One Mom's experience with a treadmill desk.

Corrected version uploaded 4.6.2012; reformatted 4.6.2013 and again on 8.9.2015
Treadmill desks are nothing new, and plenty of users have posted their experiences using them. This is my experience, which I am writing, of course, while walking.

I have a homemade treadmill desk. Basically, I have owned a treadmill for over a decade, and a few years ago I had my husband construct a simple "desk" (basically a wood board with two legs that sit inside the hand rails of the treadmill to stabilize it) and created a surface upon which I could rest my laptop while I use it. For my (limited) height, a single half inch thick piece of plywood on top of the arms was the correct height. This would not be the case for a taller person. Although I created the desk about 4 years ago, I have only been using the treadmill regularly this year, posting my mileage on Twitter.

When the desk was new, all I did was read my daily online reading list or news and blogs while walking for 30-60 minutes. I was walking already for daily aerobic exercise, and I found typing while walking to be difficult if I was walking more than 1 mph. There is no aerobic benefit to walking at 1 mph, so I didn't type while walking.

Over time though, as the health implications of sitting became more apparent, I taught myself to type while walking at speeds of up to 2.2 mph, though typically I walk at 2 mph. The change for 2012 was that I decided to make using the treadmill desk part of my new year resolutions.

I first read about the concept of a treadmill desk 4-5 years ago. Treadmill desks get news coverage periodically— including a brief mention in the WSJ in a profile of an executive who is exercise obsessed and had the desks installed at the headquarters of Best Buy. I've also seen them profiled on TV news shows. I first read about them in the WaPo or NYT, and I thought to myself that it was a great idea. The USA Today also spoke with James Levine of the Mayo Clinic who studied the effect of low level movement on weight and fitness (the effects are positive, of course).

The doctor decided to make a treadmill desk (and he patented it, I think) that could be used in an office. It has to be quiet (mine is not, if I'm on the phone I have to turn it off) and it had to be able to run continuously (mine stops every 100 minutes). I don't generally walk at the speed suggested, about 1-1.2 miles per hour, I usually walk a bit faster as noted above. But I work at home, so if I get too hot and sweaty, I can jump in the shower quickly.

The whole point is to have people moving during the day rather than sitting on their butts. this wasn't exercise for aerobic benefit, it's just movement to burn calories. At first, I wasn't able to stand for a full day yet, but I have walked on the treadmill for the better part of the day.

In addition, the ergonomics of walking and typing might actually be a bit better for me than sitting on the couch with the laptop on my lap. Most people who have walking work stations usually have a desk top set up with a large monitor mounted at the "proper" height. I don't like desk tops, I think the future of computing is mobile (and has been for years). However, I must admit that occasionally I covet having a large screen.

Read on about the Stand Up Fitness Plan.

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