Could Your Next Desk Job Involve a Treadmill?

Imagine coming into work one day and your work station is now counter height, and your desk chair has been replaced with a treadmill. This scenario may just be in your future.

If you sit at a desk all day long, you may already know just how bad it is for your health. But what you may no know is that you can’t out exercise sitting all day. To that end, people are beginning to trade in their desks for treadmill desks, and not just people who work from home. Companies are beginning to make the switch to treadmill desks including the FBI, Google, Dell, and more.

Workers aren’t the only ones benefiting from trading in their desks. Companies are predicting that employee productivity will increase and sick days will decrease. There aren’t any studies yet regarding employee productivity, however there is anecdotal evidence showing increased employee performance.

Usually when we get on a treadmill, we set the speed to a running pace, or even a brisk walk. However, to combat the ill effects of sitting all day, you would only need to walk as fast a slow stroll on the treadmill desk, or about one mile per hour.

If you’re looking to make the change to a treadmill desk, there are companies that sell pre-made treadmill desks, but if the price is out of your budget, there are also plenty of tutorials online for making your own. There’s even an entire webpage devoted to treadmill (and bike) desks called DIYTreadmillDesk.com.