Homemade Treadmill Desk

A treadmill desk is a working desk built around a treadmill. A person using the treadmill desk walks slowly on the treadmill while continuing to perform office tasks at the desk.

There are several types of treadmill desks available on the open market. Some incorporate a traditional treadmill with a desktop built over it, while most are now commercially built for this specific use.

The aim of a treadmill desk is to integrate movement and gentle exercise into the working day of an otherwise sedentary office worker. Rather than sitting all day in a chair, a treadmill desk allows desk-based workers to stand and take a slow walk while working.

A treadmill desk is not typically used for a cardio workout, as most users find walking at a speed of 1.0 - 2.0 mph the ideal range. At slower walking speeds, most able-bodied people can undertake desk-based tasks such as typing or talking on the telephone. However, even at these slower speeds, a person may burn 100 - 150 calories per hour, which may result in increased fitness and weight loss.

The aim of the treadmill desk is to improve fitness and reduce obesity in office workers. Scientific research has also shown that walking, like other forms of mild exercise, can also improve one's mental alertness, heighten creativity, fight depression, increase productivity and improve one's mood.

The price of treadmill desks ranges from US$500-$4,500.

Source

My wife is a legal secretary who works from a home office. A big part of her day is sitting in front of a computer typing, which makes her feel (in her words) "like a bump on a log." What's wrong with sitting all day? You're hardly burning calories. You burn more calories chewing gum!

Even if you exercise for an hour a day, but spend the rest of the day sitting, you are putting yourself at increased risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, a variety of cancers and an early death.

Several studies have shown that those who sit the most during the rest of the day have larger waists and worse profiles of blood pressure and blood sugar than those who sit less. Standing burns more calories, and walking even more, so Dr. James Levine of the Mayo Clinic came up with the idea to replace your sit-down desk with a stand-up desk, and equip this with a slow moving treadmill so that you walk while you work.

My wife started researching homemade treadmill desk trying to get some ideas for a desk to fit our model of treadmill. Surprisingly, there are quite a few homemade versions that fit a variety of treadmill styles:

After reviewing these designs we came with our own homemade treadmill desk:

We used the Closetmaid shelving system. The top two shelves are supported by 16" brackets and the lowest shelf is supported by 24" brackets. The bottom shelf had to stick out further from the wall to allow for the base of the treadmill. This way we could type and not worry about stepping on the base.

All supporting tracks are screwed into wall studs. The lowest shelf is made up of two, 12"-wide shelving boards, one of which had to be notched out to allow for the handles of the treadmill. We decided to leave the handles on for safety.