First Full Day with the Treadmill Desk
Posted by Kip at September 9, 2008 4:55 PM 
Categories: treadmill desk, Tread Desk - Thoughts on the Company, Treadmill
Categories: treadmill desk, Tread Desk - Thoughts on the Company, Treadmill
First off this thing is AWESOME!!! I am so glad I have it. Now for the nitty-gritty:
I've walked almost 5.5 miles at my treadmill desk today. Yeahhhh! I feel healthier already. lol!
The little bit of dizziness that I first experienced when I was walking and looking at the computer screen went away. I figured out that I only have it when I look straight down for more than a few seconds while walking and then look up again. It takes me a few seconds to orient. When I just look at my computer screen I don't have it. Solution: I only glance down every now and then and not for long. The dizziness hasn't been a problem today and I don't figure it will be. It's just a matter of getting used to working while walking.
I still haven't figured out a comfortable walking speed yet. I've varied it all day and still haven't come up with one that fits all occasions. Right now I have it set to 1.2 mph but when I'm on the phone I turn it down to .9 mph. Currently I'm still trying to figure out the best speed to keep it at. It seems like I have a different one for reading, for typing and for talking on the phone.
It's strange too in that at first, at the speed of .8-1.0 mph feels like I'm walking very deliberately, almost as if in slow motion. I don't really notice it now.
I've been a tiny bit hotter than I normally am. I'm not sweaty or anything but I have noticed a slight warmness to the room with my movements.
After the first half-hour or so yesterday the walking movement hasn't really bothered my reading the computer screen or typing at the keyboard.
It's the end of the day and my feet hurt a bit and my legs are a bit tired but nothing too bad.
Overall, the first day has been a great success and I'm super thrilled with day 1 of the treadmill desk.
I've walked almost 5.5 miles at my treadmill desk today. Yeahhhh! I feel healthier already. lol!
The little bit of dizziness that I first experienced when I was walking and looking at the computer screen went away. I figured out that I only have it when I look straight down for more than a few seconds while walking and then look up again. It takes me a few seconds to orient. When I just look at my computer screen I don't have it. Solution: I only glance down every now and then and not for long. The dizziness hasn't been a problem today and I don't figure it will be. It's just a matter of getting used to working while walking.
I still haven't figured out a comfortable walking speed yet. I've varied it all day and still haven't come up with one that fits all occasions. Right now I have it set to 1.2 mph but when I'm on the phone I turn it down to .9 mph. Currently I'm still trying to figure out the best speed to keep it at. It seems like I have a different one for reading, for typing and for talking on the phone.
It's strange too in that at first, at the speed of .8-1.0 mph feels like I'm walking very deliberately, almost as if in slow motion. I don't really notice it now.
I've been a tiny bit hotter than I normally am. I'm not sweaty or anything but I have noticed a slight warmness to the room with my movements.
After the first half-hour or so yesterday the walking movement hasn't really bothered my reading the computer screen or typing at the keyboard.
It's the end of the day and my feet hurt a bit and my legs are a bit tired but nothing too bad.
Overall, the first day has been a great success and I'm super thrilled with day 1 of the treadmill desk.
It will be interesting to see how you feel tomorrow after 5.5 miles today
I've been wondering how easy it will be to find the "right" speed. When I've tried walking on a treadmill before I found that I couldn't walk without thinking about it below about 1.2 mph.
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You aren't kidding. I sat down for a while and my muscles tightened up a bit and are sore. Not painful sore, but a bit uncomfortable.
As far as the 'right' speed, I'm still trying to figure that out too. At first it's strange to walk so slowly because it is so much slower than I walk normally but after a while it's no big deal. It was awkward yesterday but not as much this morning and by this afternoon I didn't think about it much at all. I think maybe your body will adjust to going whatever speed you decide on.
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Glad to hear that you got the treadmill and it works! I was wondering how you would rate the quality of the treadmill? I've read that some treadmills out there have a problem with walking slow, and I found that out by going over a friend's house with a cheap treadmill, it was very hard to walk around 1 mph on it, it almost felt as if when I put my feet down, it pressed the belt into deck and made it "stick" for a second - this resulted in very jerky/jolted like walking. It got a bit better as I upped the speed to around 1.5 mph, but that felt kind of fast. (well, to pay attention and type/mouse/read)
So basically, how does it feel while walking on it? Do you notice anything like I said above? Does it feel smooth? Jerky?
Can you get a video of yourself on it and upload it to youtube?
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I haven't experienced any jerkiness at all with it. It isn't annoying or distracting when I walk on it and seems very smooth. It doesn't 'skip' or 'jerk'. The hardest part has been getting used to walking at a slow pace. It's on 1.1 now which feels okay. I just took it down to the lowest speed of .5 to see if it jerked at that speed. That's way too slow for me but it isn't jerky at that speed either.
Regarding the quality of it - I've had a couple of treadmills in my life and this one seems comparable to the others I've had which have ranged in price from $300-$550. I never walked really slow on my other treadmills so I can't say if they jerked at the slow speeds or not but this one doesn't. It isn't comparable to one of the super-duper treadmills you find in a fitness club with a wide belt and thick padding but then again the price reflects that.
Regarding the video - I don't have anyone here to record the video while I'm walking. I can try to take one of my feet walking on it if that would help but it won't be until later today as I have to go out for a few hours. If you want me to do that just let me know. I can also take a picture of it if you would like a more up close picture of the treadmill or want to see any aspect of it.
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Hi Kip,
Thanks for the fast response and info. Some pics of it up close/from the side would be great. If you can take the video, that would be awesome. Hopefully we'll be able to judge the noise level from the vid? Also, I don't know what you'd be using to take the video, but if it's a digital cam, perhaps you can put it on a box or something on the floor, so that we can see your feet moving along on the belt? That would be great!
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I will be shooting with my digital camera. I don't think it records noise. I've never done a video with it before so I have no idea how it will come out but I will give it my best shot. Stay tuned ....
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