Using a Treadmill While Working | Walking While Working On Treadmill
I wanted to compose this article to hopefully motivate you and to express why a young professional like myself or anyone who works a desk job can benefit from walking on a treadmill while working. I'll cover these topics in further detail below.
- Increased caloric expenditure
- Increased blood flow
- Increased brain activity
- Better nights rest
- Honest Negatives
- Can I Walk On A Treadmill While Working On A Computer?
Increased Caloric Expenditure
Increased Caloric Expenditure, what does this mean?
All it means is burning calories!
I find this to be what most people who work desk jobs lack, we simply don't burn enough calories.
We sit in one spot throughout the day, only move to get a refill of coffee we put cream and sugar into. Or to go to lunch, in which case we load up on our favorite close to work restaurant.
The problem with this sediment lifestyle is that we have an excess of calories coming in.
And not enough going out.
For most of us, we are too tired to get to the gym and do all the things we know we should.
That's why I believe utilizing a treadmill while working is an extremely efficient way to burn calories and help correct the lack of activity that modern-day professionals get in there daily life.
If one was to simply walk for two, one-hour stents it could make significant impacts on one's health. And lest be honest, next time you're at the doctor you wouldn't have to lie about your activity level.
This is just one of the many benefits you get from walking while working.
This next point blew me away when I learned it, so much so that I implemented it in my life the next day I learned it.
Increased Blood Flow
So you might be thinking, increased blood flow, what's that got to do with anything.
As it turns out that the increased activity will not only help you to keep those pounds off, but it will also help you have healthier blood pressure.
The more activity you have the more effect on decreasing your blood pressure you will see.
With Heart Disease being the leading killer in the U.S.A getting up and moving can be so beneficial to your health.
If you're like most, constantly rushing to get everything done and don't have the time to get the gym killing two birds with one stone by walking while working can help you to have less of a chance of Artery Disease and Heart Disease.
With increased blood flow comes better circulation as well. Better oxygen exchange throughout your body.
And that's one of my favorite benefits which leads us to our next topic.
Increased Brain Activity
For all, your students out there looking for creative ways to study here is an effective one that has scientific research to prove that moving while studying or working actually increases your ability to remember and to process things better.
Why is this?
Because of better circulation and more oxygen getting to the brain.
With the increased oxygen getting to the brain your ability to recall, and learn new material significantly increases.
When I'm studying or trying to learn something new I always stand up and walk around or utilize a special treadmill attached to a work station.
I can personally testify to the increased retention.
I could tell after just a couple of hours of learning and studying that I was retaining material so much better than previously before I learned this crucial learning trick.
I encourage anyone reading this to go look into some of the medical studies that have been tested on this.
They are fascinating and will only motivate you more to live a better life and to get moving while working.
This next benefit has really helped me being someone who really has trouble sleeping.
Better Nights Sleep
I've always had trouble sleeping and having couped up energy from not utilizing my muscles and depleting my energy stores aren't going to help.
I can tell you from experience and I'm sure you would agree that being mentally tired and physically tired are very different.
While both indicate a job well done, being physically tired will help you get to sleep faster and get a deeper more restful sleep.
That's why making sure I walk 2 or even 3 hours a day while working is so important to me.
Not only does it help me with so many other things it also allows me to regenerate better and be more prepared for the next day.
I know I've said it here before, but I want to illustrate it again. Being able to get some exercise in while working is a win-win, you really are killing to birds with one stone.
And if you're like me, you honestly were not going to make it to the gym anyway like you always say you are.
Now that I've talked you into implementing this into your life, let me talk you back out of it.
Honest Negatives
So to be honest with you there are some negatives with this.
I've experienced all of these negatives while implementing this into my daily routine and I believe it would be useful to you to fully understand what you're getting yourself into!
So I've composed a shortlist for you below.
- Sweating
- Work attire
- Energy levels
- Reading
Sweating
So this one is obvious, with any physical exertion your body is going to want to cool itself. And that just leaves you a sweaty mess at work.
But there are some things you can do to help this.
First off, depending on your work some attire will be better at keeping you cool over others.
With modern-day American offices moving to more of the comfort side of things this might be something your already doing.
This is a person by person decision to be made.
Another thing you can do is slow the walk down. By walking slower you actually will sweat less.
Although doing that comes with its negatives, you'll burn fewer calories and get less blood flow. You could counter this though by walking longer.
Ultimately, the decision is yours to make on how you either combat or deal with the negative.
If it was up to me I would love to opt for a quick shower afterward. However, unless you are lucky enough to work from home that's likely not an easy option for you.
Work Attire
Of course, I didn't forget to work attire.
I'll be honest here if your work requires a suit and tie every day, your probably out of luck.
Wearing all that would make this a sweat palooza and you wouldn't be making any good impressions on anyone.
As discussed earlier tho if in a more casual work environment give it a shot, get out of your comfort zone and try it. You don't have much to lose, only a lot to gain.
The next one will most likely be the kicker for most.
Energy Levels
If your out of shape or haven't been physically exerted in a while you might notice that doing this wears you out.
And that's ok!
That is a great indicator that you need to keep it up and push harder. Don't let that stop you from the healthier life you deserve.
But you could very well get home and be work out after a day of work and some exercise and that's were the awesome night of sleep comes in!
Reading
Reading while walking can be difficult.
Actually on second thought extremely difficult.
The up and down motion you experience while walking makes it hard for me to read. I have trouble keeping track of where I'm at on the page, I also assume the writing could be difficult as well.
You will have to try it and see how difficult you find it.
I want to add that if you're just talking on the phone then walking shouldn't add any real difficulty to that task.
Can I Walk On A Treadmill While Working On A Computer?
Now that you are motivated to start walking on your treadmill while you are working you may be like a large number of workers and are glued to a computer or laptop.
And since many of us simply are not able to work without them you may be wondering can you use your computer while walking on your treadmill.
The simple answer...
You can definitely use a laptop or computer while walking on a treadmill.
However, I can tell you from experience that if you are serious about trying this out you will want to make sure you have everything set up perfectly.
Here are some things you should be aware of before using your laptop while walking:
- Where to put your laptop
- Placing your computer at the right height
- Charging plug available
- Spill-proof drinks
Where To Put Your Laptop While Walking On A Treadmill
This is probably one of the biggest issues you will come across when you want to begin walking on your treadmill.
The reason this is such a big problem is that most treadmills simply are not designed to hold a laptop.
Now when I was going to college there was a walking treadmill set up in our library with the school computers.
This setup was basically a manual treadmill belt with a table placed over it and surprisingly it worked relatively well.
The biggest benefit of this was definitely the use of a table and the ability to use a mouse instead of something like a trackpad.
This is definitely the first thing you will want to figure out is how you can attach some sort of stand or table to your treadmill to at least give you a place to put your laptop.
Or better yet a place for you to set up or laptop/computer along with a mouse.
How To Attach A Table Or Desk To A Treadmill?
There are two main ways you can solve this problem of getting a table onto the treadmill itself. There is also a third method that I have included that may be more suitable for the do it yourself people out there.
- Method One: The Treadmill Desk Attachment
- Method Two: The Underdesk Treadmill
- Method Three: The DIY Treadmill Desk
Method One: The Treadmill Desk Attachment
The first is you can buy a treadmill desk attachment. These can cost around $100 from what I have seen and simply put this onto the handles of your treadmill.
This method seems to work relatively however if you do not already have a treadmill the second method may be better for you.
Method Two: The Under Desk Treadmill
There are currently treadmills that are considered under desk or portable treadmills that are just the base and the belt.
This makes it super easy to slap a table over it. However, you will want to make sure you get a table that is tall enough. Not just the folding card table you have sitting in the garage.
Method Three: The DIY Treadmill Desk
Finally, the DIY treadmill desk is similar to method one but slightly more cost-effective.
The easiest way to build your own treadmill desk would simply be to go to home depot or lowes and buy a piece of plywood and have them cut a strip out of it that has the right width and length for you.
Usually, they will do this cutting for free and if not the fee is very small and overall with the wood will cost you around $10-20.
Then all you need to do is find a way to secure it to the handles whether that's with a strap or something else.
Finally, for a more comfortable experience, you could either spray paint over the wood, use a product like Plastidip, or sand it smooth.
Conclusion
In this article, we covered an abundance ofds material.
We discussed a lot of the health benefits of walking on a treadmill while working, and some of the honest negatives that come with it as well.
I can definitely say in my opinion, that the positives really do out weight the negatives, by a landslide.
But if your interested in trying it I highly recommend it.
It can change your life for the better and help you increase your efficiency in many aspects.
Give it a shot, and let me know what you think!