Monday, May 6, 2013
Get off your duff: Work and walk with a treadmill desk
Treadmill desks are a growing trend in work places all across the country. They are designed to keep workers standing and moving on the job.
After a long day at work, Parris Woodhead likes to unwind by playing StarCraft.
But about two years ago, the 49-year-old computer technician in Austin changed up his evening routine. He's still playing video games, but now he's about 35 pounds lighter. The secret to his dramatic weight loss? A treadmill desk.
"I already bought a treadmill, but it sat in the corner, and we hung clothes on it to dry," Woodhead said. He finally got around to using it after buying a desk attachment called the TrekDesk. For each hour-and-a-half gaming session, he would walk more than 2 miles at a slight incline, burning roughly 400 calories every night. "If you get really into the game, you don't realize you're exercising and just keep on going."
In recent years, the office chair has garnered a reputation as a silent killer. With study after study linking sedentary behavior to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes and even early death, more workers are seeking alternatives to keep them on their feet. Infiltrating home offices and corporate settings alike, newfangled standing and walking desks have helped people shed pounds, increase energy and gain other health benefits.
While the price tags for these desks can easily run in the thousands, breaking the bank isn't necessary.
Since Woodhead had already plunked down $1,000 on a treadmill, he only needed to buy the TrekDesk, which costs $479. "I thought it was expensive, but if it would get me to use the treadmill, it'd be worthwhile," he noted.
When the company began selling treadmill desks five years ago, TrekDesk CEO Steve Bordley said it offered the first affordable model. Compare that against the SteelCase WalkStation, designed by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine, which made its debut in 2008 at about $4,000.
"When I first started this, really, it was a novelty," said Bordley, who left the commercial real estate business after suffering a gunshot wound to his leg in 1994. The "freak accident" involved a large-caliber rifle that left him largely immobile for two years. When he was finally back on his feet, he found walking helped ease his back pains and leg neuropathy, prompting him to create TrekDesk.
Even simpler and cheaper is Keith Gould's solution. The 34-year-old software engineer in New York City hacked together his own standing desk using empty computer boxes lying around at work. Though his employer, SideTour, was willing to buy him a standing desk, he decided to test one out first. He propped his display on an iMac box and raised his keyboard and mouse using MacBook Air packaging.
"I found myself drowsy throughout the day and felt like I was in a half-sleeping position already," Gould said. With the help of Lumoback, a wearable back sensor that vibrates when one slouches, his posture and alertness have improved.
When LifeSpan Fitness, an exercise equipment company, noticed customers had likewise created makeshift desks using its treadmills, President Pete Schenk saw a business opportunity.
"We paid close attention to what they liked and didn't like about their DIY versions, and applied that feedback when we set out to design a complete model," Schenk said.
At the end of 2011, LifeSpan began manufacturing treadmill desks. While the company doesn't disclose sales figures, Schenk said, "Our treadmill desk experiment has exceeded expectations over the last year to where we've grown from that original treadmill desk to 10 different products that help people stay active while they work."
One such customer is Janet Oberholtzer, 47. Because of the leg injuries she sustained in a six-car accident, her time in the office is split between walking on a treadmill desk and resting on a chair and ottoman. In 2004, the motor home she was driving cross country with her family was involved in an accident with five semi trucks. To this day, Oberholtzer, a speaker and writer who lives in Reading, Pa., can't sit with her legs hanging down or stand still for long periods without her legs swelling.
"Walking slowly while working is the perfect solution for my legs because it increases my circulation and also helps prevent any blood clots in my compromised legs that could result from not moving for too many hours at a time," the avid runner said. "Plus, I think my brain works best when my body is active, so walking while working helps me think clearer and sharper."
At his most recent physical in April, Woodhead said the nurse who measured his blood pressure and heart rate mistook him for a runner. Now down to 233 pounds, he said he has enough energy to outlast his wife and two kids, ages 9 and 12. Over spring break, he and his family traveled to West Texas to climb Guadalupe Peak, the highest natural point in the state.
"We didn't make it all the way to the top, but it wasn't because of me," he boasted.
E-mail Alice Truong at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter: @alicetruong.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2013/05/04/standing-desk-trekdesk-steelcase/2130143/
But about two years ago, the 49-year-old computer technician in Austin changed up his evening routine. He's still playing video games, but now he's about 35 pounds lighter. The secret to his dramatic weight loss? A treadmill desk.
"I already bought a treadmill, but it sat in the corner, and we hung clothes on it to dry," Woodhead said. He finally got around to using it after buying a desk attachment called the TrekDesk. For each hour-and-a-half gaming session, he would walk more than 2 miles at a slight incline, burning roughly 400 calories every night. "If you get really into the game, you don't realize you're exercising and just keep on going."
In recent years, the office chair has garnered a reputation as a silent killer. With study after study linking sedentary behavior to increased risks of heart disease, diabetes and even early death, more workers are seeking alternatives to keep them on their feet. Infiltrating home offices and corporate settings alike, newfangled standing and walking desks have helped people shed pounds, increase energy and gain other health benefits.
While the price tags for these desks can easily run in the thousands, breaking the bank isn't necessary.
Since Woodhead had already plunked down $1,000 on a treadmill, he only needed to buy the TrekDesk, which costs $479. "I thought it was expensive, but if it would get me to use the treadmill, it'd be worthwhile," he noted.
When the company began selling treadmill desks five years ago, TrekDesk CEO Steve Bordley said it offered the first affordable model. Compare that against the SteelCase WalkStation, designed by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. James Levine, which made its debut in 2008 at about $4,000.
"When I first started this, really, it was a novelty," said Bordley, who left the commercial real estate business after suffering a gunshot wound to his leg in 1994. The "freak accident" involved a large-caliber rifle that left him largely immobile for two years. When he was finally back on his feet, he found walking helped ease his back pains and leg neuropathy, prompting him to create TrekDesk.
Even simpler and cheaper is Keith Gould's solution. The 34-year-old software engineer in New York City hacked together his own standing desk using empty computer boxes lying around at work. Though his employer, SideTour, was willing to buy him a standing desk, he decided to test one out first. He propped his display on an iMac box and raised his keyboard and mouse using MacBook Air packaging.
"I found myself drowsy throughout the day and felt like I was in a half-sleeping position already," Gould said. With the help of Lumoback, a wearable back sensor that vibrates when one slouches, his posture and alertness have improved.
When LifeSpan Fitness, an exercise equipment company, noticed customers had likewise created makeshift desks using its treadmills, President Pete Schenk saw a business opportunity.
"We paid close attention to what they liked and didn't like about their DIY versions, and applied that feedback when we set out to design a complete model," Schenk said.
At the end of 2011, LifeSpan began manufacturing treadmill desks. While the company doesn't disclose sales figures, Schenk said, "Our treadmill desk experiment has exceeded expectations over the last year to where we've grown from that original treadmill desk to 10 different products that help people stay active while they work."
One such customer is Janet Oberholtzer, 47. Because of the leg injuries she sustained in a six-car accident, her time in the office is split between walking on a treadmill desk and resting on a chair and ottoman. In 2004, the motor home she was driving cross country with her family was involved in an accident with five semi trucks. To this day, Oberholtzer, a speaker and writer who lives in Reading, Pa., can't sit with her legs hanging down or stand still for long periods without her legs swelling.
"Walking slowly while working is the perfect solution for my legs because it increases my circulation and also helps prevent any blood clots in my compromised legs that could result from not moving for too many hours at a time," the avid runner said. "Plus, I think my brain works best when my body is active, so walking while working helps me think clearer and sharper."
At his most recent physical in April, Woodhead said the nurse who measured his blood pressure and heart rate mistook him for a runner. Now down to 233 pounds, he said he has enough energy to outlast his wife and two kids, ages 9 and 12. Over spring break, he and his family traveled to West Texas to climb Guadalupe Peak, the highest natural point in the state.
"We didn't make it all the way to the top, but it wasn't because of me," he boasted.
E-mail Alice Truong at techcomments@usatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter: @alicetruong.
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