little working space. They say you're only supposed to walk 1 mile per hour and typing seems doable, maybe easy, at that pace. But over the course of the day you walk maybe 3 - 4 miles. One guy walked across the country - the equivalent, at least - in about a year. I saw a picture of a guy with a chair on the treadmill for those tasks where you just have to sit. The ultimate: a desk that could be lowered and swiveled so that you could swivel it one way and raise it for walking, then go 180 with it and lower it and use it facing the other way in a chair for longer tasks that might require sitting (or if your feet were aching or you were injured). I haven't seen anything like that and I don't think it would be cheap.
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I keep reading articles about how sitting 8 hours a day is going to kill me, so I'm looking at alternatives. From what I've read on various blogs standing is actually more tiring than walking and comes with another set of risks. With that in mind, I'm thinking of building a desk onto a treadmill I already own (and never use). Every blog I've read about people using treadmill desks goes into detail about how they built theirs and how excited they were when they first started using it, and how much weight they lost in the first 6 weeks or so. Most of the blogs go dead silent at that point with a couple reporting back after a year. The people who report back after a year swear they are never going back to sitting desks, but I'm wondering about the others. Did they enjoy the walking desk and just get bored of talking about it? Did they begin to hate it and just not blog about they day they dragged their treadmill into the yard doused it with gasoline and threw a lit match at it? If you've used a standing or walking desk: 1. Did you like it long term, or did the shine wear off and you returned to sitting? 2. Did you notice any of the increased productivity/focus that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 3. Did you notice any of the increased energy/feelings of well being that many of the bloggers reported? Did this last long term or did it wear off after a few months? 4. Did you lose weight as a result of standing/walking? Did that last long term? 5. How long was it between when you say all of the time to when you walked or stood all of the time? If I don't have an easy way to raise and lower my monitors, how long am I going to need to keep moving them from my sitting desk to standing/walking desk? Obviously I'm going to New Years resolve to use a walking desk, I'm just trying to get an idea if I'm just trying it out with a slim chance of success long term (still have to try), or if it's likely to just be the way I work for years to come?
Jeremy, I am a month into the use of my treadmill desk and I too can't see myself going back to a full time sitting desk. Do I have more energy yes...has my productivity improved yes...the focus thing I have not noticed any changes. My purchase was less about losing weight as it was about teh ill effects of sitting for 10+ hours a day...the research is VERY alarming. I have varied how I use the desk and find that I am more successfull with using it during blocks of time...I mean when I started I would walk for 15-30 minutes each hour as many of the bloggers and Dr Levine recommends...i find it better for me especially with transferring items back and forth that I select tasks best associated to use the desk---emailing in the AM, phone conferences, lunch break are great ways to get in larger 1-2 hour blocks at a time. I too was skeptical about long term use and was looking at the Steelcase and the Lifespan...for 1/4 of the price and some pretty good reviews I settled on the Lifespan. Also, check out sites like www.officewalkers.ning.com that is where I got my start...
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They do a horrible job of plowing the streets in my neighborhood, so I can generally ski from my front yard into the local park and back without any problem. To get to work I'd have to take my skis off dozens of times and probably have to walk more than a mile over the course of the trip to work.