Walking 10,000 Steps
I recently wrote and article Walking 10,000 Steps A Day For A Healthy Lifestyle. So in efforts to improve my health, I committed myself to walking 10,000 steps each and every day!
10,000 steps may seem like a lot of steps and truthfully, it is…but with some simple lifestyle changes you can slip 10,000 steps right into your routine!
So how did I do this? With a custom built treadmill desk.
What Is A Treadmill Desk?
Treadmill desk what??? Alright, lets talk about how many of us just don’t move enough. So much has changed over the years and quite frankly we are not moving enough.
I recently purchased a Jawbone Up to record my activity and I was shocked that I wasn’t moving enough. I am an active person…but I also sit at a desk to work for 6-8 hours a day.
Studies show that just by finding ways to move more you can dramatically improve your health. So in efforts to move more I began to research and stumbled upon a treadmill desk.
A treadmill desk is a desk that is attached to a treadmill which gives you the ability to work while you walk on the treadmill.
Move More By Walking
What is better, sitting or moving? Moving of course! With a treadmill desk you do not move fast at all, instead you walk at a slow pace of 1.2-2.0 miles per hour so that you can still continue to work.
So I do my first 3 hours of working just walking a normal, slow 2.0/mile pace on my treadmill desk. That is 6 extra miles that I walk a day now (2 miles per hour) that I wasn’t getting before. That is 42 extra miles a week (6 miles extra a day x 7 days a week) that I am moving! Wow, right?
I can easily work standing up rather than sitting on my bum and burn calories and earn steps while working. I hit my 10,000 steps for the day just by working in the morning on my treadmill desk and I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the day!
Don’t work from a desk in the day? No problem…watch your evening shows while walking with the treadmill desk. You can watch just about anything these days on the computer, so instead of sitting on the couch, watch from your computer while walking on your treadmill.
The Benefits of Walking
There are so many health benefits when walking is added to your daily routine. Here are just a few:
- Weight loss
- Maintaining an ideal weight
- Prevention of heart disease, high blood pressure and and type 2 diabetes.
- Strengthen your muscles and bones
- Helps in balancing hormones and lifting your mood
- Saves money from gym memberships
- Helps improve your sex life
- Reduces your chances of stroke
- Can reduce your chances of developing dementia later in life (source)
So with all these healthy benefits, makes you want to walk more right? So lets move on to how to build an inexpensive treadmill desk.
How To Build A Treadmill Desk
So when I researched treadmill desks, I was shocked how expensive they were. So I went on a mission to build my own. Many of the instructions required you to drill holes into the treadmill and I did not want to do that.
The other important element was that I wanted the treadmill desk to be easily removable so I could run on it when I desired to. I use my treadmill a ton in the winter months in Wisconsin when it is below 0ºF.
So I stumbled upon this website, Think Space, and altered the instructions slightly. Could it really be this easy to build your own treadmill desk?? Yep, it sure can be!
Here is what you will need. This will fit a standard size treadmill.
- (1) Wood Shelf ~ 11.8″ D x 35.8″ W (find this at a local home improvement store) At my store they came in maple and cherry color. In the picture above it is maple color. This board cost under $10.
- (4) Screw Eyes ~ 3-1/2″ with 5/16″ Thread
- (2) Bungee Cords ~ 24 inches
- Drill and 15 minutes time
Drill two holes into both sides of the shelf (as pictured below) and screw in the screw eyes. Do this to both sides.
Place the shelf onto the treadmill (as pictured below) and attach the bungee cords (on the underside of the board) from one side to the other and attaching them to the hooks. The desk should be securely attached and shouldn’t move at all and be tightly in place.
Place your computer on the desk and start walking at a slow pace. Remember, it isn’t about speed, you have to be able to work as you move. Try walking 1.3-2.0 MPH. I walk for 3 hours in the morning. I would be sitting for 3 hours so instead I just walk at a slow and steady pace.
You will be amazed how this little change can dramatically improve your health and also help with losing weight! That’s it, easy right? How do you get in extra steps?
Thank you for this! I was wanting something very similar and was discouraged by how expensive the desks were that I could find. I used your instructions and within 15 minutes had the treadmill desk I wanted and needed. I know this is four years old but THANK you for keeping this up!
Thank you so much for sharing this. I searched all over the internet for a treadmill desk design. Your method and instructions were so easy and is exactly what I was looking for.
Thanks for posting & leaving this up! My husband and I just made this for me and it was so easy & inexpensive! I just started working from home this past week and now I will get some more steps in during the day!
It can be a tough task if you choose and buy L-shaped Computer Desk or Computer Desk with Hutch with no or little knowledge.
oh … Very convenient. This is a great idea. How can you think about it? I love it. Thanks you!
Hail the genius!!! Amazingly simple but so brilliant. I absolutely love it. I’m off to do my own DIY. 🙂
I’m going to build one of these this week. I’m thinking I won’t need bunge cords because my treadmill supporting braces come up at a different angle to yours. I’m just going to tie some string into a circular knot on each brace and secure each to one screw eye on each side of the panel of wood.
I had already built a platform that goes on top of the treadmill, but it is not optimal because it hides the display panel and some of the controls and also blocks my view of the TV unless I put the TV legs on some little boxes.
VELCRO: I decided to forego the screws, string, and whatnot. I simply bought a shelf 90cm x 25cm (measure your treadmill to get an idea of what size shelf you want), and then I secured it to the treadmill with 4 velcro strips – one velcro strip on each handle bar of the treadmill and two corresponding vecro strips on the shelf.
Halle, I LOVE this idea. Thank you so much!
As a freelance writer and designer, I spend a ridiculous amount of time at my desk. It bothers my joints and my body in general. For months now, I’ve been on the lookout for a way to add a workstation to my treadmill without breaking the bank. Your suggestion is brilliant!
Every little bit of extra movement helps, that’s for sure. Our bodies were never designed to be so sedentary. ? Thank you again. I look forward to trying this DIY! Sending love and blessings to you and yours.
WOWW! Intelligent…
I have a huge smart TV in front of my treadmill. I just went with the wireless keyboard (and trackball, not mouse) on the shelf and the laptop goes into the HDMI plug on the TV (I’ll figure out how to bluetooth it later) and sits by the TV. My bars are slanted so I used a couple of blocks to even it out and raise it. That lets me have a full size keyboard, so my hands can be a little wider for walking and then I don’t have to worry about the screen angle.