Under-the-Desk Exercise Equipment?

stoat asks: "I am a rather large man looking for exercise alternatives. I was thinking that an under desk pedaling machine might be just the ticket. Could perhaps hook it up to your computer and log total calories burned. The question is, has this already been done? It would seem to be the rather large number of 'large' people in the geek community could really use something like this."

Comments

Fastest way to slim down

[Anonymous Coward]

The fastest way to loose weight, and gain muscle is to lift weight. Preferably free weights, because they offer better rage of motion than machines. It is a fact that you burn more calories resting after lifting (you body burns calories to repair the muscle tissue you slightly damage when working out). Combine this with 20 mins of cardio every other day, with one day off for both. Your body will change rather quickly. I must add that eating properly is probably 60-70% of your battle. Without eating properly, the change will not happen as quickly. Eat 5-6 times a day. This is important. 5-6 smaller, balanced meals consisting of 40% carbs and 60% protein will yield the best results. Usually the 5-6 meals are 3 regular meals and 2-3 protein shakes like met-rx (you can use any high quality protein mix, but met-rx tastes good).

Re:Fastest way to slim down

[scheme]

The fastest way to loose weight, and gain muscle is to lift weight. Preferably free weights, because they offer better rage of motion than machines. It is a fact that you burn more calories resting after lifting (you body burns calories to repair the muscle tissue you slightly damage when working out)

Actually running is better than lifting free weights. Your body still has to do the same repair stuff after running and its better for your cardiovascular system then weight lifting. Ideally, you would do both but if you could only do one running or some other aerobic exercise such as swimming, biking, etc. will be better than lifting.

BTW, eating 5-6 small meals a day is a great idea but having your diet composed of 40% carbs and 60% protein is not. You'll stress your kidneys with a higher influx of proteins, increase your risk for kidney stones and other nastiness. A diet of 50% carbs, 30% proteins, and 20% fats is would be better.

Re:Fastest way to slim down

[rthought]

> Basically, eat more protein than carbs.

Um, no, that's not the way to go. From this page (sixth bullet down) on the BodyFueling site come three facts about excessive protein consumption:

• Too little carbohydrate to run the body results in conversion of protein to carbohydrate to meet fuel needs.
• Excess (unused) protein is converted to fat.
• Converting protein either to fat or glucose is hard work, toxic--and unnecessary.

> I haven't read anything regarding renal stress associated with a high protein diet.

Elsewhere on the site, Robyn Landis points out "Eating excess protein also places a burden on the kidneys and can cause calcium and other important nutrients to be leached from the body--raising the risk of osteoporosis."

Her recommendation (which, by the way, combined with a workout regimen lost me 10 pounds in 2 months) is for 60% carbs, 20% protein and 20% fat. She also points out that you should not think of what you're doing as restricting what you eat, because that will make you resent what you're trying to do. Don't always force yourself away from the things you like. Have them, but only occasionally, and think of them as a treat.

All around, Robyn's book is pretty darn good. She manages to explain, in not-so-technical detail, just how the body works when fueling itself, along with a great bit of thought about why "diets" have problems working.

rthought
This is my .sig. Whoopee.

Go outside!

[FigWig]

I know some wrist execises you can do under desk, but you have to beware of chafing and I'm not sure if you should do them at work...

Safety Tip -- use a spotter with weights

[Guppy]

"The fastest way to loose weight, and gain muscle is to lift weight. Preferably free weights..."

For safety reasons, you should try to have a spotter watch over you when working with free weights, in case you lose control or get a cramp. It's really easy to hurt yourself, especially when you're first starting out.

If you don't someone who can serve as a spotter around, a machine may be a little bit better because of the limited range of motion. I've also been wondering about machines like the Bowflex -- the lack of actual weights looks like it might make it a little safer, but I've never actually used one of those.

Martial Arts

[Lord Kano]

Martial arts fit the bill for many people, despite the cult/fascist/zen approach taken by some schools

While I respect your right to your own opinion, I must disagree here. You use these terms in a pejorative manner.

If you're looking for strictly a cardiovascular workout, take an aerobics class. While Billy Blanks is an extremely skilled martial artist, this Tae Bo shit has to stop. If you're not willing to put in the time and expend the energy, you shouldn't be doing it.

LK

Re:Martial Arts

[Lord Kano]

Sheesh, how defensive.

Absolutely. You may have had some jerks as instructors, but that doesn't mean that everyone in the field is just as bad.

What I have a problem with are the pervasive hidden agendas, the constant assumption of spiritual truths.

I've never encountered anyone who hid his or her motives in the field of martial arts. Teachers who wish to to insure that their pupils will be peaceful, generally good people say so from the first time you walk through the door.

I don't feel that everybody who wants a workout without religion should be relegated to "an aerobics class".

Then they can go jogging. It's an instructors duty to impart information about right and wrong to his pupils.

If someone wants to learn how to defend themselves (e.g. a teenage girl doesn't want to get raped, an old man doesn't want to get mugged, a football player wants to keep in shape during the off-season), they should be able to do so without having spiritual values forced upon them.

Have you ever heard of pepper spray? Have you ever heard of a kabuto? How about a concealed weapons permit? The efforts of the lazy or the uninterested to distill out "the important parts" from things that they have no understanding of or respect for have lead us to innovations such as AOL and the like.

There is no one who can force you to believe something. If your teacher's beliefs contradict your own, you are free to cast his beliefs aside.

But I'm done arguing with you.

Fine. We're both set in our beliefs and no amount of arguing will change that.

Obviously I'm assaulting your religious sensibilities

I've never mentioned my religious beliefs. You are making assumptions.

Someone who has learned the techniques without learning the discipline can be as dangerous as a 4 year old with an uzi.

LK

Re:Martial Arts

[Lord Kano]

If you want a cardiovascular workout, take an aerobics class. If your teach is going to impart upon you knowledge that, if used incorrectly, can hurt people, then he should be teaching you a system of values. Just as a parent shouldn't hand a child a firearm without teaching that child the responsibility that goes along with it.

If you look at buddhist monks, some of them are the most amazing fighters that you'll ever see. Well into old age, many of them would be capable of clearing a bar full of drunken marines.

I had several teachers over the years, one of whom only cared about the fighting part. He wanted us to learn to be great fighters. I learned much from him, but I learned much more from the teachers who stressed self discipline and respect.

I had a teacher from Japan once, his family's katana hung on the wall above the mat. He helped me develop my ability to use the tonfa beyond what my previous instructor had. I watched as he had another student in the class kick him in the crotch hard enough to lift him off of his feet, and then he explained how it worked.

I assume that you know of the tiger and the dragon. Too many people take martial arts in pursuit of the tiger. The ability of the tiger to "whoop some ass" pales in comparison to the dragon. You can spend a night in jail because you kicked some guy's ass at the bar, I'll walk home because I knew enough to avoid that fight.

That's why it's imperitive for the instructors to teach their values along with the physical part of a martial art.

Maybe you had bad teachers, maybe you were a bad student, I don't know about your experiences. Nonetheless I will not stay silent while you malign a great art form.

LK

Desk too confining ...

[trexl]

I'm actually in the same boat that you're in. Built like a fire-hydrant 5'10" & > 350lbs. I am an avid weightlifter and I play rugby although an injury has sidelined me for the better part of a year(no insurance). Before playing rugby I was well over 400 lbs. Even then I could do push ups, some semblance of situps, calf raises, etc. The problem with all of those things is that they are limited range motions. They involve relatively small muscles and those muscles actually get tired before any cardiovascular effect can be gained

I think that the idea of a peddling mechanism is a good one to start. My uncles had one from the 70's, no real way to interface them, but they fit in front of a chair and pedalled as fast as you like. The resistance was provided by a wing nut and a washer tightening the connection between the support and the pedalling mech. Anyway, I think that the devices exist, but in the long run ...

Back away from the keyboard. Muscles need room to move. You won't get any real cardio/fat burning effect until you make all the big muscles work real hard doing real world things. I agree with lifting weights as a good place to start. It builds muscle and that helps burn fat. It also doesn't hurt too much cardiovascularly. A good weightlifting session doesn't leave you miserably out of breath, but breathing hard and sweating good. After that gets comfortable, a couple of minutes (5, 10, 15 to start) on an excercise bike mixed in and then the hardest part ... eating better. I think the first thing that can be done to help the transition is to drink water instead of soft drinks. Not exclusively mind you ... that would be suicidal, but cut soda back to dinner and lunch and if you drink, try to save it for the weekends.

As soon as I find the key to this eating right thing, I'll tell the world. I can't claim to be an expert, but if you want a pretty good starting point in a weightlifting/resistance training program, go ahead and e-mail me. I might be able to help. Good luck.

I know several...

[FascDot Killed My Pr]

...under the desk exercise regimens. Unfortunately there are largely prohibited by recent harassment legislation.

More seriously, try visiting The Hacker's Diet. It has done (and is continuing to do) wonders for me.

Remember, exercise, while good for you, doesn't cut the weight as well as eating less (or more accurately, eating BETTER).
--
Compaq dropping MAILWorks?

Dance Dance Revolution ^_~

[monaco]

Heh, the title of this story was to hilarious for me to resist posting. ^_~

I know everyone says, "find an exercise you like!", but really, most exercise bores the hell out of me...I'm not into nature or sports or whatever... but something that did get me doing 30-45 minutes of aerobic exercise every day is Dance Dance Revolution! Heheh, finally, a video game that isn't about sitting on your ass all day! It's totally addictive.

Quick synopsis: you get a 3' x 3' dancing pad, with spots for the 4 directional arrows. A song plays, and little arrows float up the screen, and you have to step on the arrow on the pad in sync with the screen's arrows. Sound easy? It's not. You've got to hit the pad exactly on the beat, and the songs are generally dance songs, so they can be pretty fast. It's extra-challenging if you have no sense of rhythm (like me).

The songs are pretty good too...Konami teamed up with EMI Japan to put real songs on the game. Some familiar ones are Chumbawumba's "Tubthumping" and an odd cover/remix of the Village People's "In The Navy".

Anyway, it's out for PSX, and I think Dreamcast now too. It's an import game, with modchip detection, so you'll need a stealth mod, plus the dancing pad of course (waaay cheap, I've seen 'em go for 15 bucks).

Try creatine!!!

[NateKid]

Seriously. Creatine will pack on muscle mass like you wouldn't believe. And this muscle mass will burn tremendous amounts of fat. In addition, creatine increases your muscle recovery periods which means you will increase the amount of times per week you will be able to work out without overtraining.

As for pedaling equipment: You shouldn't think about work, school, etc. when you exercise, or else you will have a terrible workout. I used to take a book with me to the gym and read between sets in order to conserve time (any other geeks out there do this?). This led to my workouts lasting twice as long as necessary, and being half as intense as they should have been.

What you need is a sport you'll enjoy (Martial arts fit the bill for many people, despite the cult/fascist/zen approach taken by some schools). Instead of a cycling machine, you might try cycling for real. Outdoors. Wind, rain, muggers, all that stuff. That way, keeping up with your exercise routine won't be a burden, and you'll feel fulfilled throughout the rest of the day (insert sappy music here). You might even find you get more out of the day if you don't condense activities. I know I do.

Lifestyle Change

[The-Bus]

I think perhaps a lifestyle change is in order. Simple pedaling under the desk isn't the solution. Plot out an average week and see where you can fit in exercise, whether cardiovascular or weightlifting. If you can do 30 minutes three times a week, you've got the bare minimum recommended for results.

Without going too much into the subject, I recommend doing something that you like. That could be mountain biking, stationary cycling while watching Letterman, kickboxing, swimming laps, taking a walk during your lunch break, jogging, calisthenics, basketball... Your options are endless. To begin I would focus on doing something that's enjoyable rather than a "What's Best for You" program that strictly guidelines dietary intake, and has some extensive grid of 30 different exercises for you to do.
While the under-the-desk pedaling idea sounds good, it won't be the change you're looking for, IMO.

(Off-topic, but informative! Those cancel out...)

Execise and the IT Dept.

[A_Roche]

Bravo, Cliff!
[rant]
I have read all that all have to say and I am not surprised at the differences in opinions. I am personally finishing a 12wk program of exercise, dieting, and supplamentation (God I hate spelling that!). I have reduced my body fat by over 10%, adding a large amount of muscle and changed my eating. I still love a good greasy burger, but I don't focus on them. It suprises me how many of us are not willing to find the time to take care of us. I work out of town for 50-60 hours a week minimum, travel to and from work each week, and still make time to make a difference. I spent a long time researching different approaches before using a particular one.
Yes, a high protien diet can be bad for you, IF you don't counter it with a large amount of water intake (10 cups or so) per day. The body needs that protein to repair the muscles that you are going to "damage" when working out. Cut back (not cut out) on the carbs to allow the body the options to use up the fats you have now. The more mucle you have, the more enegy your body needs to keep goig, thus you burn more carbs/fat.
Yes, Creatine is a excellent choice for a supplement (got it that time!) to you diet. Just remember that you still need to drink water! Creatine sucks up water like mad!
Yes you need the weights, not just running. Not matter what sport you take part in, you can benefit from the effects of a structured weight training program. Why do you think that the US Olympic Track & Field Team has one of the best weight centers? Train with weight 3x weekly and perform INTERVAL intensity aerobic exercises 3x weekly. This is because the body will respond to the intense aerobics much better than low-impact aerobics.
My suggestion would be to look at the Body for Life program. It is a great way to reshape your body, and who knows maybe you could win some cash?
Just find something that will work for you, and do it. We work in somewhat sendentary jobs, and will waste away if we don't do something!
[/rant]

Hmm..

[qbasicprogrammer]

Seriously how hard is it to get up and take a walk?