22Apr
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Pimpin’ My Treadmill Desk

I’ve been telling you for a couple of weeks how easy it is to blog from my treadmill, but I figured maybe I should show you how little effort it really takes to trick one out so you can, too.

First off, mine is a Weslo Cadence C44 treadmill which, despite what other Amazon reviewers claim, works beautifully. (I just posted my own review saying as much.) I chose that model for its price — having paid a fortune for other exercise equipment that I wound up not liking, I didn’t want to shell out big bucks for something that might also become a dust-gathering coat rack.

Second, my little treadmill desk isn’t nearly as fancy as those created by some other folks. I haven’t added fancy fans or chrome accessories (although I am thinking about getting a clip-on battery-operated fan to keep my face cool). But it works, and it’s perfect for my laptop — which is the computer I use primarily. I imagine, however, that I could just as easily mount a monitor and wireless keyboard on it if I so wanted.

So how am I managing to blog while on the thing? Well, it’s all thanks to my husband’s inventiveness, as you can see here in the photo of the little wooden platform he rigged up to hold my laptop. How I blog from my treadmill

Sure, it looks — as one of my friends points out — awfully tacky since I haven’t painted the platform but I’ll probably get around to that at some point. Right now I’m just too busy enjoying it and the nearly 200 calories I burn per hour while using it.

Can you say six pounds lost? I can. And I’m loving it!

Posted by Chubby Mommy in Exercise
  1. I Think Therefore I Blog says:
    April 24, 2008 at 8:18 pm

    12 of the past 14 days, putting in 66 miles in the process. In that time, I’ve lost six pounds. Six! All without having to set aside one single moment out of my day to exercise since I’m combining it with blogging to the ugly but functional“tread-desk”

  2. Brad Rhoads says:
    April 23, 2008 at 8:34 am

    You might want to consider getting a regular monitor, keyboard and mouse to hook up to your laptap. I learned the hard way that extended work on a laptop is very bad ergonomically. I’m convinced that the cronic neck pain I have now developed when I was on a year long contract where all I had to work on was a laptop.

    I’d also like to invite you and your readers to join our social network on this topic at http://officewalkers.ning.com/.

  3. Sue says:
    April 23, 2008 at 1:09 pm

    Ergonomics are critical if you want to avoid neck strain or carpal tunnel. I found an interesting treadmill desk product called TrekDesk at http://www.trekdesk.com that seems to answer all of my concerns.

  4. Chubby Mommy says:
    April 23, 2008 at 1:25 pm

    That’s why the wooden platform is raised to where it is. It’s perfectly situated for me to use the laptop without discomfort, and it cost a mere $1.98 to make — not thousands of dollars.

  5. Tsoniki says:
    April 24, 2008 at 1:31 am

    I so love this idea! I really can’t wait to move and use a setup like this. I’ve said it before but I do not like our elliptical so I want to get a treadmill – I’m sure I’ll be back and asking for specifics on how your set up was put together. LOL

    Tsoniki’s last blog post..SOW Check in – Back On Track

  6. Chubby Mommy says:
    April 24, 2008 at 8:16 am

    Well, as you can see it’s anything but swank but it works, and that’s what mattered most to me. I’d tried the elliptical and didn’t like it, either — I’m so short my knees came up to uncomfortable heights, and I always felt like I was about to rock off the thing.

    The odd thing about the treadmill is that I’ve never been a person who enjoyed going for walks. Hikes, yes. Rock climbing, bring it on. But walking? Booooring.

    Having this set up near my TV and with the desk thingie that lets me use the computer is awesome. I don’t even notice that I’m exercising (aside from the massive amounts of sweat pouring from my fat body) so the only “hard” part is making myself get on it.

    That was easy enough to take care of: every night when I go to bed I set my laptop up on the desk platform and log into a couple of websites I want to read the next morning. It’s the best incentive to get on the thing, and from there the rest is easy.

  7. Dee says:
    April 24, 2008 at 9:19 pm

    CM Amazon should have given you a prize for that review. If I move into a bigger spacie I’d love one of these.

    Dee’s last blog post..Science is Magic

  8. Chubby Mommy says:
    April 24, 2008 at 9:51 pm

    LOL. I give away all my best stuff for free, it seems.

  9. Lynne says:
    April 25, 2008 at 2:41 pm

    Well, I just asked about this on your other site and lo and behold, here’s the answer! I’m going to have to march myself upstairs and see what I can rig up, then maybe I’d get back on the treadmill and off my couch!

    Lynne’s last blog post..Health Savings Accounts

  10. Chubby Mommy says:
    April 25, 2008 at 5:45 pm

    LOL. I just uploaded a side-view of the desk at the other blog in response to your comment there. ;)

  11. Joyce says:
    July 18, 2008 at 2:04 pm

    CM (if I may call you CM)…very valuable, inspiring post. Thanks for the pics and direction. Noone should have any excuses about working out after reading this, at least I don’t (anymore). Think I’ll finally get of my rump and start working while I walk this weekend.