The Treadmill Workstation

Dr. James Levine (obesity researcher, disliker of chairs) of The Mayo Clinic wants to replace your cubicle with a treadmill. Simmer down, simmer down…he's got good reason. Seems "thin people" are on their feet an average of 152 minutes a day more than their fleshy foes. So he's developed workstations (not yet available to the public) that combine a computer, desk and treadmill into a single $1,000US unit. Keeping a 1 mph pace, he is able to work as usual (yes, email too) while burning an extra 100 calories per hour. For him (10 hours per day…on a treadmill for crissake!) he estimates 50 pounds of weight loss per year if his eating habits remain the same. As a public service, we thought you'd like to see how these other exercises-you-can-do-at-the-office stack up by comparison: chopping wood (436 calories per hour) — hunting (360 cph) — sitting (76 cph) — sex-foreplay (104 cph) — sleeping (66 cph). We're going to start out slowly and just sit, twice as hard.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this one in]

[Kaolin Fire @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I've been dreaming about a cycle version of this for a few years.

[muddy @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Sit twice as hard, thats great. Much easier on the feet/legs.

[Kaolin Fire @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

One thing I think engadget missed, though they said it in their post--that's 100 cph _more than_ sitting alone. So for comparison with the other items listed, 1mph treadmill (176 cph)

[stevo @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

what about ur poor knees. a strider thingy would be better. http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00077C1XU.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Can I just sleep at my desk for twice the duration?

[muddy @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

They mentioned it was an 'extra' 100 calories.

[Permanent4 @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Hunting burns more than 3 times as many calories as sex/foreplay? I smell the NRA lobby at work behind that statistic...

[Dito @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

i assume that there was already a patent on the sex-foreplay workstation

[Cliff @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I already built one of these. I got bored on the treadmill so I put in a television and keyboard plus monitor :p

[yuppicide @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

It would be nice if it also converted to a seat or something. Sure you can stand on your feet all day, but even those people take rests now and then.

I want a computer that gets it's power from peddling a bicycle. 1 minute of peddling = 2 minutes of computer time or something. It's like that wind-up Gameboy adapter, but encourages exercise.

[Trevor @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Permanent4, I don't know what you consider "hunting", but I usually kill an animal, then have sex with it.

So I think the numbers are cumulative.

[Scott @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Great, now some executives will decide that since treadmills are too expensive, they'll just have gaint hamster wheels for employees. They can generate their own power and save money!

Great advice doc, thanks for putting the sweat back into sweatshops!

[otakucode @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

So... what are the thin supposed to do once all cubicles are chucked out the window for these things? And are we legally required to give CPR to the "big boned" people when their heart explodes?

[Tom @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

I think this sounds like a really awesome idea. I work a tech support job for a local ISP, so I am of course in a chair all day. Something like this would be awesome.

[Red @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

*Doobie Brothers CD not included.

It Keeps You Runnin!
Yeah, It Keeps You Runnin!



Where you gonna go,
Where are you gonna hide?
You go on leaving out your heart
And all it's saying deep inside.

I can feel your heart beat
You got me all wrong.
You don't have to worry
You just been lonely too long
I know what it means to hide your heart
From a long time ago -

[Chorus]
It keeps you running
It keeps you running etc.

I know how you feel
You know I been there
But what you've been keeping to yourself
Well you know it just ain't fair

Are you gonna worry
For the rest of your life
Why are you in such a hurry
To be lonely one more night?
I know what it means to hide your heart
From a long time ago -

[Bryan @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Hey, at least it's something that could finally make couch-potato gamers healthy again:

http://dubiousquality.blogspot.com/2005/01/evil-genius-special-achievement-award.html

[Alex @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Geat, no really, the only problem is space. In my workspace (I must have the smallest available office space in America). What I need is a device that will take up as little space as my small desk and chair - 4'x4'!

[rye&ginger @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Good to see. Im a strength coach and feel guilty about my computer use! I often use a ski machine while surfing or playing ePoker. Just take down the resolution for a bit and its no problem. Drop that candy bar, tubby!

[Ray @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Hello! Isn't this gonna affect your posture? You're supposed to swing your arms while walking, you might net get the full benefits of treadmill, cripes!

[Wendy Bumgardner @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Where can I sign up for field testing? I love walking, but it is hard to motivate yourself to go out into the rain, wind, heat, or cold to walk around the work campus on breaks and lunches.

[kris @ Dec 19th 2005 2:05AM]

Sign me up too that is pretty sweet. I wish I could do that right now. I find myself walking around the office while on the phone. Would be nice to be able to do that while at the computer. This may be the answer.


Consumer Reports on Treadmills
http://www.health-focus.biz/healthy/treadmill/consumer-reports-treadmill-best-buy/index.php