The Walking Computer Station That Will Save Your Body!

As I write this blog post I am walking at a 7.5 incline at a comfortable pace.  I decided that I can no longer sit at the computer.  Yes, I do get my strength and conditioning training in with kettlebells and various body weight drills, but then I have more than 5 hours of computer work to do everyday!  Between writing a book, articles, designing nutrition/training programs, and keeping up with emails, computer time for me is a lot more hours than I've ever wanted.  At first, I was getting frustrated at the fact that I'd rather be moving, since most fitness people gravitate to a more active job.  Second, the excessive sitting was making me more tired than usual.  Since I began writing the book, I have been feeling lower back discomfort for the first time in my life.  All from too much sitting!  I work with people daily that have desk jobs.  Unfortunately, research is beginning to show that desk jobs have much more detrimental effects than just being sedentary.

Most people know the problems with constant sitting, but don't take them seriously enough.  Even those who exercise 1-2 hours a day, but then sit the rest of the day are negatively effected by the sitting. There are hundreds of reasons why sitting for an extended period of time will wreak havoc on our bodies.  When sitting, we are putting our hip flexors in a constant state of flexion causing them to actually shorten.  Sitting on your butt will actually stretch out your glutes causing them to become weak.  Your shoulders will round forward and sitting will put an incredible amount of pressure on the vertebral discs.  Look at the posture of those who have a desk job or spend too much time sitting at their computer.  They all have these in common: tight hip flexors, rounded shoulders, and really bad posture to say the least.  Why knowingly do this to yourself?

I began to put my computer on a counter top so that I could stand while typing.  Even standing in one place, however, began to bother me a bit.  So I started researching treadmill desks.  I realized it was the only way I was going to be able to continue with all the work I had to do on the computer.  I looked up special standing treadmill desk stations that were roughly $450.  Since I primarily use a laptop computer, I didn't feel one of those was necessary.  Instead I found the Surfshelf, which can strap onto a treadmill or bike, for only $40.  Being the impulsive person that I am, I went ahead and purchased it for a treadmill that I didn't even own yet.  I looked on craigslist for a used one since I didn't need anything fancy.  There were tons of different ones to choose from and it made me a bit overwhelmed.  Since time was not on my side and I didn't feel like driving all over town looking at different used treadmills, I went to the closest sporting goods store and bought a very simple, brand new treadmill.  The cool thing about treadmills these days is that they are all internet enhanced and come with speakers.  I didn't need all the bells and whistles, but hopefully they will motivate my husband to use it while watching the UFC.  I never thought in a million years that I'd purchase a treadmill since I can't stand hamster wheels.  Since this is not strictly for exercise but for office purposes I felt it was worth every penny.  My unconventional training friends, laugh if you'd like, but this will save my spine and posture.  We shall see who laughs last!  ;-)

I share this with you today so that you too can have the option to change your workstation from sitting to standing.  We were not meant to sit for long periods of time.  It's time to break up with your chair and walk while you type, surf the internet, and make phone calls.  I hope seated desk jobs become a thing of the past.  If every office invested in a simple treadmill for their employees to use during work, productivity would increase tenfold along with less sick days and happier employees.

Don't wait until it's too late.  This is one of the smartest investments that I have made in a long time.


Dr. Levine from the Mayo Clinic is now doing case studies for treadmill desks and they are showing amazing results.