The wall-mounted shelf limits how much I can move it around, but I did it that way for a couple reasons. I wanted to make absolutely sure that my laptop wouldn't take a 4.5 foot fall, and I wanted to preserve a very neutral posture that allowed me to keep my neck straight and my head looking straight ahead, not up or down. In my current setup, the shelf is mounted a few inches higher than it is in the pics, so that I *have* to maintain proper posture in order to see the monitors. If I slouch or drop my head, I'm looking under the shelf.
Also, note the position of the keyboard platform: my shoulders and arms are in a very natural, relaxed position to minimize strain. The relative height of the platform can be changed by adjusting the angle of the walking belt (motorized and controlled by a thumb lever on this particular treadmill).
I'm seeing a lot of BS flying around about the idea of a walking desk, and having built my own, I thought I should de-FUD the conversation a bit.
You're not running, or even walking quickly. James Levine, the guy spearheading all this NEAT stuff, recommends.7 mph, which is crazy slow. Slow enough, in fact, that its almost hard to walk at that speed. The point is to just move and burn a steady trickle of calories over a long period of time, not "work out". If you're sweating or even breathing hard at all, you're doing it wrong. I can talk on the phone and the other party has no idea that I'm on a treadmill. I personally vary my speed between 1.2 and 2.0 mph. Basically, the speed is inversely proportional to the amount of concentration required by the current task. If I'm just reading, I can do 2.0 with no problem. If I'm writing code or doing any real amount of typing, I'll usually keep it around 1.4 - 1.6.
Which brings me to an important point: typing speed is nearly unaffected. My error rate is probably a little higher when on the treadmill, but not enough to be an issue at all. I can still out-type nearly everyone on IM, so if the walking slows me down at all, it's a moot point anyway.
It took me a couple days to really adapt to it, but once you're used to walking and working simultaneously, it's pretty mindless. Your legs basically go on autopilot while your mind does what it needs to do. I would compare it to [car analogy alert!] driving a manual transmission in heavy city traffic. It sucks at first, but eventually it's all muscle memory and you don't have to think about it at all. You just do it.
It looks somewhat assy, but it works really, really well. The keyboard/mouse platform is ultra-stable and does not move at all or even vibrate at the speeds I walk. With the monitors positioned the way they are, my eyes never have trouble following even small text, and I'm older with very bad vision. If anyone is considering doing this, don't even bother with a treadmill that retails for less than about $1500. You need a high quality treadmill to achieve the necessary silence and stability for office use.
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Oh god, I'm dense. I used to play D&D, too. D'oh.
Please explain what horsepower has to do with a car's ability to survive a crash.
The wall-mounted shelf limits how much I can move it around, but I did it that way for a couple reasons. I wanted to make absolutely sure that my laptop wouldn't take a 4.5 foot fall, and I wanted to preserve a very neutral posture that allowed me to keep my neck straight and my head looking straight ahead, not up or down. In my current setup, the shelf is mounted a few inches higher than it is in the pics, so that I *have* to maintain proper posture in order to see the monitors. If I slouch or drop my head, I'm looking under the shelf.
Also, note the position of the keyboard platform: my shoulders and arms are in a very natural, relaxed position to minimize strain. The relative height of the platform can be changed by adjusting the angle of the walking belt (motorized and controlled by a thumb lever on this particular treadmill).
I'm seeing a lot of BS flying around about the idea of a walking desk, and having built my own, I thought I should de-FUD the conversation a bit.
.7 mph, which is crazy slow. Slow enough, in fact, that its almost hard to walk at that speed. The point is to just move and burn a steady trickle of calories over a long period of time, not "work out". If you're sweating or even breathing hard at all, you're doing it wrong. I can talk on the phone and the other party has no idea that I'm on a treadmill. I personally vary my speed between 1.2 and 2.0 mph. Basically, the speed is inversely proportional to the amount of concentration required by the current task. If I'm just reading, I can do 2.0 with no problem. If I'm writing code or doing any real amount of typing, I'll usually keep it around 1.4 - 1.6.
9 ve8.jpg 0 jr6.jpg l r5.jpg 2 rk7.jpg 4 wt9.jpg
You're not running, or even walking quickly. James Levine, the guy spearheading all this NEAT stuff, recommends
Which brings me to an important point: typing speed is nearly unaffected. My error rate is probably a little higher when on the treadmill, but not enough to be an issue at all. I can still out-type nearly everyone on IM, so if the walking slows me down at all, it's a moot point anyway.
It took me a couple days to really adapt to it, but once you're used to walking and working simultaneously, it's pretty mindless. Your legs basically go on autopilot while your mind does what it needs to do. I would compare it to [car analogy alert!] driving a manual transmission in heavy city traffic. It sucks at first, but eventually it's all muscle memory and you don't have to think about it at all. You just do it.
Here are some (old, crappy) pics of the treadmill set up in my old office:
http://img476.imageshack.us/img476/7197/091806120
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/9194/091806121
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/898/0918061211
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/8043/091806121
http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6964/091806121
It looks somewhat assy, but it works really, really well. The keyboard/mouse platform is ultra-stable and does not move at all or even vibrate at the speeds I walk. With the monitors positioned the way they are, my eyes never have trouble following even small text, and I'm older with very bad vision. If anyone is considering doing this, don't even bother with a treadmill that retails for less than about $1500. You need a high quality treadmill to achieve the necessary silence and stability for office use.