• Home
  • Contact Sharon
  • About Sharon
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Sharon Odom

Fitness Enthusiast, Triplet Mompreneur

  • Home
  • Life
  • Treadmill Desk
  • Blog
  • About Sharon
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Treadmill Desk / My Treadmill Desk

My Treadmill Desk

Sharon · October 25, 2006 · 10 Comments

My treadmill desk is up and running!

Never heard of a treadmill desk? Neither had I until a few months ago, when I saw a story on 20/20 that featured Dr. James Levine, a Mayo Clinic obesity researcher in Rochester, Minnesota.

The whole time he was being interviewed he continued to walk on the treadmill, very slowly. He explained the concept of NEAT — non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or the energy spent on physical activities of daily living. Dr. Levine said that 90% of Americans don’t work out regularly and at least half of workers sit in front of a computer most of the day. So most people don’t get enough exercise, as evidenced by our thickening waistlines and ever expanding backends (Ha! There’s a backend you don’t want.)

When you spend most of your waking hours in front of a computer, there’s very little “NEAT” to speak of, unless you make a concerted effort to exercise. That can be tough when you’re a mother and have enough things to do as it is. I always wished I could exercise while I work, and when I saw Dr. Levine being interviewed while walking on a treadmill, I knew immediately that this was the answer.

I went online and found several people that had setup their own treadmill desks. After much thought and debate over whether to get a cheap treadmill, I decided to go for the treadmill that Joe Stirt and Thomas Niccum both use, from Smooth Fitness. It has a lifetime warranty and since I’m going to be on this thing every day, I want something that will last, or have a bulletproof warranty in case it doesn’t. Another guy who built a treadmill desk had used the Smooth 5.15, so I figured that Smooth was the way to go.

I bought the Smooth Fitness 5.25 for $995 and that included delivery. The 5.15 had been discontinued and replaced with the 5.25, although I did find it on ebay for $699, including delivery. I wanted to think about it but when I went back it was gone. So I got the 5.25 and now that I have it, I’m glad I got this model instead. The treadmill platform is about 8 inches longer than on the 5.15 and when I’m walking my feet end up about 5 inches from end of the belt. So if I’d gotten the 5.15 it may have been too short.

Next, I had to decide on a laptop. This took longer because I couldn’t decide whether to get a cheapie or a desktop replacement. Finally I decided to go for something that I could use for a few hours a day and not think of it as a desktop replacement since I’ll alternate between my regular desk and the treadmill desk. I ended up getting an HP Pavilion DV8309 from Fry’s, with a really cool docking station.

Even before buying the laptop I had found the perfect way to mount it to the treadmill — the leaf insert from our dining table fit perfectly over the treadmill rails. There’s a handle that protrudes slightly and the leaf fits snugly under it so there’s no wobble, and even if a kid leans on it, it stays put. It worked out perfectly, couldn’t have planned it better. It’s as though it was built for being part of the treadmill desk.

At first we setup the treadmill on the other side of my desk, on the right side of my office, but from a usability standpoint it really needed to be a few steps from my desk so I could go back and forth easily. So we re-arranged things and placed it a few feet from my chair so that it became an integral part of my office.

Ok, so last Saturday I woke up determined to buy a laptop. No more thinking about it, reading reviews, pondering prices. I was going to Fry’s to buy a laptop. The DV8309 was sturdy enough for part-time work and was on sale for $799 (after a $50 rebate). With docking station and sales tax it ended up being around $1,250.

I wasn’t sure I needed the docking station (it was $250!), but turned out to be a wise purchase because it allowed me to move the screen up about 8 inches higher than it would have if it was just sitting on the table. Which would have been about 8 inches too low. It also included speakers, a wireless keyboard, and wireless mouse. Really cool.

Anyway, got it all setup and it worked perfectly. Every day I walk while checking my email, listening to audios, watching DVDs, listening to conference calls, talking on the phone…all the stuff I do at my regular desk. The time just flies and before I know it, I’ve done 2 or 3 miles. It’s so much better than schlepping over the gym. When I get tired of sitting on my butt, I get up, take 2 steps, and I’m walking while working.

Today I’ve done over 12,000 steps, more than 5 miles and it’s not even 6 p.m. And I feel great! Will post updates in the future…

Here’s an article about Dr. Levine

Filed Under: Treadmill Desk

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. energy.guy says

    June 5, 2008 at Jun 5, 2008, 4:22 pm

    I am not as creative as Sharon. However I did find a product that appears to meet all my needs and more in a treadmill desk. It is called TrekDesk and I found it at http://www.trekdesk.com. It also incorporates a pretty unique exercise ball chair into the equation. I am looking forward to getting started, has the Smooth been holding up well?

  2. Tony Mayo says

    April 23, 2011 at Apr 23, 2011, 5:36 pm

    Thanks for your inspiration and guidance. I added a desk to my treadmill and quickly dropped 10 pounds, as well as feeling more alert and active during the day. Here are my detailed instructions: http://tiny.cc/tread

  3. Trudy says

    May 6, 2011 at May 6, 2011, 1:39 pm

    I bow down humbly in the presence of such geratness.

  4. Sharon Odom says

    February 16, 2012 at Feb 16, 2012, 4:15 pm

    Hey Tony, that’s great! Isn’t it the easiest exercise program ever? I’ve been walking while working since Oct. 2006 and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself. How do you like the Sole model F63? I need to find another model I like since I won’t be buying Smooth Fitness anymore — they claimed that using it as a treadmill desk voided my warranty. Crooks. Only people who use treadmills as clothes hangers get warranties I guess! Glad you’re loving your treadmill desk, spread the word!

Trackbacks

  1. Walk While You Work (GeoLocal Business Blog) says:
    October 30, 2006 at Oct 30, 2006, 2:38 pm

    […] For more on how I did it, check out this detailed post on my blog “Sharon Says”. Posted in Life || […]

  2. Business Lawyer Blog says:
    March 31, 2007 at Mar 31, 2007, 9:28 am

    […] Fortunately, Sharon Odom Fling provided me with the solution when I met her on a flight to an Internet conference last month: the treadmill desk. […]

  3. I Love, Love, LOVE My Treadmill Desk! — Sharon Odom says:
    August 26, 2015 at Aug 26, 2015, 2:35 pm

    […] emailed me a couple weeks ago, wondering how things are going with the treadmill desk. Am I still going strong? (YES) Do I use a pedometer? (SOMETIMES) How has my weight changed? (lost […]

  4. Time to Hit the Road Again | Sharon Odom says:
    September 2, 2015 at Sep 2, 2015, 2:55 pm

    […] money I spent on my treadmill desk is the best money I ever spent, really. I’m on it pretty much every day, walking at a rate of […]

  5. Primetime 20/20 Airdate Set — Sharon Odom says:
    September 3, 2015 at Sep 3, 2015, 2:11 pm

    […] My Treadmill Desk […]

  6. Treadmill Desk: 10 Years Later — Sharon Odom says:
    November 7, 2016 at Nov 7, 2016, 1:40 pm

    […] yelled, “That’s it, that’s the answer!” And wasted no time putting together my first treadmill desk. After the initial trial run with a laptop on my dining room table leaf, I graduated to a full […]

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Primary Sidebar

Hi there, welcome to my little corner of the web! I've been online since my days at The Walt Disney … Read More about About Sharon

The Latest

  • Blog
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Featured
  • Life
  • Maintenance
  • Treadmill Desk
  • Weight Loss

Copyright © 2021 · Daily Dish Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in